Is Longer Publication Time the Best Measure for the Quality of Work?

Opinion

Paper/manuscript publication refers to a scientific way of sharing of discoveries or findings to a network of stakeholders at different levels from local to international. As a discipline, it undergoes several processes such as concept note development, proposal, field and or lab work, findings presentations with several reviews by seniors/experts or other Scholars in the subject matter before submission to journals. The perceived mindset up on publication in many African countries is of those in the 190s centuries as believing that a good research paper/article is the one that have stayed longer in the publication process/review process at the journal stage say for about a year or longer. From my understanding and this I would like to share with all my fellow researchers around the World that things have changed very much due to technological evolution that has simplified the editing process resulting into possible shortening of the time. Again the number of staffs in a particular journal is another factor that would delay or quicken the process; as such many journals now have sufficient staffs across the globe. Also financial issue is another factor, that the author may delay in paying the publication fee or in charge-free journals if the content is not in their priority policy at that moment then obviously the work must delay.

Now, my concern is!, if the technology is in place, sufficient editorial team in place and the research paper has undergone through the afore mentioned steps, why should it Opinion need to stay longer ?, I think not. The most important thing that should be considered is the quality of the content and flow of the paper if it is prepared in the required manner since science doesn’t lie as any desecration of the principles can easily be depicted.

However, Editors should always be keen in examining the contents and all the required criteria for a paper to qualify as good one before release so as to build trust, genuineness and gain popularity resulting into increased impact factor for the prosperity of the journal (Journal of Quality in Health Care and Economics (JQHE)). Most importantly, editors must work in close cooperation by building a strong team that works together at all times since unit is strength and two heads are better than one. Therefore, publication time factor should not always be the only factor to gauge the quality of work.

Recent opportunity: As an associate editor in our esteemed journal “the Journal of Quality in Health Care and Economics”, I would like to let you know that the policy for higher education here in Tanzania now requires that every student at a master’s level will only be considered a successful candidate after making at least one publication. Therefore, it is good time to grab this opportunity by making conducive environments for many students from Tanzania to get published with us.