Scientific societies began with the establishment of the Royal Society of London in 1660. The founding of society-owned journals a few years later, then provided a respected and authoritative avenue for conveying the scientific discoveries of the day to learned members and the broader community. With innovative editorial and peer-review processes that utilized the expertise and knowledge of its members, society-owned journals served as a quality control check on new scientific discoveries and claims.
The American Association for Anatomy (AAA) was founded in 1888 as the Association of American Anatomists for the "advancement of anatomical science." In 1901, the AAA launched the American Journal of Anatomy, recognizing that many aspects of comparative anatomy, embryology, histology and cytology were integral to a better understanding of human biology. Since then, the AAA has grown and evolved to include paleontology, anthropology, developmental biology, evolution, genetics, stem cells, regeneration, and the anatomy education and teaching communities. The AAA now publishes three journals: Developmental Dynamics (1992, formerly The American Journal of Anatomy), The Anatomical Record (1908), and Anatomical Sciences Education (2007), which are free for AAA members to access.
Get Noticed by a Broad Audience
A paper typically represents years of dedicated work and deciding where to publish the results of that work requires thoughtful consideration. There are many factors to consider including where your colleagues and peers publish. Is it more important to you that experts in your field see your work or a broader audience including non-experts? AAA’s journals cater to both.
AAA Journals are Committed to Accessibility
Each of AAA’s journals are edited by active, leading scientists, educators and teachers with broad areas of expertise, who are committed to a fast, fair, rigorous, and ethical review process. Through our publisher Wiley, AAA’s journals reach a worldwide audience of over 7500 institutional subscribers, with an ever-increasing number covered by read and publish agreements. This is important as AAA’s journals support Open Access publication, however free publication remains available to those who need it. The AAA’s journals are therefore fully compliant with current open access policies of major funding agencies, including those of the NIH, HHMI, and Wellcome Trust, and are signatories of the Declaration of Research Assessment (DORA). AAA’s journals welcome preprints, and initial submissions in any format. There are no word, page, or figure limits, and no color charges.
Connect with a Powerful Community Invested in Your Growth
Scientific societies like AAA create communities and provide platforms for its members to collaborate, network, and share common interests, ultimately accelerating scientific research, education, and teaching progress. They define and establish standards for a discipline, publish guidelines, whitepapers, and policy reports, and perform public outreach, advocacy, and education. The AAA is renowned for its member support, which includes the provision of research and educational programs, professional development workshops, and mentorship, while also promoting diversity and inclusion, recognizing excellence, and sponsoring fellowships, grants, and awards. The AAA connects researchers, educators, and teachers across disciplines, and publishes research discoveries through conferences and journals, which makes those discoveries accessible to the wider scientific and public communities.
Mutually Beneficial Way to Give Back
The voluntary support and contributions of numerous members help to make AAA the society it is, but as a non-profit charitable organization, AAA relies on publishing royalties to support its core mission and activities, and member benefits. Therein lies a major distinction between society-owned journals, which support and give back to the research, education, and teaching communities they serve, and commercial journals where providing shareholder value is a prime motivator.
So, the next time you are ready to publish your work, take a moment to explore the topics covered by Developmental Dynamics, The Anatomical Record, and Anatomical Sciences Education. When you publish in AAA’s high-quality scholarly journals, your work is reviewed by active and engaged scientists, educators, and teachers. Your research will reach a worldwide audience, and through the royalties received by AAA, it underpins continued research, discovery, and innovation in the anatomical sciences, while supporting the benefits AAA is renowned for providing to its members and the community.