FAQ
Please review our frequently asked questions below, if you can’t find what you are look for please use our Contact Form.
Are You Indexed in PubMed?
Not at this time; however, we are working on it. If your work was federally funded, by law you must deposit your manuscript in PubMed Central (PMC). When depositing a Tobacco Regulatory Science (TRS) manuscript into PMC use Option C. All manuscripts deposited in PMC are listed in PubMed. It is estimated that approximately 85% of TRS manuscripts are federally funded.
Can I post my published article on ResearchGate, Social Science Network, or any web site?
Tobacco Regulatory Science Group retains the copyright for your article; consequently, you are free to post ONLY abstract and citation information without restrictions. You may distribute your article for professional use but may not use it for: (1) resale, (2) publication in other media, (3) use for mass distribution by businesses, corporations, or companies, (4) mass reproduction and distribution, (5) selling or licensing copies, or (6) posting on third-party websites such as ResearchGate, repositories, personal websites, or organizational websites.
However, if you purchased the Open Access option, you retain the copyright for your article and may self-archive the fully edited copy; therefore, you can use manuscript as you wish.
Can we still purchase reprints?
Yes, if an author or organization wishes to purchase prepared reprints, perhaps with covers, we can arrange to provide that service for a competitive fee.
Do you employ double-blind peer review?
Yes. We adhere to this traditional model to promote objectivity and reduce bias in peer review.
Do you forward manuscripts to PubMed Central (PMC)?
We do not. If your work was federally funded, you can deposit your manuscript in PubMed Central under Option C.
Does Tobacco Regulatory Science have a Privacy Policy?
Yes, it can be found here.
How do I become a reviewer for the journal?
Information can be found here.
How do I purchase an individual subscription to the journal?
Subscription can be purchased for 1-year, 2-year, or 3-year lengths. The grace period after your subscription ends is 3 months. That is, you will still be able to access content up to 3 months after your subscription ends. Upon activation of your subscription, you will be able to access journal content through Ingenta Connect.
Subscriptions will be processed within 10 business days from request. Please contact us for assistance with purchasing and activating your subscription.
How long does it take to be notified of manuscript status from date of first submission?
We average 23 days for reviews.
How long from acceptance to publishing?
We strive to move your paper from acceptance to publication within 50 days.
I am a Librarian, how do I purchase an institutional subscription for the journal?
Subscriptions can be purchased for 1-year, 2-year, or 3-year lengths. Multi-year discounts are available to institutions. The grace period after your subscription ends is 3 months. That is, you will still be able to access content up to 3 months after your subscription ends.
Institutional subscribers will need to set up an institutional profile and authenticate IP addresses to allow users to access institutional subscriptions without needing to log in.
Subscriptions will be processed within 10 business days from request. Please contact us for assistance with purchasing and activating your subscription.
If I want to read the full text of an article that is not Open Access, how do I purchase it?
Navigate to the specific article that you wish to read on Ingenta Connect, our hosting platform. You will see the option to “Buy Article”. You may also contact us for assistance.
What are some of the charges that you refer to?
Here are a few of the charges that small publishers have to address. Whereas some of these charges may constitute only a one-time start-up fee, other fees are ongoing.
- Website development
- Develop individual links and formats
- Website management and maintenance
- Development of logo
- Legal fees for developing partnership contract agreements, investigating copyrights, trademarks, protection against frivolous litigation, etc
- Pay state tax
- Pay federal tax
- Register initial copyright for journal
- Copyright fee for each article
- Register trademark for journal
- Acquire a URL through a hosting company
- Acquire emails specific to the journal
- Hire or contract with a business manager (accountant) who, among other things, files state and federal taxes and ensures compliance with small business regulations
- Hire or contract with a typesetter
- Hire or contract with a copyeditor / grammarian
- Hire or contract with a statistician
- Pay submission company to monitor manuscript submissions – ongoing fee typically charged with every manuscript submitted
- Open and maintain bank account
- Secure credit card accounts to facilitate easy payment by subscribers
- Purchase software and upgrades, eg, typesetting, etc
- Office supplies, printers, etc
- Pay to develop journal templates
- Pay DOI fee – ongoing fee
- Pay for any marketing or brochures
- Pay for business cards for several persons
- Pay for Cross-Ref fee
- Pay for early online access
- Purchase plagiarism software
- For special print editions there is a printing fee and a postal fee
- Pay storage fee for all manuscripts so as to have in perpetuity
This list is not an exhaustive one but one that illustrates the many “hidden” costs of publishing and operating a small business. The modest revenue from individual and institutional subscriptions does not offset the cost of operating a small publishing operation and must be covered with a publishing fee. Whereas we have a publication fee, we believe that we keep our individual and institutional subscription costs at a competitive rate. Increases in paid subscriptions and submission (and subsequent publication) of more high quality manuscripts should enable publishing fees to remain relatively stable over time.
