Editor’s Note

The first issue of this journal was published in the Scopus database in 2022. The Strides in Development of Medical Education Journal is one of scientific-research journals in Iran, having published articles in the field of medical education since 2004 and has been published in full text in English in recent years. After nearly 18 years since the publication of this journal, what seemed necessary was taking adequate measures to index this journal in valid international indices; the necessity of appropriate planning for its implementation initially seemed more necessary than ever. In order to formulate a coherent, accurate, and applicable program for this course, the journal’s colleagues proceeded to make practical plans; the procedure steps were determined and implemented as follows:

1. Analyzing the indexing status of the Strides in Development of Medical Education Journal.
2. Reviewing the activities performed.
3. Preparing the frame of the subject’s dimensions scientifically, technically, and executively.
4. Assessing necessary influencing factors and various executive challenges.
5. Categorizing and prioritizing subjects in terms of necessity, applicability, and importance.
6. Formulating a protocol for implementing the plans made.
7. Evaluating from the perspective of experts in the field of publishing.
8. Adopting an appropriate implementation strategy.

The first step in this regard was forming a coherent and efficient team consisting of the editor, deputy editor, respected editorial board members, and journal experts as the main team trying hard in this field. The journal’s context analysis was then performed through SWOT analysis. The road map was then made to index the journal. After formulating the road map, the considered activities were implemented coherently and regularly, and all the programs required for indexing the journal in valid indices were formulated. The journal’s status was analyzed as follows:

Strengths

1. The presence of experienced faculty members familiar with educational and research issues.
2. The journal’s long-term history.
3. The presence of experienced and prominent professors in the field of medical education.
4. Assisting the vice-chancellor of the university in speeding up affairs related to the journal.
5. The existence of a climate of influential cooperation among the colleagues of the journal.

Opportunities

1. The high quality of published articles considering the citations.
2. Publishing the journal in English.
3. The journal’s indexing in COPE and DOAJ databases.
4. The journal’s validity and reputation among researchers in the field of medical education.
5. The possibility of recruiting new faculty members who graduated from medical education.

Weaknesses

1. Lack of cooperation with specialized international events in the field of medical education.
2. The success of a small percentage of international researchers in submitting articles to the journal.
3. The defects of advertising and introducing the journal in the national and international scenes.

Threats

1. The existence of competing journals with a similar scope.
2. Lack of assigning privileges to publish articles in scientific-research journals for faculty members.
3. Lack of experts in the field of publishing.
4. Lack of journal acceptance by valid international indices.

Based on the context analysis, the measures determined for indexing the journal were taken in two aspects, including face validity and content validity, on the journal’s website. In order to make plans for indexing, the relevant road map was formulated and administered step by step and specifically monitored by experts in the field of publishing at each step. One of the very effective outcomes of this process has been the increased visibility of the journal’s website and the enhanced citations of the journal’s articles in valid index letters, having certainly an influential role in indexing the journal. As a result of all these efforts, this journal has been indexed in the valid Scopus database since August 2022. The journal’s colleagues will do their best in this regard to index this journal in other valid databases.