Radiography (journal)

Radiography publishes research about how medical imaging and radiation therapy are delivered, evaluated, and improved. Its scope includes projection radiography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, interventional procedures, radiotherapy, image interpretation, radiation protection, service design, and professional practice.¹ The journal also accommodates work on radiographer education, clinical competence, workforce issues, patient experience, and the implementation of new technologies.

Its readership includes radiographers, radiologic technologists, radiologists, radiation therapists, physicists, educators, health-service researchers, and other allied health professionals. This breadth reflects the journal's view of radiography as both a technical discipline and a patient-facing healthcare profession. Articles commonly address diagnostic accuracy, workflow, communication, safety, quality improvement, and the translation of research into routine practice.

Radiography is associated with the Society and College of Radiographers and has an international professional remit. The journal's editorial and submission information identifies it as a peer-reviewed publication issued by Elsevier, with articles available through ScienceDirect in both individual and institutional access models.¹²

The journal publishes original research alongside reviews, educational and professional papers, and other scholarly contributions defined by its current author guidance. Research methods represented in the field include clinical studies, retrospective record analyses, surveys, qualitative interviews, implementation studies, systematic reviews, and health-economics work. This methodological range is especially relevant to radiography, where technical performance must be considered alongside patient safety, equity, communication, and service capacity.

Radiography's central research concern is the quality and safety of imaging and radiation-therapy services. Published work examines issues such as dose optimisation, repeat imaging, image quality, artificial intelligence, advanced practice, interprofessional collaboration, and the changing responsibilities of radiographers. These subjects connect the journal to wider developments in medical radiation protection and evidence-based healthcare.³⁴

The journal is also significant because radiographers often occupy the practical interface between equipment, protocols, clinicians, and patients. Studies in Radiography therefore frequently investigate matters that may be underrepresented in technology-centred medical literature, including anxiety during examinations, accessibility, informed communication, reflective practice, and the effects of staffing and education on care. Articles are indexed and discoverable through major scholarly systems, allowing its research to circulate beyond the profession's specialist readership.¹⁵

Radiography's remit extends beyond conventional X-ray imaging. The journal treats radiography as a broad professional field that includes therapeutic radiation, cross-sectional imaging, magnetic resonance, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, and the organisational conditions under which these services operate.¹ That makes papers on education, leadership, ethics, human factors, and patient-centred care part of the journal's core identity rather than peripheral subjects.

A further distinctive feature is the field's international variation. Titles, scopes of practice, credentialing systems, and professional roles differ across countries, so comparative and context-sensitive research is particularly valuable. The journal's older publication history also provides a record of how radiographic work has changed from film-based imaging and narrowly defined technical roles toward digital workflows, advanced practice, multidisciplinary care, and data-intensive technologies. Readers should distinguish the journal from general articles about radiography as an imaging technique: the title here refers specifically to the scholarly periodical.

Radiographer

A healthcare professional who performs or supports medical imaging examinations; in some systems the term also covers practitioners involved in radiation therapy.

Radiation therapy

The use of ionising radiation to treat disease, especially malignant tumours.

Radiation protection

The principles and practices used to limit unnecessary exposure to ionising radiation while achieving the clinical purpose of an examination or treatment.

Peer review

Editorial evaluation in which submitted scholarly work is assessed by subject specialists before publication.