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This comprehensive yet concise book provides a thorough and complete guide to every aspect of managing the peer review process for scientific journals. Until now, little information has been readily available on how this important facet of the journal publishing process should be conducted properly. Peer Review and Manuscript Management in Scientific Journals fills this gap and provides clear guidance on all aspects of peer review, from manuscript submission to final decision.
Peer Review and Manuscript Management in Scientific Journals is an essential reference for science journal editors, editorial office staff and publishers. It is an invaluable handbook for the set-up of new Editorial Offices, as well as a useful reference for well-established journals which may need guidance on a particular situation, or may want to review their current practices. Although intended primarily for journals in science, much of its content will be relevant to other scholarly areas.
Foreword Preface 1. Introduction What should peer review do? What does peer review assume? What is this book trying to achieve? 2. The peer-review process - how to get going The basic process The people involved in running the peer-review process Office organization Choice of system and procedures 3. Manuscript submission and initial checks on completeness and suitability Submission guidance to authors Checking and logging of submitted manuscripts Transfer to editor Initial assessment of suitability and rejection without external review Manuscripts with language problems 4. The full review process Identifying and selecting appropriate reviewers Finding reviewers Getting the manuscript and associated material to the reviewers Monitoring review progress Receiving and checking of returned reviews Back-to-back manuscripts Dealing with enquiries on manuscript status 5. The decision-making process for reviewed manuscripts The organizational structure for decision making The decision-making process Checks to be made before communicating decisions to authors Communicating the decision to the authors Rebuttals and appeals from authors Dealing with revisions Dealing with resubmissions Acceptance Decision making to consistent standards and the problem of availability of space Special considerations in decision making: dual-use research and the possible misuse of information 6. Moving to online submission and review How do you choose an online system? How to prepare to move to online working The launch and transition period What to expect after going live online Problems that may be encountered and how to deal with them A final note 7. Reviewers - a precious resource Thanks and feedback to reviewers Reviewer training Ways to recompense reviewers How to develop and maintain reviewer loyalty Recognition of peer review as an accredited professional activity 8. The obligations and responsibilities of the people involved in peer review Authors - their obligations and responsibilities Editors - their obligations and responsibilities Reviewers - their obligations and responsibilities Editorial office staff - their obligations and responsibilities Conflicts of interest - what they are and how to deal with them Moral dilemmas 9. Misconduct in scientific research and publishing - what it is and how to deal with it What types of misconduct can occur? How should cases of alleged or suspected misconduct be handled? Where can you turn for help? What sanctions can be imposed as a penalty for misconduct? Correcting the literature Dubious or fraudulent data remaining in the literature The future Appendix I The Golden Rules and the Peer-Review Good Practice Checklist Appendix II Examples of checklists, forms, guidance for reviewers and editorial letters Appendix III Useful websites Appendix IV Alternative models of peer review Index
Irene Hames moved from cell biology research into scientific publishing and has worked for many years on scientific journals. She is now the Managing Editor of The Plant Journal and was involved in its set up and overseeing its growth and development into a large and successful international journal. She is frequently called upon to give talks and advise on editorial issues and has been a member of a number of working parties on peer review.
Hames' aim is to provide a manual to help editors, their editorial colleagues, and staff, and to give practical guidance on all aspects of peer review, creating an awareness of the issues involved and potential problems. This she has achieved, taking the reader from manuscript submission, through the peer review process, to decision making... [Included are] some 80 pages of appendices. These extremely useful checklists, forms, guidance, and sample letters provide salient information, and act as an excellent resource for all involved in the publication of scientific journals. Hames offers essential instruction for editors at all levels. Reviewers, even authors, would profit from reading this book. But it will be of most use to those starting a new position in the publication of scientific journals; from academic Editor-in-Chief to Editorial Assistant, it should be prerequisite reading. The Lancet "A godsend to the rookie editor taking the driving seat for the first time and feeling understandably daunted by the responsibility. Statements like 'no editorial office should be without it', 'an essential resource' or 'indispensable' unfortunately sound like cliches. In the case of this book, however, they are all true. In fact, I think I will need a second copy for when one of my colleagues pinches this one!"Stuart Taylor (Head of Publishing, The Royal Society), Book Review in Learned Publishing "In the midst of the often overheated current debates about the effectiveness of peer review in science publishing, this book is an oasis of calm. I know no better guide for editors and scientists on how to get the very best out of the peer review system." Andrew Sugden, International Managing Editor, Science "The development of editorial office best practices, couched within an understanding of the fundamental principles of peer review, has been neglected for too long. With the publication of this book, light has been shone on a dark corner of publishing. Only now is the industry beginning to address the somewhat amateur status of most editorial offices and an associated dearth of training opportunities. This book represents an excellent attempt at providing a procedural grounding in efficient manuscript management, while offering context for these fundamental administrative principles. It is no overstatement to suggest this book will act as a catalyst to introduce greater professionalism alongside definitive operational theories to the typical journal editorial office. Editorial office staff, both new and experienced alike, will find this book invaluable." Jason Roberts, PhD, President, International Society of Managing and Technical Editors "This highly practical book... will undoubtedly become the 'bible' of peer review, not only for those working in the sciences but also for those in the arts and humanities. No editor or publisher should be without it." Robert Campbell, Wiley-Blackwell and Sally Morris, Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers
