What’s In A (journal) Name? | The Scholarly Kitchen
Title changes for publications
My favorite example of a title change that was just a problem for everyone: some time ago, ACTA ORTHOPEDICA SCANDINAVICA (20 character abbrev: ACTA ORTHOP SCAND) changed title to ACTA ORTHOPEDICA (20 character abbrev: ACTA ORTHOP), then a few years later, changed back to ACTA ORTHOPEDICA SCANDINAVICA (20 character abbrev…same as before). When we reviewed the citation pattern at the end of the year, we saw all the signs of real confusion in the citing authors, with citations to the SCAND title occurring even in the years it was no longer the active title of the journal. When we were creating the JCR record for the SECOND title change, we coded things to allow citations to either version to collect to the current title. The title has been stable and the same now for several years.