Vibration—Aims and Scope Update

When Vibration was launched in 2018, its Aims and Scope reflected the journal we wanted to build from scratch. We placed deliberate emphasis on scientifically rigorous vibration research and on publishing sufficient detail to enable proper scrutiny and replication. At the time, this principle had gradually become less common as many journals introduced increasingly restrictive word limits. That philosophy has not changed, and I still firmly believe in it.

What has changed, however, is the journal itself.

A journal’s Aims and Scope should describe the research it publishes rather than constrain the research it is willing to consider.

Since its launch, Vibration has steadily strengthened its position within the international vibration community. The latest milestone has been a 37.5% year-on-year increase in the Journal Impact Factor, from 1.6 to 2.2. While no single metric defines the quality of a journal, this improvement is encouraging evidence that Vibration is reaching a wider audience and publishing research that is increasingly recognised by the community.

The journal has also matured scientifically. Vibration regularly publishes papers across a much broader spectrum than the original Aims and Scope suggested. Alongside traditional topics such as structural dynamics, vibration control and machinery vibration, recent volumes have included structural health monitoring, machine learning, digital twins, signal processing, data-driven modelling, predictive maintenance, human vibration and biomechanics. The original Aims and Scope no longer fully reflected the breadth of research now being published in the journal.

The revised version is therefore not a change in direction. It is an update that better represents where the journal is today. It organises the subject matter into coherent research themes, explicitly recognises emerging research areas and highlights the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of vibration science and engineering. At the same time, it retains the journal’s original commitment to rigorous theoretical, numerical and experimental research and to publishing work in sufficient detail to facilitate scientific scrutiny and replication.

I hope the revised Aims and Scope will provide a clearer picture of the journal to prospective authors while continuing to encourage submissions across the full breadth of modern vibration science and engineering. Needless to say, as the journal continues to develop, grow its readership and increase its scientific influence, its scope will continue to evolve alongside the discipline it serves. To me, that is exactly what progress in scientific publishing should look like.