The Greek philosopher Heraclitus posited that everything is constantly changing [1]. This perspective effectively captures the essential fact that life is in a constant state of change. Children progress from infancy, when they depend entirely on their parents for survival, to school age, when they learn language and behavior, laying the foundations for independence. Through adolescence, a period of emotional turmoil and self-identity, they eventually become physically and mentally mature adults.

The Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (KACAP) has been working for the development of child and adolescent mental health in Korea since 1983 [2,3]. The Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JKACAP) was founded in 1990 and has been in existence for 34 years [4,5]. As the KACAP has grown, the number and quality of papers published by the JKACAP has improved thanks to the special interest, support, and enthusiastic submissions by members of the KACAP. The JKACAP was published annually after it was founded in 1990, expanding to twice per year from 1996, thrice per year from 2008– 2010, and has been published four times per year since 2011 [6]. Having begun as a paper publication, an e-ISSN was obtained from the National Library of Korea in 2011 to allow the journal to be distributed electronically. Since then, the journal has been parallelly publishing online and offline [7]. In addition, the JKACAP has achieved significant milestones such as being listed in the Korea Citation Index of the National Research Foundation of Korea (2009), converting the journal to English (2018), being listed in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (2019), and being listed in Scopus and PubMed Central (2020). As a result, JKACAP is recognized as a leading journal in child and adolescent mental health in Korea and abroad [5].

The editorial board for this journal (2022–2023) has planned a “Survey for the Growth and Development of JKACAP.” This survey aims to understand how KACAP members have been engaging with the journal since its conversion to English in 2018 and its listing in Scopus in 2020. Additionally, the survey will gather opinions to establish practical and progressive plans for the journal’s future development. In this study, we will share the detailed results of the survey with KACAP members, and based on these results, we will discuss future directions and approaches for the development of JKACAP.

The content of the questionnaire was based on the questions in the Vision 2033 Survey from 2013 [6] and on discussions by the editorial board of JKACAP. The questionnaire consisted of 23 questions divided between 6 domains: 1) Access to the journal, 2) Convenience following conversion to English, 3) Recognition as an international journal and institutional achievements, 4) Author perspectives on manuscript submission, 5) Transition to an online-only journal, and 6) Content and identity. Each question included multiple choice responses and an “other” option to allow participants to respond freely. The questionnaire was composed online using Google Forms and was distributed to members of KACAP between April 12 and May 31, 2022. The methods and content of this study were approved by the Jeju National University Hospital Institutional Review Board (No. 2022-03-007).

In this study, we administered a questionnaire survey to gather the opinions of KACAP members and to explore directions for improving and advancing the journal. Of the 680 total members of KACAP, 155 individuals (22.8%) participated in the survey. Based on the results, we analyzed opinions about various topics relating to JKACAP. The results and discussion are described below (Tables 1-6).

Table 1

Survey results for “Access to the journal”

I. Access to the journal
<hr/>
Questions	Results
1-1. Methods of accessing the journal*	The JKACAP email notification (69.0%)<br>Searching the JKACAP website (45.2%)<br>Using search engines (e.g., Google) (32.9%)<br>Using mailed paper copies (11.6%)
1-2. Most used method of access The	JKACAP email notification (51.6%)<br>Searching the JKACAP website (26.5%)<br>Using search engines (e.g., Google) (15.5%)<br>Using mailed paper copies (5.8%)

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*multiple answers allowed. JKACAP, Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Table 2

Survey results for “Convenience following conversion to English”

II. Convenience following conversion to English
<hr/>
Questions	Results
2-1. Reading inconvenience after conversion to English	Somewhat inconvenient (54.8%)<br>Not inconvenient (40.0%)<br>Very inconvenient (5.2%)
2-2. Submission inconvenience after conversion to English	Somewhat inconvenient (58.7%)<br>Not inconvenient (19.4%)<br>Very inconvenient (19.4%)
2-3. Citation inconvenience after conversion to English	Somewhat inconvenient (53.5%)<br>Not inconvenient (37.4%)<br>Very inconvenient (7.1%)

Table 3

Survey results for “Recognition as an international journal and institutional achievements”

