Subject hierarchy explanation

The subject hierarchy is the backbone of InterJournal. It organizes articles (submitted or published) to make it easier for an author to reach the interested audience, and for a reader or referee to have articles of interest drawn to their attention. The subject classification corresponds to the bold letters at the beginning of each line in the classification list. A manuscript can be classified at any level of the hierarchy. A manuscript classified at a more general level is of more general interest.

This means that an article classified under the subject area PX.21.1: corresponding to the topic

from the following part of the subject hierarchy:

PX: Polymers and Complex Fluids

will not be brought to the attention of a reader interested in
However, a manuscript whose subject matter may be collapsed polymers but is also classified under the area heading
will generally be brought to the attention of all of the readers interested in It is the responsibility of the referees to carefully specify the area of interest of the articles in order that the articles will be brought to the attention of the proper audience.

This organization of manuscripts implies that an individual interested in the area

he or she is also, by implication, interested in the more broad areas:
These do not have to be independently specified in the list of interests.

The registration form and the search form also allow modifying the default options regarding the inclusion of more specific or more general areas in the subject hierarchy. The four options are:

  1. and more general areas in the subject tree: This is the default and corresponds to the discussion given above.
  2. only this area. More general areas are not included.
  3. and include all sub-areas. All more specific areas are included. So that PX.21 would also imply PX.21.1,PX.21.1, etc.
  4. include all sub-areas and more general areas. This includes both the default more general areas and the sub-areas included in the previous option.