In the week just before Christmas, HtC approached me by asking whether or not I would like to join the editorial board of BMC Thrombosis Journal as an Associate Editor. the aims and scope of the journal, taken from their website:
“Thrombosis Journal is an open-access journal that publishes original articles on aspects of clinical and basic research, new methodology, case reports and reviews in the areas of thrombosis.Topics of particular interest include the diagnosis of arterial and venous thrombosis, new antithrombotic treatments, new developments in the understanding, diagnosis and treatments of atherosclerotic vessel disease, relations between haemostasis and vascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, immunology and obesity.”
I talked to HtC, someone at BMC, as well as some of my friends and colleagues whether or not this would be a wise thing to do. Here is an overview of the points that came up:
Experience: Thrombosis is the field where I grew up in as a researcher. I know the basics, and have some extensive knowledge on specific parts of the field. But with my move to Germany, I started to focus on stroke, so one might wonder why not use your time to work with a stroke related journal. My answer is that the field of thrombosis is a stroke related field and that my position in both worlds is a good opportunity to learn from both fields. Sure, there will be topics that I have less knowledge off, but here is where an associate editor should rely on expert reviewers and fellow editors.
This new position will also provide me with a bunch of new experiences in itself: for example, sitting on the other side of the table in a peer review process might help me to better understand a rejection of one of my own papers. Bottom line is that I think that I both bring and gain relevant experiences in this new position.
Time: These things cost time. A lot. Especially when you need to learn the skills needed for the job, like me. But learning these skills as an associate editor is an integral part of the science apparatus, and I am sure that the time that I invest will help me develop as a scientist. Also, the time that I need to spend is not necessary the type of time that I currently lack, i.e. writing time. For writing and doing research myself I need decent blocks of time to dive in and focus — 4+ hours if possible. The time I need to perform my associate editor tasks is more fragmented: find peer reviewers, read their comments and make a final judgement are relative fragmented activities and I am sure that as soon as I get the hang of it I can squeeze those activities within shorter slots of time. Perhaps a nice way to fill those otherwise lost 30 minutes between two meetings?
Open science: Thrombosis journal is part of the Biomed central family. As such, it is an 100% OA journal. It is not that I am an open science fanboy or sceptic, but I am very curious how OA is developing and working with an OA journal will help me to understand what OA can and cannot deliver.
Going over these points, I am convinced that I can contribute to the journal with my experience in the fields of coagulation, stroke and research methodology. Also, I think that the time that it will take to learn the skills needed are an investment that in the end will help me to grow as a researcher. So, I replied HtC with a positive answer. Expect email requesting for a peer review report soon!
bob siegerink 