Running a scientific journal is a multifaceted endeavour that requires meticulous planning, dedicated efforts, and a deep understanding of the academic publishing landscape. A scientific journal serves as a platform for disseminating research findings, fostering academic discourse, and contributing to the advancement of knowledge across various fields. This essay will explore the essential components of running a successful scientific journal, including editorial management, peer review processes, ethical considerations, and strategies for enhancing the journal’s impact and visibility.
Editorial Management: Effective editorial management is the backbone of any scientific journal. The editorial team, typically led by an editor-in-chief, plays a crucial role in setting the journal’s vision, scope, and policies. Key responsibilities of the editorial team include:
Defining the Journal’s Scope and Aims: Clearly articulate the journal’s focus areas, target audience, and types of articles accepted (e.g., original research, reviews, case studies). This helps authors understand the journal’s relevance to their work and guides the editorial team in selecting appropriate submissions.
Establishing Editorial Policies: Develop and communicate policies regarding manuscript submission, review processes, conflict of interest, authorship criteria, and data sharing. Transparent and consistent policies help maintain the integrity and credibility of the journal.
Assembling an Editorial Board: Recruit experts in the journal’s field to serve on the editorial board. Board members provide valuable insights, assist with manuscript reviews, and help promote the journal within their professional networks.
Managing Manuscript Submissions: Implement an efficient manuscript management system to streamline the submission, review, and publication processes. This includes tracking submissions, coordinating reviews, and communicating decisions to authors.
Peer Review Process: The peer review process is critical for ensuring the quality and credibility of published research. A rigorous and fair peer review process involves several key steps:
Initial Screening: Conduct an initial assessment of submitted manuscripts to ensure they meet the journal’s scope, formatting requirements, and ethical standards. Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria can be desk-rejected at this stage.
Reviewer Selection: Identify and invite qualified reviewers with relevant expertise to evaluate the manuscript. Aim for a diverse pool of reviewers to provide balanced and comprehensive feedback.
Review Process: Provide reviewers with clear guidelines and evaluation criteria to ensure consistent and constructive reviews. Reviewers should assess the manuscript’s originality, methodology, significance, and clarity.
Decision Making: Based on reviewers’ feedback, the editorial team makes a decision to accept, revise, or reject the manuscript. Communicate the decision to the authors along with detailed reviewer comments to guide revisions, if applicable.
Addressing Ethical Concerns: Ensure that the peer review process is conducted with the highest ethical standards, including maintaining reviewer confidentiality, managing conflicts of interest, and addressing potential misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, data fabrication).
Ethical Considerations: Ethical considerations are paramount in running a scientific journal. Upholding ethical standards helps maintain the trust of authors, reviewers, and readers. Key ethical principles include:
Transparency: Clearly communicate all journal policies, including those related to authorship, conflicts of interest, and data sharing. Ensure that authors, reviewers, and readers understand and adhere to these policies.
Integrity: Vigilantly guard against scientific misconduct, such as plagiarism, data manipulation, and falsification. Implement tools and processes to detect and address ethical breaches.
Fairness: Ensure that all manuscripts are evaluated solely based on their scientific merit, without bias or discrimination. Maintain an unbiased and transparent review process.
Accountability: Hold authors, reviewers, and editors accountable for their roles in the publication process. Provide mechanisms for reporting and addressing ethical concerns and disputes.
Enhancing Impact and Visibility: To ensure the journal’s success and relevance, it is essential to enhance its impact and visibility within the scientific community. Strategies to achieve this include:
Indexing and Abstracting: Strive to have the journal indexed in reputable databases (e.g., PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science) to increase its visibility and accessibility to researchers worldwide.
Digital Presence: Develop a user-friendly and informative journal website. Utilize digital tools and social media platforms to promote published articles, special issues, and journal updates.
Special Issues and Thematic Collections: Organize special issues or thematic collections on emerging topics or areas of high interest. This can attract high-quality submissions and increase the journal’s impact.
Collaboration and Outreach: Foster collaborations with academic societies, research institutions, and conferences. Engage in outreach activities to promote the journal and attract submissions from leading researchers.
