International Journal of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork: Developing a peer-reviewed, online, open-access journal

Along with the use of massage therapy, research for the profession is evolving. To accommodate the need for free access to scientific literature, the Massage Therapy Foundation formed a committee to develop a new, peer-reviewed, open-access, international journal that focused on the areas of research, education, and practice. The committee met via monthly conference calls over a three year period. The journal's website (including the author guidelines, editorial and manuscript review boards, and international advisory council members) was published in March 2008. To solicit submissions and readers, 1) emailed communications were sent to massage therapists who were members of professional organizations and to colleagues who had attended conferences related to massage therapy research, 2) advertisements were printed in trade magazines, and 3) email links were added to popular massage research related sites. The inaugural issue of the journal became accessible in August. An email announcing its release was sent to 734 registered users. It contained a total of five editorials (one each from the executive editor, editor-in-chief, and three section editors), two articles in the Practice section, and a news/announcements page. An analysis of the visitors to the journal's website since July revealed that 1,304 unique people from 27 countries/territories visited the site. Most (48.3%) of the traffic was direct, followed by referred sources (42.9%) and search engines (7.5%). During the first week after its release, there were 446 unique visitors to the journal's website. Subsequent issues will be available quarterly, with provisional versions of articles published as soon as they are available.