We hope that this brief explanation of fees and the examples we provide assists your understanding of the cost of doing business and reassures our readers, authors, and other stakeholders that science, not profit is our first concern.
What is the Open Access option offered by the journal?
Many authors are requesting Open Access, as they want their manuscripts online and free to any reader as soon as possible. Moreover, for those authors eligible for PubMed Central (PMC) they want the 1-year embargo lifted immediately so readers can have access to the full manuscript instantly at PMC. We are providing a hybrid online Open Access option. Open Access refers to scholarly journals that are available online, free of charge to the reader; without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from gaining access to the internet itself. As a hybrid online Open Access journal and because there are costs associated with implementing a journal, and those costs are higher for open-access journals, the author pays the cost of the additional production fees. Due to existing subscription contract agreements, we will only allow approximately 15% (14 – 15 articles per year) of manuscripts to be designated as Open Access. Some open-access journals can be subsidized or financed by academic institutions, organizations, societies or governments. However, most appear to be financed by payment of article processing charges by submitting authors and those payments are typically made available to researchers by their institution or funding agency. We do not charge a submission fee only a one-time production fee only if the manuscript is published. For those authors wanting to take advantage of open access with immediate free access for all readers, we provide an Open Access option.
What is your acceptance rate?
Approximately 39%.
Where can I find information about publication fees?
The schedule of fees can be found here.
Why do you charge to publish manuscripts?
Some colleagues are surprised or taken back by journal charges; however, persons not directly involved in the business side of publishing may not have taken the time to understand the rationale for the charges. Moreover, the recent proliferation of journals whose obvious focus is the for-profit generation of revenue without regard to science constitutes a development that creates a major problem for reputable journals that must charge to deliver its service to the academic and practice communities. Whereas most journals associated with or owned by large professional associations typically do not charge, journals owned by small organizations, groups, or individuals have no other choice without incurring financial jeopardy. A professional organization has subscribing members, perhaps in the thousands or tens of thousands, and a portion of member dues goes toward production of one or more associated journals. Large organizations also may sell advertising space to enhance their revenue, but which results in “clutter” in the publication, thereby detracting from the articles’ “scholarly esthetics.”
Why do you NOT accept ads to raise money?
Some journals accept ads to supplement their revenue; however, we have chosen not to accept ads, so as not to compromise or even give the appearance of compromising the integrity of its dispassionate and bias-free review and dissemination of new scientific findings. We believe that journals that do not accept ads are contributors to the scientific database alone, without the allure of paid advertising or product endorsement.
Why do you provide a PDF rather reprints?
In the days when journals only were printed on paper, reprints were a major portion of revenue; however, because of PDFs and electronic media, authors can purchase one online copy and photocopy additional copies, thereby bypassing the publisher’s reprint sales, and in fact, in some cases, violating federal copyright laws. Many “reprints” are in circulation at professional meetings and other venues that were never legally purchased or reproduced. A portion of publication fees, goes toward this end. Therefore, at the end of the review process and once we have reached the final proof, authors are provided a clean PDF copy for professional use and dissemination.
Why do you think your product and processes are better than some of your competing scholarly publications?
The key personnel associated with the journal are themselves experienced and successful researchers, authors, and editors. We recognize the demands placed on individuals in academic, governmental, non-governmental, and other settings worldwide to publish high quality papers in prestigious venues with impeccable reputations for adherence to scientific standards of excellence – and with a level of immediacy that makes the work both accessible and useful. We are committed to delivering a product that stands up to the highest measures of this quality. When you submit your paper you can be assured that it will get quick but careful attention, early dissemination to an internationally-renowned cadre of reviewers and associate editors who bring some of the best credentials in their respective fields of endeavor, and responsive feedback that will help you to present your finest work to professional colleagues. If approved for publication, you can be assured further that every effort will be made to give your paper the professional and flawless appearance that it deserves, and rapid access to colleagues and other stakeholders. Because our key personnel have been the researchers and the writers, both now and in the past, we are consumers like you. In the final analysis, we expect to deliver the quality that we would hope for ourselves if we were authors collaborating on your work.
Why not reduce your rejection rate and increase your acceptance rate to raise revenue?
The only things that endure are quality and integrity. Thus, if revenue was our main concern, we would decrease our rejection and accept more and more of the submissions that come our way – a practice that may in fact occur in the world of pay-to-print, open-access publication (eg, http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/2013/oct/04/open-access-journals-fake-paper and http://www.nature.com/news/sham-journals-scam-authors-1.12681).