Articles of Opinion
Editorials are short essays that usually reflect the views of the editor or the policies of the journal. Editorials may be written by the editor, a member of the editorial staff or editorial board, or an invited author. Editorials may comment on an article in the same issue of the journal, providing additional context and opinion regarding its implications, or may deal with a separate topic of interest to the journal’s readers or editors. In the past, it was common for authors of medical journal editorials not to be identified, as is still the usual practice for newspaper editorials. This has become much less common as authorship responsibility and accountability have received increasing emphasis in medical publishing. (See 5.1.3, Ethical and Legal Considerations, Unsigned Editorials, Anonymous Articles, Pseudonymous Authors.) Journals generally do not publish unsolicited articles of opinion as editorials. Opinion pieces that represent only the views of the authors may be published in other journal sections, such as Commentary, Sounding Board, Viewpoint, or Controversies.