Jafnan er hálfsögð saga ef einn segir.
“A tale is but half told when only one person tells it.”
As another year comes to a close, a brief period of reflection on our shared editorial enterprise seems once again timely. During this year in which Iceland assumed the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council, it also seems fitting to turn to the ancient Icelandic Sagas for some insight. The quote above from the Saga of Grettir reminds us that we all are but one piece of the pan-arctic puzzle and that we see a more complete picture and become a richer community when we listen, speak, think and work together across borders and boundaries.
We saw a number of positive trends continue in 2019. Of particular note, the number of international collaborations within author groups continues to grow, as do our submissions, allowing us to publish about 50 high-quality and diverse manuscripts a year, most of them original research. As expected, the eight arctic states and the permanent participants of the Arctic Council are typically well represented among our authors, but so are other places and people that share our interest and engagement in arctic issues. Our reviewer panel continues to expand as well, bringing additional global expertise to our pages, while also growing the community that thinks deeply and meaningfully about arctic health.
In addition to our regular volume (Issue 1), we will publish two Special Issues this year. The first was guest edited by Dr Ashlee Consulo and Nathanial Pollock and is already available as Issue 2 on our website: Collaborative approaches to wellness and health equity in the Circumpolar North: Proceedings of the 2017 Northern, Rural, and Remote Health conference. The second was guest edited by Dr Anders Koch and should be available before the close of the calendar year. It includes an extensive overview of the new and emerging Diabetes Program in Greenland, the product of many years of collaborative work and effort by many, led by Dr Michael Lynge Pedersen. I encourage all to take the time to explore and share these special issues with others, along with our regular content; our Open Access format makes this very simple (and free!) to do.
Other signs of positive growth are evident in our periodic external rankings. Our Thompson Impact Factor (IF) has increased from 0.707 in 2015 to 1.180 in 2018. Our SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) ranking has increased from 0.049 in 2012 to 0.590 in 2018. Our h-index has moved from 35 in 2017 to 39 now. This means that we have published at least 39 articles that have at least 39 citations each. Our h5-index is 18, and our h5-median index is 27, which means that the median number of citations that make up our h5-index over the past 5 years is 27. This means that the work we are sharing with others through our pages is having increasing reach and potential impact.
Our journal is thus very much more than just one person telling a solitary tale. It reflects an always evolving and multi-layered story that is the result of the sweat equity, ongoing conversation and respectful and engaged dialogue of many across and within many borders.
Thanks to all who have contributed to our shared story this year, including not only our editorial and publishing teams, authors and readers but particularly our many reviewers listed below who help ensure our continuing quality and relevance. We are grateful to all and look forward to another rewarding and engaging year ahead.