The Journal of Technology in Human Services turns a new page

A journal update by Lauri Goldkind (Editor-in-Chief) and  Chitat Chan (Associate Editor-in-Chief)

We are happy to be appointed as the new Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Technology in Human Services (JTHS). While we are sure that the journal will continue to lead the field in technology in human services, we would like to let you know that it is scaling new heights in terms of its impact and status in the academic field.

First, we are delighted to announce that the Web of Science (WOS) has included JTHS in its Emerging Sources Citation Index (ECSI) since 2016. This is a significant move, meaning we are now indexed in both WOS and SCOPUS, which will contribute to the citation counts for the Journal Citation Reports, and therefore will contribute to authors’ h-index in WOS, SCOPUS and Google Scholar. JTHS is now searchable via the WOS with the same indexing process as other indexed journals, with full citation counts and author information. It is worthy of note that ESCI provides earlier visibility for sources under evaluation as part of SSCI’s rigorous journal selection process, inclusion in ESCI provides greater discoverability which leads to measurable citations and more transparency in the SSCI selection process. This implies that JTHS has the potential to be indexed by the SSCI, and this will help our authors increase the impact of their articles exponentially.

Second, according to a new metric – the CiteScore – JTHS was ranked #51/201 in the Social Sciences category in 2016. CiteScores were  launched by Elsevier in 2016,  as part of the SCOPUS basket of journal metrics that includes such as SJR (SCImago Journal Rank), citation-counts, and percentage cited, etc. The integration of these metrics into SCOPUS provides insights into the citation impact of more than 20 thousand titles. This exciting new metric tells us one thing, that JTHS has the potential to become a top-tier journal in Social Sciences.

Third, before this summer, JTHS was merely categorized under Computing or Miscellaneous in WOS. We have proactively suggested that WOS categorize JTHS under Social Work, and our suggestion has now been implemented. This re-categorization will have significant impact. Despite the reality of an increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) tools in human services the status of technology use in social work is ambivalent. In many social work journals, technology is not even an option in the pre-set keyword menus provided by journal submission platforms. This WOS official classification sends a clear message: ICT and the study of technology tools is already a research/practice area in social work and human services.

All of these achievements mean that the journal will become more readily referenced by researchers. Nonetheless, JTHS cannot succeed without you. There are fast-changing ICT developments that will disrupt human services and research in no small measure, and this is our mission to explore possibilities and create new knowledge. We are looking for inspiring scholarly works addressing issues ahead of their time. You may refer to our latest editorial article The Journal of Technology in Human Services Turns a New Page which has detailed the research gaps we observed, and the types of articles we are looking for.  We are connected to each other like never before, therefore, sharing our ideas with each other matters more than it ever has. We are all in the process of writing this new page for the future of JTHS. This is an open page — an intellectual collaborative space — waiting for your contribution.