Metrics and Feedback: Monitor journal metrics (e.g., impact factor, citation counts, download statistics) to assess the journal’s performance. Gather feedback from authors, reviewers, and readers to continuously improve the journal’s processes and offerings.
Conclusion: Running a scientific journal is a complex and rewarding endeavor that requires a commitment to quality, integrity, and continuous improvement. By implementing effective editorial management practices, maintaining a rigorous peer review process, upholding ethical standards, and employing strategies to enhance the journal’s impact and visibility, journal managers can contribute significantly to the advancement of scientific knowledge. In an ever-evolving academic landscape, the ability to adapt and innovate will be key to sustaining the relevance and success of scientific journals.
Editorial management systems are integral to the efficient operation of scientific journals, facilitating the manuscript submission, review, and publication processes. These systems help streamline workflows, ensure transparency, maintain communication with authors and reviewers, and uphold the integrity of the peer review process. Here we will delve into the major editorial systems widely used by scientific journals, highlighting their features, benefits, and the roles they play in the editorial ecosystem.
1. Editorial Manager
Overview: Editorial Manager, developed by Aries Systems, is one of the most widely adopted editorial systems in the academic publishing world. It supports the entire workflow of manuscript submission, peer review, and decision-making.
Key Features:
- Manuscript Submission: Authors can easily submit their manuscripts through an intuitive online interface, which ensures that all necessary information and files are provided.
- Peer Review Management: Editors can assign reviewers, track review progress, and communicate decisions. The system supports various review models, including single-blind, double-blind, and open peer review.
- Automated Reminders: Automated emails remind reviewers and authors of upcoming deadlines, ensuring timely reviews and responses.
- Customizable Workflows: Journals can tailor workflows to meet their specific needs, from submission guidelines to review processes.
- Reporting and Analytics: Detailed reports on submission statistics, review times, and decision outcomes help editors monitor and improve journal performance.
Benefits:
- Enhances efficiency by automating routine tasks.
- Improves communication and transparency throughout the editorial process.
- Provides robust tools for managing large volumes of submissions and reviews.
2. ScholarOne Manuscripts
Overview: ScholarOne Manuscripts, a product of Clarivate, is another prominent editorial system used by many leading journals. It offers comprehensive solutions for manuscript submission, peer review, and editorial decision-making.
Key Features:
- Submission Interface: A user-friendly submission portal for authors, including tools to ensure compliance with journal guidelines.
- Review Management: Supports flexible review workflows and integrates seamlessly with Publons for reviewer recognition.
- Integrations: Integrates with various databases and services, including CrossRef for DOI assignment, ORCID for author identification, and iThenticate for plagiarism detection.
- Customizable Dashboards: Editors can customize their dashboards to view pertinent information and track manuscript progress.
- Analytics and Reporting: Provides powerful analytics tools to generate insights into submission trends, reviewer performance, and publication timelines.
Benefits:
- Streamlines the peer review process with integrated tools and automated workflows.
- Enhances data integrity and security through robust integration with third-party services.
- Provides detailed analytics to support editorial decisions and strategy development.
3. OJS (Open Journal Systems)
Overview: Open Journal Systems (OJS), developed by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), is an open-source editorial system that offers a flexible and customizable platform for managing journal workflows.
Key Features:
- Open-Source Flexibility: Being open-source, OJS allows for extensive customization to meet the specific needs of individual journals.
- Submission and Review: Comprehensive tools for managing submissions, peer reviews, and editorial decisions.
- Online Publishing: Supports online publication of articles, including HTML and PDF formats, and integrates with indexing services.
- User Management: Role-based user management for authors, reviewers, editors, and readers.
- Plugin Architecture: A robust plugin architecture allows for additional functionalities, such as plagiarism detection, citation management, and metadata harvesting.
Benefits:
- Cost-effective solution due to its open-source nature.
- Highly customizable to meet the unique requirements of different journals.
- Encourages community involvement and collaboration in developing new features.
