




































Hypothesis , Vol. 34, No. 1, 2022

Completing the Transition from Newsletter to Journal

Margaret A. Hoogland, MLS, AHIPa

aClinical Medical Librarian and Associate Professor, University Libraries, The
University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9932-3605 ,

margaret.hoogland@utoledo.edu, Twitter

Background

From 1987-2002, Hypothesis served as the newsletter for the Medical Library
Association (MLA) Research Section. News of the Section began to appear toward the
end of each issue in the new millennium. Articles became more prominently displayed
in the front of each issue with Volume 16, Number 1, 2002. In 2005, the word ‘journal’
was added to Hypothesis for the first time and the title changed to, “Hypothesis :
Journal of the MLA Research Section.” The newsletter included top research questions,
members of the section, and short but noteworthy pieces by up-and-coming leaders.

In 2012, Editor Diane Cooper1 and the Research Section leadership began transitioning
Hypothesis into a journal. Peer reviewed articles were clearly identified to distinguish
these submissions from those articles reviewed by one of the editors. In the Hypothesis
archives, Volume 27, Number 1, was the first issue to include Digital Object Identifiers
(DOIs) for individual articles2.

Despite being indexed in CINAHL, LISSA, and LISTA; Hypothesis accepted
submissions via email until 2018, when then Co-editors Erin D. Foster (Foster) and
Carol L. Perryman (Perryman) worked with MLA Headquarters to create an online
submission system hosted on the MLA website. In 2020, Foster and Perryman
transitioned Hypothesis to its current website, which is hosted by the Indiana
University Purdue University Open Journal System (OJS) platform. Shortly after
publishing the first issue in Summer 2020, they invited Community Manager of the
Research Caucus, Margaret A. Hoogland (Hoogland), to serve as Co-editor.

Transitioning to the Open Journal System website

While a basic structure existed in OJS, it became clear that Hoogland’s curiosity and
enjoyment of technology could be used to streamline some of the existing processes and
to implement new OJS features. Below is a table describing some of the major changes
we implemented during June 2020 - February 2022:

1

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9932-3605
https://www.orcid.org/
https://orcid.org/
mailto:margaret.hoogland@utoledo.edu
https://twitter.com/hoogland_ma
https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/hypothesis/issue/view/1601
https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/hypothesis/issue/archive


Hypothesis , Vol. 34, No. 1, 2022

Table 1: Timeline of changes made to OJS platform to improve Editorial Team
processes.

Time Frame Accomplishment

August - October 2020 Created email templates to
improve communication
among members for the
Editorial Team, Peer
Reviewers, and Authors.

November 2020 Published second issue in OJS.

November 2020-February 2021 Added back issues to OJS
website.

February 2021-February 2022 Created Peer Review forms that
could be added
to Author notification emails.

Created an area on the website
describing the
available Submission Categories.
Editors revisited descriptions
and divided
submission categories by review
type.

Created and implemented use of
online Peer
Review forms for all categories.

Created and linked PDF copies
of Peer Reviewer
forms to facilitate taking notes.

After publishing the second and entirely OJS based issue of Hypothesis in November
2021, Foster stepped down as Co-editor. In January 2022, Hypothesis published its
short-term and long-term goals on the website and started soliciting regular input from
the Research Caucus leaders. In late February 2022 after 5 years of hard work and
many contributions such as crafting the Voices of Experience submission category and
providing valuable feedback on our Peer Review forms, Perryman stepped down as
Co-editor and plans to devote more time to conducting and participating on research
projects and to working with the Texas Women’s University Library and Information
Sciences student journal.

Planning for the Future: March 2022-Present

Starting in March 2022, the Editorial Team reassessed the existing structure, discussed
next steps, and recruited new Section Editors (Research – Jonathan Eldredge, Failure –

2

https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/hypothesis/Peer_Reviewed


Hypothesis , Vol. 34, No. 1, 2022

Heather Holmes, and Methods Moment – Nina Exner). From 2008-2013, most issues of
Hypothesis included a column, called “The Research Mentor,” authored by Jonathan
Eldredge. After an 8-year hiatus, “The Research Mentor” is back and we thank
Jonathan Eldredge for agreeing to serve as column editor.

Change and transitions frequently result in turnover and so in mid-March 2022,
Heather Healy decided to step down as lead Copy Editor. We thank Heather for her
input, assistance, hard work and for working with and transitioning duties to Andrea
Ball and our newest Copy Editor, Christine Rigda, through the inaugural August issue.

To assist in getting Hypothesis ready for PubMed Central inclusion in the upcoming
years, we created a LaTex template3 for each submission category. Hoogland will be
training and then transitioning duties to our new Production Editor, Alexandria
Quesenberry Wilson, who previously served on the Hypothesis Marketing Team. In
July, Hypothesis added a new subtitle, “Research Journal for Health Information
Professionals” and new logo to our website, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. We
encourage you to follow and like our posts on social media.

In 2022-2023, expect to see and to hear more about Hypothesis on social media, in
your caucuses, on your listservs, and at your state, national, regional, and local
conferences.

We intend to provide candid and encouraging yet thoughtful feedback for all
submitters. We invite authors to submit their manuscripts regardless of how much or
little experience they have with writing, research, and publishing. Recognizing that not
everyone has employer support for participating in research or for completing Scholarly
Activities, Hypothesis provides opportunities to interested Caucus members to serve as
peer reviewers or as members of the Marketing Team. Volunteering in any capacity
improves your understanding of journal requirements, research, and knowledge of the
publishing process. If you would like to serve as a peer reviewer, which involves
reviewing a minimum of one article per issue, or as a member of the Marketing Team,
consider emailing hypothesisj@protonmail.com.

We hope you enjoy our new look and first issue as Hypothesis : Research Journal for
Health Information Professionals.

Acknowledgements

I thank Ted Polley for his patience with my questions and curiosity with OJS related
questions and issues. I appreciate Jon Eldredge’s support and wisdom – I know it will
continue. I would also like to thank my colleagues in the University Libraries at The
University of Toledo, who listened patiently and provided feedback, as we implemented
these changes.

References

1. Cooper ID, Eldredge J, Woodson D. Our past and our future. Hypothesis [Internet].
2012 [cited 11 May 2022];23(2). Available from:
https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/hypothesis/issue/view/1622/608

3

https://twitter.com/MLAHypothesis?s=20
https://www.facebook.com/groups/87918304357
mailto:hypothesisj@protonmail.com
https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/hypothesis/issue/view/1622/608


Hypothesis , Vol. 34, No. 1, 2022

2. Hypothesis: Research Journal of Health Information Professionals. 2015;27(1).
Accessed 11 May 2022. Available from:
https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/hypothesis/issue/archive
3. The LaTex project [Internet]. [cited 11 May 2022]. Available from:
https://www.latex-project.org/.

4

https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/hypothesis/issue/archive
https://www.latex-project.org/