III. Recognition as an international journal and institutional achievements
<hr/>
Questions	Results
3-1. Awareness of JKACAP’s Scopus inclusion since 2020	Yes (60.0%)<br>No (40.0%)
3-2. Institutional requirement for publication achievements	No (if “No,” go to Q4) (68.4%)<br>Yes (If “Yes,” go to Q3-3 and Q3-4) (31.6%)
3-3. Institution’s recognition of Scopus as an international expert journal list (n=58)	No (58.6%)<br>Yes (41.4%)
3-4. Institution’s evaluation of Scopus compared to SCIE (n=40)	Other (27.5%)<br>0.5 (22.5%)<br>0.25 (20.0%)<br>1 (17.5%)<br>0.75 (12.5%)
4. Support for financing Clarivate to achieve SCIE inclusion	Yes (87.1%)<br>No (9.7%)

<fn id="t3fn1">

JKACAP, Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; SCIE, Science Citation Index Expanded

Table 4

Survey results for “Author perspectives on manuscript submission”

IV. Author perspectives on manuscript submission
<hr/>
Questions	Results
5. Manuscript submission experience to JKACAP	Yes (53.5%)<br>No (46.5%)
6. Awareness of translation fee support for primary authors who are resident in psychiatry	No (72.3%)<br>Yes (27.7%)
7. Future submission plans to JKACAP	Yes (50.3%)<br>No (49.7%)
7-1. Reasons for planning to submit*	Contributing to the journal’s development (63.7%)<br>Communication with editors in Korean (45.0%)<br>Listed in Scopus as an international journal (42.5%)<br>Fast review process (38.8%)<br>Trustworthy peer reviews (36.3%)<br>Manuscript submission in Korean and translation support (35.0%)<br>Reasonable submission costs (33.8%)
7-2. Reasons for not planning to submit*	Lack of research opportunities (68.8%)<br>Not listed in SCIE (21.3%)<br>Inability to publish in Korean (21.3%)<br>High submission costs (5.0%)<br>Slow review process (0.0%)
8. Required support to increase submissions*	Efforts to include in SCIE at KACAP level (52.9%)<br>Submission in Korean for general members (34.2%)<br>Submission in Korean and translation support for fellows (32.3%)<br>Reduced submission fees for full members (27.1%)<br>Korean communications during review (27.1%)<br>Research fund prizes (21.9%)

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*multiple answers allowed. JKACAP, Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; KACAP, Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; SCIE, Science Citation Index Expanded

Table 5

Survey results for “Transition to an online-only journal”

V. Transition to an online-only journal
<hr/>
Questions	Results
9. Opinion on transition to an online-only journal	Agree (86.5%)<br>Disagree (12.3%)
9-1. Reasons for supporting online-only (if agreed)*	Current online trend (68.4%)<br>Save paper resources (51.5%)<br>Don’t use paper version (44.9%)
9-2. Suitable time period for adopting online-only (if agreed)	Within 1 year (52.6%)<br>Within 3 years (40.7%)<br>Within 5 years (5.8%)
9-3. Reasons against transition to online-only (if disagreed)*	Preserve paper tradition (39.1%)<br>Paper version’s promotional value (34.8%)<br>For members wanting paper (34.8%)<br>For libraries/societies requests (21.7%)<br>Financial benefit (e.g., advertisements) (17.4%)

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*multiple answers allowed

Table 6

Survey results for “Content and identity”

VI. Content and Identity
<hr/>
Questions	Results
10-1. Desired article formats*	Review articles (68.4%)<br>Original articles (51.6%)<br>Case reports (38.7%)<br>Book/movie reviews (24.5%)<br>Brief reports (19.4%)
10-2. Desired content topics*	Childhood and adolescent development (49%)<br>Psychopharmacology (46.5%)<br>School/community mental health (43.9%)<br>Biological psychiatry (40.6%)<br>AI, digital health, digital therapy (34.2%)<br>Culture (including gender issues) (32.9%)<br>Psychology/psychoanalysis (25.2%)<br>Health policy/service (14.8%)<br>Ethnic issues (6.5%)
11. JKACAP’s identity going forward*	Research and communication between Korean child and adolescent psychiatrists (70.3%)<br>Multidisciplinary participation relating to child development and pathology (45.8%)<br>Reflecting Korea’s sociocultural context in child and adolescent psychiatry (42.6%)<br>Leading Asian journal for child and adolescent psychiatry research (37.4%)

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*multiple answers allowed. AI, artificial intelligence; JKACAP, Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Access to the journal

Among methods of accessing the journal, the most commonly used by the participants was the JKACAP email notification (69.0%), followed by searching the journal’s official website (45.2%) and using search engines such as Google (32.9%). Access via mailed paper copies was the least common (11.6%).

