The Fate of Rejected Articles by Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Journal (RUMSJ) During 2001-2007

Given the vital role of scientific journals in dissemination of knowledge especially within the health domain، correctly managing them is very important. The aim of the present study was to determine the fate of rejected articles by Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences Journal (RUMSJ). In this follow up study، the fate of all rejected manuscripts during 2001 till 2007 was determined. In order to do that، three SID، Magiran، and IranMedex databases were searched using the titles and the names of the authors of each manuscript. During the years of the investigation، 1030 articles were submitted to the journal and after primary review، in the end 512 (49. 7%) of them were rejected. Out of these، 155 (30. 3%) have been published in other related journals. The titles of 96 (61. 9%) of published articles had slightly been changed. Twelve (7. 7%) of these articles were published before submission to JRUMS. Considerring the fact that over 70 percent of the manuscripts which were rejected by RUMSJ have not been published anywhere else، it could be concluded that this journal has functined reasonably well in the primary evaluation of the manuscripts.