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DOI: 10.1055/s-0044-1800866
The Benefits and Challenges of Publishing Diverse Studies in Homeopathy
As the only MEDLINE-indexed journal dedicated solely to homeopathy research, Homeopathy is arguably a niche journal. However, Homeopathy is also generalist: it is not limited to any one aspect of homeopathy or to any particular scientific approach.
As highlighted in previous Editorials, a quarterly issue of Homeopathy frequently comprises an eclectic range of topics.[1] And the current issue of the journal is no different: the Table of Contents boasts in vitro work on multiple myeloma cells[2]; a veterinary case report of homeopathic treatment in an axolotl[3]; a Commentary article suggesting ways to utilize brain activity as a measure of subjective well-being during homeopathic treatment[4]; a study protocol to look at the role of homeopathy in reducing antimicrobial resistance in farmed turkeys[5]; a qualitative study investigating different approaches to treating polycystic ovarian syndrome in South Africa[6]; and a pair of papers exploring the biological and physicochemical actions of homeopathy in a model of ecotoxicity.[7] [8]
Ensuring such diverse studies are reviewed and published to the highest levels inevitably raises some (welcome) challenges behind the scenes. Ultimately, all papers published in Homeopathy must reach a very high standard of academic English, satisfy international reporting and ethics guidelines, as well as survive in-depth critique by external peer review and the editorial team. To achieve this, we rely on the breadth of expertise from within our Editorial Advisory Board and pool of peer reviewers, individuals who are listed at the front of the first journal issue for each year. This high level of academic vigilance and editorial processing is reflected in an average 75% rejection rate of manuscripts submitted. We believe that this combined human effort contributes to the sustained high quality and reliability of papers published in Homeopathy.
The Journal Impact Factor (JIF) has long been considered an objective mark of a journal's quality, but this has become increasingly contested, especially with the explosion of online and open-access journals and the different ways impact can be measured.[9] In June 2024, Clarivate released the 2023 JIFs (based on publications from 2021 and 2022): Homeopathy was assigned a JIF of 1.2, which was a drop from our 2022 JIF of 1.7 and our 2021 JIF of 1.8. How should we interpret this change?
First, context is important. The 2023 JIFs have decreased across many academic journals, publishers and disciplines due to a change in the way the JIF is calculated. Thus, our lowered JIF does not, in any way, represent a drop in study quality or editorial standards, and we are in good company across the journal publishing industry.[10] Homeopathy remains securely in the third JIF quartile of the 43 journals in the category Integrative & Complementary Medicine: [Table 1] shows a sample of the journals in this JIF category.
Abbreviation: JIF, Journal Impact Factor.
Because of its diverse subject terrain across science and medicine, Homeopathy obtains several citations per year in non-homeopathy journals: this is something to celebrate, especially as homeopathy becomes an increasingly important contributor to integrative medicine. Conversely, homeopathy research is arguably marginalised in the more conventional journals, making it difficult for any given study on homeopathy to reach a high citation impact within the 2 years required to meet the demands of the JIF calculation. The most cited study in Homeopathy currently is the MONARCH guidance for case reporting.[11] At the time of writing, it had been cited 195 times, which is a notable accomplishment.
Even though homeopathy has been around for over 200 years, homeopathy research as a stand-alone discipline is still in its infancy, particularly in terms of quantity. This means that the evidence base for each sub-topic grows only slowly as resources and research interest are widely – yet necessarily – dispersed. It is within this intricate context that we present the latest papers across clinical and basic research, with some setting a clear precedent[2] [3] [5] [6] and others building on a pre-existing body of work.[4] [7] [8]
We shall of course continue our efforts at Homeopathy to nurture any innovative and sound topics submitted to us, while also encouraging the development of more established subject areas, to sustain an overall balance of publications. Within that perspective, it is important to note that replications of experiments are essential, particularly in an age where non-reproducibility of research findings across biomedical disciplines is a significant global concern.[12] [13] Expansion of homeopathy's evidence base in priority areas (clinical and fundamental) is also sorely needed. Whilst novelty with short-term impact has a key role to play, the accrual of deeper insight and scientific understanding of extant sub-topics within homeopathy is also a highly pressing need.
We aim to ensure that Homeopathy continues to provide an attractive publishing home both for new and for ongoing lines of high-quality work, whose longer-term impact we hope to see steadily become clear.
Publikationsverlauf
Artikel online veröffentlicht:
27. Januar 2025
© 2025. Faculty of Homeopathy. This article is published by Thieme.
Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany
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References
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- 10 MacRae D. Making sense of the 2024 Journal Citation Reports. Accessed Aug 14, 2024 at: https://community.lww.com/posts/making-sense-of-the-2024-journal-citation-reports
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- 13 Stewart SLK, Pennington CR, da Silva GR. et al. Reforms to improve reproducibility and quality must be coordinated across the research ecosystem: the view from the UKRN Local Network Leads. BMC Res Notes 2022; 15: 58-62