Convenience following conversion to English

The most common response for questions about the readability, submissions, and citations after conversion to English was somewhat inconvenient (54.8%, 58.7%, and 53.5%, respectively). The next most common response for readability and citations was not inconvenient (40.0% and 37.4%, respectively). For submissions, not inconvenient and very inconvenient both received a response rate of 19.4%.

Recognition as an international journal and institutional achievements

Among the respondents, 60.0% knew that JKACAP has been indexed in Scopus as an international journal since 2020. Meanwhile, 31.6% said their institutions assess publication achievements, with 58.6% (n=58) noting that Scopus is not on their recognized list of international expert journals. When asked how studies indexed in Scopus are compared to those in SCIE (n=40), evaluations ranged from 0.25 to 1. The “Other” category (27.5%) in question 3–4 included metrics like 30.0%, 66.6%, and nonspecific answers such as “unsure” and “not applicable.”

Author perspectives on manuscript submission

Of the respondents, 53.5% had previously submitted to JKACAP, and 50.3% of those planning future publications intend to submit to JKACAP. The primary reason for submitting to JKACAP was contributing to the journal’s development (63.7%), followed by communication with editors in Korean (45.0%) and being listed in Scopus as an international journal (42.5%). Conversely, the leading reason for not submitting to JKACAP was the lack of research opportunities (68.8%). Other reasons were not being listed in SCIE (21.3%) and the inability to publish in Korean (21.3%). Regarding support for increasing submissions, the prevalent response was efforts to include in SCIE at the KACAP level (52.9%), with another significant opinion being submission in Korean for general members (34.2%).

Transition to an online-only journal

A majority of participants (86.5%) support the online transition, highlighting the current online trend and the desire to save paper resources. Most of these supporters anticipate a transition within 1 or 3 years. Conversely, 12.3% oppose the transition to an online-only journal, valuing the preservation of the paper tradition and the promotional value of the paper version.

Content and identity

When asked about the preferred article format for future editions of the journal, respondents prioritized review articles (68.4%), original articles (51.6%), and case reports (38.7%). For content topics, childhood and adolescent development was preferred (49.0%), followed by psychopharmacology (46.5%), school/community mental health (43.9%), and biological psychiatry (40.6%). Additionally, there was a significant interest in digital health (34.2%) and culture, including gender issues (32.9%). In terms of the future identity and directions for the journal, research and communication between Korean child and adolescent psychiatrists was the top preference (70.3%). This was followed by multidisciplinary participation relating to child development and pathology (45.8%), and reflecting Korea’s sociocultural context in child and adolescent psychiatry (42.6%).

Over the past 33 years, the JKACAP has transitioned from a “growth” stage to a phase of “maturity,” accompanied by the need to establish the journal’s identity and set directions for its future development. Initially established to foster communication among child and adolescent psychiatric researchers in Korea, the journal now aspires to evolve into an international academic publication while preserving its status as a leading domestic specialty journal. A survey about future directions for the development of the KACAP was previously performed in 2013 (Vision 2033), which included questions about KACAP members’ opinions on the JKACAP [6]. External changes and the growth of the journal in the last 10 years have provoked new discussions. KACAP members expressed inconvenience in readability and submissions during the conversion to an English-only journal in 2018. In addition, after being listed in Scopus in 2020, the minimal increase in submission rates has been highlighted as an issue, and there is a demand for improvement. A decision was also required on how long to continue publishing paper journals alongside the current trend for online journals. For the development of the journal, it was discussed that it is necessary to analyze the extent to which the journal meets the needs and convenience of the members. Furthermore, it was recognized that it is important to gather the opinions of society members who subscribe to and submit to the journal to determine the future direction of the journal.

The findings of this survey have several implications. First, the responses to the questionnaire on how to reach journals confirm that emailing is the most effective approach, followed by the use of websites and search engines. Sending paper copies of journals was found to be relatively inefficient. Hence, it will be necessary to improve digital methods, such as email, the website, and search engines, to improve accessibility to the journal.