4. Editorially
Overview: Editorially is a modern editorial management system designed to streamline the editorial process for academic journals. It focuses on simplicity and user experience, making it accessible for journals of all sizes.
Key Features:
- Intuitive Interface: A clean and straightforward interface for managing submissions, reviews, and editorial decisions.
- Collaboration Tools: Built-in tools for collaborative writing and editing, facilitating real-time feedback and communication.
- Workflow Automation: Automated workflows to handle routine tasks such as sending reminders, assigning reviewers, and tracking manuscript progress.
- Integration: Seamless integration with tools like ORCID, CrossRef, and Google Scholar for enhanced functionality.
- Metrics and Reporting: Real-time analytics and reporting tools to monitor journal performance and make data-driven decisions.
Benefits:
- Enhances efficiency with a user-friendly interface and automated workflows.
- Supports real-time collaboration and communication among editorial team members.
- Provides insightful analytics to help editors improve journal operations.
5. eJournalPress
Overview: eJournalPress offers a comprehensive suite of tools for managing the editorial workflow of academic journals. It focuses on providing customizable solutions to meet the specific needs of different journals.
Key Features:
- Customizable Workflows: Tailored workflows for submission, review, and publication processes.
- Review Management: Advanced tools for managing peer reviews, including reviewer databases and automated reminders.
- Data Integration: Integrates with various databases and services, such as CrossRef, ORCID, and PubMed.
- Security Features: Robust security features to protect sensitive data and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.
- Performance Metrics: Detailed performance metrics and reporting tools to track journal performance and optimize processes.
Benefits:
- Offers highly customizable solutions to meet the unique needs of different journals.
- Enhances security and compliance with data protection regulations.
- Provides detailed analytics to support editorial decision-making.
6. Manuscript Central
Overview: Manuscript Central, also known as ScholarOne Manuscripts, is another popular editorial system designed to streamline the manuscript submission and review process.
Key Features:
- Submission Portal: A comprehensive submission portal for authors, with tools to ensure compliance with journal guidelines.
- Review Tools: Advanced tools for managing peer reviews, including automated reminders and reviewer databases.
- Integration: Seamless integration with various databases and services for enhanced functionality.
- Custom Dashboards: Customizable dashboards for editors to track manuscript progress and manage workflows.
- Analytics: Powerful analytics tools to generate insights into submission trends, reviewer performance, and publication timelines.
Benefits:
- Streamlines the peer review process with integrated tools and automated workflows.
- Enhances data integrity and security through robust integration with third-party services.
- Provides detailed analytics to support editorial decisions and strategy development.
Running a scientific journal requires a robust editorial system to manage the complexities of manuscript submission, peer review, and publication. Systems like Editorial Manager, ScholarOne Manuscripts, OJS, Editorially, eJournalPress, and Manuscript Central offer a range of features and benefits to streamline editorial workflows, enhance communication, and ensure the integrity of the peer review process. By leveraging these systems, journals can improve efficiency, maintain high standards of quality, and ultimately contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge.
EpiSmart Science Vector Pub is one of the only journal management service provider in the UAE. EpiSmart is an official member of many supporting stakeholders in scientific journal management such as PORTICO (a community-supported preservation archive that safeguards access to e-journals, e-books, and digital collections- Learn about digital preservation) or CrossReff. (a major provider of digital object information unique number where any publish scientific journal received an DOI (learn about DOI).
Here’s a general guide on how to set up a scientific Journal with the help of EpiSmart:
Define the Journal’s Scope and Aims: Clearly articulate the journal’s focus areas, target audience, and types of articles accepted (e.g., original research, reviews, case studies). This helps authors understand the journal’s relevance to their work and guides the editorial team in selecting appropriate submissions.
Establishing Editorial Policies: Develop and communicate policies regarding manuscript submission, review processes, conflict of interest, authorship criteria, and data sharing. Transparent and consistent policies help maintain the integrity and credibility of the journal.
Assembling an Editorial Board: Recruit experts in the journal’s field to serve on the editorial board. Board members provide valuable insights, assist with manuscript reviews, and help promote the journal within their professional networks.
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