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A Note From the Editor

As I write this, I have been editor-in-chief of The Gerontologist for three months. It has been both enjoyable and enlightening.

We get about one new manuscript a day. Of the first 60 I received, I elected not to send 11 of them out for reviews. The primary reason for most of these was that the generalizability of the findings was questionable, either because the sample size was too small to begin with or the response rate was below a defensible threshold (I follow this literature closely and my read is that 65% is about the cutoff threshold). I also did not send out for review the occasional article that had only a single case-study design or used a convenience sample to estimate population parameters. I sympathize with those authors whose articles I do not send out for review, but the reviewers' time is such a valuable and rare resource that I have to protect it.

I am looking forward to the structured abstracts that are now required.

I would encourage authors to submit their transmittal letters and manuscripts as E-mail attachments to The Gerontologist () at the same time hard copies are sent. Having the manuscripts available as E-mail attachments will facilitate the review process in many instances.

I think that many of the articles are too long as they are submitted. Just because The Gerontologist allows up to 22 double-spaced typed pages, do not feel compelled to use all that space. In general, I would like to see the introduction section greatly reduced in length and the discussion increased if necessary. As a reader, I am generally interested in what the author did and what the author found before I commit to reading an extensive review of the field.

So, here are the take home messages for authors: First, make sure your design and samples permit generalizability of your findings. Second, submit structured abstracts. Third, use E-mail. And fourth, try to make the articles shorter, particularly the introductions. It is nice working for you, and I look forward to receiving your submissions.

	Footnotes

 
March 20, 2000

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