The JKACAP was converted to an English-only journal in 2018 to become an international journal, and this was expected to result in some inconvenience for Korean readers and authors in terms of readability and manuscript submission. The questionnaire results confirmed some of these issues. The journal has not shown an increase in submission rate for a while, even after being listed in Scopus in 2020. To solve this problem, the editorial board of the JKACAP has been working to make manuscript submission more convenient for Korean authors while also advertising the journal to overseas researchers.

Many respondents reported that JKACAP is not as highly recognized as an international journal by their institutions compared to SCIE, even though it is included in Scopus. Therefore, it is appropriate for JKACAP to aim to be listed in SCIE, and we found that financial support for this goal is highly agreed upon by the members of the KACAP.

The questions regarding manuscript submission reveal that a substantial portion of KACAP members have both previously submitted to JKACAP and also plan to do so in the future. However, some authors also hesitated to submit manuscripts for “lack of research opportunities” and “not listed in SCIE.” This demonstrates the need for KACAP to work even harder to include the journal in the SCIE. To encourage submissions, the journal currently supports Koreanlanguage submissions from members, linking the authors to an English translation service if the paper is accepted.

Participants’ positive response to the complete conversion of JKACAP to an online-only journal reflects contemporary trends, where journals increasingly shift to digital formats. Until 2022, the journal was still being published online and in paper, and as usage of the online journal is increasing, there have been discussions within the editorial board of the JKACAP about converting to be fully online. Previously, when the journal was published in Korean, the title was transcribed into English on the cover as “Soa Chongsonyon Chongsin Uihak,” but currently, the cover contains the official English title of “Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.” To increase international submissions and support international reviewers, it could be necessary to discontinue the ISSN for the paper publication and convert JKACAP to a fully online journal. Based on these results, to improve the identity and value of the journal, conversion to a fully online journal was begun in January 2023 [8].

Our survey results demonstrated that the participants had various demands regarding the article formats and content topics of the journal. In particular, in the questions about manuscript submission, many KACAP members reported a lack of research opportunities, suggesting that many of the members primarily engage with the journal as readers. This explains why we also observed the highest demand for review articles effectively conveying knowledge about a topic. In the future, it will be even more important to publish review articles that might interest the KACAP members.

Regarding the journal’s identity, most respondents viewed JKACAP as a “research and communication platform for Korean child and adolescent psychiatrists.” They also perceived it as a journal for “multidisciplinary participation relating to child development and pathology” and “reflecting Korea’s sociocultural context in child and adolescent psychiatry.” This demonstrates that the journal is not only an important medium for communication between experts and specialist research on a given topic but is also an agora for multidisciplinary discussion and reflects the sociocultural context in Korea. By performing these diverse roles, the JKACAP expands our understanding of child and adolescent mental health and helps advance research in this field.

The editorial board of JKACAP compiled this report based on the survey results, the journal must adapt to meet the changing demands of the era of international journal standards. Of 680 KACAP members, 155 individuals (22.8%) participated in the survey, providing their hopes for and opinions on the journal. Participants answered questions about access to the journal, convenience following conversion to English, recognition as an international journal and institutional achievements, author perspectives on manuscript submission, transition to an online-only journal, and content and identity of the journal. We anticipate that the findings in this report will help to stimulate research and communication between Korean child and adolescent psychiatry specialists, reflecting the needs and desires of KACAP members, and will form the foundations for growth and maturity as a prestigious international journal.

We would like to thank the many KACAP members who so generously participated in our survey. The editorial board of JKACAP will reflect valuable opinions as we continue to develop the journal. We hope for continued interest and support in the future.

The datasets generated or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

The editorial board of JKACAP was not involved in the editorial evaluation or decision to publish this article.

Conceptualization: Editorial Board of JKACAP. Data curation: Duk-Soo Moon, Jae Hyun Yoo, Jung-Woo Son. Formal analysis: Duk- Soo Moon, Jae Hyun Yoo. Project administration: Min-Hyeon Park, Bung-Nyun Kim, Hee Jeong Yoo. Supervision: Geon Ho Bahn, Bung- Nyun Kim. Writing—original draft: Duk-Soo Moon, Jae Hyun Yoo. Writing—review & editing: all authors.

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