Managing an Academic Journal Roslan Abd Shukor School of Applied Physics Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia ras@ukm.edu.my PPT: www.ukm.my/ras/journal.pdf Indonesian Journals in Scopus 1
How to Start a new Journal Why this new journal is necessary Decide a name for the journal - check for any overlap with existing journal Who are the readers What is unique about this journal Set the frequency, scope, e- journal or hardcopy or both How to Start a new Journal (cont.) Get ISSN / e-issn Form an editorial board Come up with editorial policy Invite Advisory Board - can be updated from time to time Get the journal indexed, - advertising Open access? Advantage / Disadvantage Ethic and malpractice statement 2
Information for each article Volume number Issue number Year Page Number DOI number Name of Authors Corresponding author* Full Address Email address of corresp. author Received Date Accepted Date Titles and Roles Journal Editorial Editor in-chief (EiC) - The main or head editor. Responsible for the quality and content, highest level of decision making Editor High level of editorial input, responsible in formulating editorial policy with EiC and other editors Handling/Subject/ Specialist Editor Manuscript handling and review process, responsible for subgroup of manuscript Managing Editor Managing editorial office staff, overseeing peer review process, liaises with all parties in manuscript submission, handling, review, publication promotion, production etc. May or may not have decision making powers Editorial Assistant - Assist the EiC, managing editor, editor and all areas of editorial from manuscript submission to publication Copy Editor improve formatting, style, accuracy of text. Copy editing is done before typesetting and proof reading (the last step in editorial cycle) 3
Author submits manuscript Manuscript logged, checked and receipt acknowledged BASIC PEER-REVIEW PROCESS Read/assessed by editor(s) Rejected without review Sent to external reviewers Reviews returned Rejected Reviews assessed by editor(s) Accepted pending revision Further review required Accepted Resubmission encouraged Resubmission not encouraged Author submit revised manuscript Read /Accessed by Editor Rejected Sent to external reviewers Accepted Reviews returned Reviews assessed by editor(s) Further review required Rejected Further revision Accepted Production Publication needed What Should Peer Review Do? Prevent the publication of bad work filter out studies that have been poorly conceived, designed or executed Check that the research reported has been carried out well and there are no flaws in the design or methodology Ensure that the work is reported correctly and unambiguously, with acknowledgement to the existing body of work 4
Handling of a Newly Submitted Manuscript Quick Check by Editor Title - Appropriate, reflects contents and scope of study Abstract - Contains Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion Keywords Carefully selected, reflects the content of the article Introduction Background and Literature Review, Motivation, Logic leading to current work, Hypothesis/Objectives Methods Concise and sufficient information for other to repeat the work Results Important results clearly stated, illustrations are clear, appropriate and useful Discussion New knowledge from the study is clearly stated. Relation to previous research are discussed Conclusion The impact of the work on the field clearly stated. Specific suggestions for future works Impact on the field of study or policy. References - are properly cited and according to the journal s format Article is concise and easy to read Figure and Tables are appropriate and high quality Address of authors given in full, email address Corresponding author indicated * Received and Accepted Date 5
Reviewing - Rules The submissions of a manuscript and all the details associated with it must be kept confidential by the editorial office and all the people involved in the peer-review process. The identity of the reviewers must be kept confidential unless open peer review is used. Reviewers advise and make recommendations; editors make the decisions. Reviewers must assess manuscripts objectively and review the work, not the authors. Publication Process Copy Editing Typesetting Proof Reading 6
Indexing A Journal Only peer reviewed articles will be indexed All articles must be provided with a title, abstract and keywords in English Formatting must be consistent All illustrations are of high quality Should have Received and Accepted dates Must be timely (quarterly need to mention the month e.g. March, June, Sept, Dec Articles published must be within the declared scope 7
Addresses of some indexing agencies Suggesting a title for SCOPUS Thomson Reuters Selection Criteria 8
Only peer reviewed articles will be indexed Journals need to be published on time Adherence to journal s format is important, e.g. reference format, quality of figure etc. 9
Check the number of citations of your journal in Scopus Example Jurnal Personalia Pelajar 10
References Irene Hames 2007. Peer review and Manuscript Management in Scientific Journals. Blackwell Publishing PPT: www.ukm.my/ras/journal.pdf THANK YOU 11