Frustrated with academic publishing, professors Scott Lyons and James Navalta of Western Kentucky University turned to TopSCHOLAR to publish their own open access journal, The International Journal of Exercise Science (IJES). Averaging around 30 articles and 20,000 downloads per year, IJES has achieved quite a measure of success in the four years since it began. One of the secrets to that success is its innovative submission policy: while at least one author on a submitted article must be a student, articles may also have professionals as authors. As a result, IJES provides a much-needed venue for the discipline while at the same time promoting opportunities for students to publish and learn about peer-review.
Professor Lyons details the process of setting up the IJES in Case Study on the Development of the International Journal of Exercise Science. This is a valuable article not just for student journal editors, but for anyone considering starting a journal. You can find more journal resources in the Journal Publishing section of this site.