Comments(1)

Some comments on hypertext journals

Myles Clough   (25 October 2006)  Dept of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia

The foundation of another open source journal in orthopaedics is very welcome.

It is to be hoped that the editorial group will consider and encourage the adoption of some of the advantages of hypertext over text. The most important of these is that the work can be presented in layers rather than as a continuity - which is only needed when one reads from beginning to end of a piece of paper. Most of us read only specific parts of an article; constructing it in layers allows the reader to choose the level of detail he/she wishes to read. For example, the 'top' layer would be the abstract with links to more detailed layers. Some of these layers might correspond to the traditional introduction/methods/results/discussion sections but there might be yet deeper layers describing, for example, the exact operative method with a further link to the manufacturer's manual or perhaps a video. Similarly, in the results section there should be nothing to stop authors from posting (elsewhere) a database of their results and Xrays and encouraging the readers to visit it via a link.

The traditional structure of an article evolved to suit the needs of paper journals. The rising generation of orthopaedic surgeons is familiar with the use of hypertext so there is every reason to believe that e-journals will prompt a new evolution and I hope your journal will promote it.

J.F.M.Clough MD FRCSC

Clinical Instructor, Department of Orthopaedics, University of British Columbia

Past President, Internet Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Trauma

Competing interests

No competing interests exist. The author of this comment is one of the editors of Orthopaedic Web Links (OWL)

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