Editorial
The New NEJM.org
N Engl J Med 2010; 363:677-678August 12, 2010
- Article
Each week, half a million readers access the Journal electronically, and our content is now seen online by about four times as many people as those who see the print edition. This mode of information delivery has expanded tremendously since the Journal first went online in 1996.1 Not so long ago, electronic publishing was viewed as secondary to print publication, basically as a convenient way to deliver the print version of an article. Today, the electronic presentation of scientific articles has become the version of record, with print becoming only one part of the complete publication, which may include video, audio, and interactive content, as well as polls, user comments, updated versions, corrections, and supplemental content, including additional text, tables, figures, and even original data and study protocols. Hence, the design and function of NEJM.org have become central to the Journal's future.
Our last major Web redesign took place in 2001.2 To take better advantage of the current technology, we have redesigned and rebuilt NEJM.org. An introductory video and Web tour on the new site explain the changes.
NEJM.org now includes improved navigation and organization to make it faster and easier for readers to find the essential information that they want. There is better integration of content, such as linking of a research report with its editorial. Within an article, tabs allow the user to move easily from abstract to full text to references. Figures and tables are easy to enlarge and read. The new site also has pages with our content organized according to major specialty and medical subspecialty. Users will find it easier to locate multimedia offerings, including video, audio, and interactive features. The new search function uses the initial input to suggest commonly used terms. The articles that are found by the search can be previewed without leaving the list of results. The search capabilities have been improved with convenient options for filtering and refining results. For example, it is now easy to find case discussions related to endocrinology, or images related to leukemia, or videos relevant to pulmonary embolism. The continuing medical education (CME) system has been made more efficient, and it is now easy to find CME tests on topics within a specialty. In the section called My NEJM, users will find new options for tracking CME credits, saving articles, managing a personal account, and setting preferences, such as those for e-mail alerts.
With the new site comes a great deal more Journal content. Our electronic archive now includes every issue back to the first one, published in 1812. The NEJM Archive from 1812 to 1989 has more than 150,000 articles. All articles are fully searchable, with the content back to 1945 presented in an HTML format similar to that for the current issues. For all the articles in the archive, the PDF files show the original versions as they appeared in print, complete with ads, notices, and various curiosities from earlier eras.
We hope that users will find the new NEJM.org useful, attractive, and efficient. Continued improvements are planned, and comments and suggestions from users are always welcome at nejmredesign@nejm.org.
NEJM.org has to prove its utility and evolve as new needs develop and new capabilities emerge through digital innovation. The new site is constructed on an advanced, entirely new technological platform, much of which comes from our new publishing partner, Atypon. Our new Web site is just one part of the revolution in information technology and delivery. Electronic delivery modes continue to proliferate. Social networks, intranets, mobile applications, tablet computers and e-readers, and text messaging are changing the patterns of communication and delivery of information for physicians, scientists, students, and patients. Our aim is to continue to develop new options for electronic information delivery that will be of interest, use, and value to all.
Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article at NEJM.org.
This article (10.1056/NEJMe1007409) was published on July 24, 2010, at NEJM.org.
- References
References
1
Campion EW . The Journal's new presence on the Internet. N Engl J Med 1996;334:1129-1129
Full Text | Medline2
Campion EW ,Anderson KR ,Drazen JM . A new Web site and a new policy. N Engl J Med 2001;344:1710-1711
Full Text | Web of Science
- Citing Articles (1)
Citing Articles
1
Edward W. Campion, Jeffrey M. Drazen. (2010) Revistas con revisión externa (peer review) en la era digital. Archivos de Bronconeumología 46:11, 569-570
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