Introducing article numbering to Contact Lens and Anterior Eye
Within the publishing industry, article numbering has emerged as an easy and efficient way to cite journal articles. Article numbering has already been successfully rolled out to more than 1,500 other journals published by Elsevier and has been well received by the academic community. Based on that positive feedback, we are now pleased to introduce article numbering to Contact Lens and Anterior Eye from June 2021.
What is article numbering?
A unique article number is an abbreviated form of an article’s DOI - digital object identifier. Citing an article with an article number is very simple: the article number is used instead of the page range in the citation.
- [2] Van der Geer J, Hanraads JAJ, Lupton RA. The art of writing a scientific article. Heliyon. 2018;19:100205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.100205.
While journal volumes and issue numbers will remain in place, article numbering will now play the key role in identifying specific articles. The introduction of article numbers brings several benefits for the journal and its readers and authors.
Benefits of article numbering
- •More flexible reading: Article content can be optimized based on the device used to access it, supporting reading on-the-move, without needing to know how many traditional print pages the article takes up.
- •Increased options for grouping related content: In online collections and Special Issues, articles can now be placed in any order, helping readers to identify papers relevant to their research interests faster.
- •Faster publication: With article numbers, the version of record of the article is online and citable as soon as the proof corrections have been incorporated, ensuring readers have access to the latest research faster.
What will change for me?
- •When citing articles, you will need to use the article number; see the example provided above. More examples of citing articles with article numbers are available in the Guide for Authors at the journal homepage on www.elsevier.com. Please note that the export citation functionality available on ScienceDirect and www.contactlensjournal.com for this journal already supports this new citation format.
- •Each article will have page numbers starting from page 1, but the issue itself will not have sequential page numbering.
- •The table of contents in the print issue will reflect the order of the online issue; print readers will need to refer to the article number, clearly visible at the top of every page, to identify articles of interest.
- •The printed issue spine will no longer include a page range.
We are delighted that Contact Lens and Anterior Eye’s readers and authors will now enjoy these benefits.
Jason Winkler
