On-line manuscript management system
We have set up an an on-line manuscript submission, reviewing and publication system for the UV4Plants Bulletin. It uses Open Journal Systems installed in our own server. This will provide several improvements to our work flow and visibility.
What is new
- Faster management of manuscript handling with automatic reminders to all involved in cases of delays
- Check lists at the time of submission that will remind authors of the requirements
- Easier way for authors to indicate the section for which a submission is intended
- Easier communication between editors and authors and editors and reviewers
- Submission and publication of supplementary material made easier
What will not change
- Assignment of DOIs to individual articles
- Assignment of DOIs to whole issues
- Peer reviewing will continue to rely on members of the editorial board, but we will increase the use of external reviewers as our database of reviewers grows
- For transparency and accountability, as from the last issue, the name of the editor in charge of the handling of each manuscript will be printed at the end of each article.
What we will implement during coming months
- Automated indexing by Google Scholar
- Early-on-line publication of accepted articles with simultaneous assignment of definitive DOIs
- Possibility of discussion of published articles in its download page
- Upgrade to new version of OJS and better looking OJS pages
Accessing the Open Journal Systems (ojs) server
Just visit http://www.uv4plants.org/ojs and follow the link to the UV4Plants Bulletin. First step for authors and reviewers is to register as a user of the system.
Documentation for OJS is available on-line. It describes the default configuration and a slightly older version than the one we are using. This means that a few steps given in the instructions will be missing (or skipped) when using our system. Except for this the documentation applies to our server. Be aware that the User Guide is organized by type of user. For example, if your role is author, just read the Author’s chapter.
The system is already “live”, has been tested and can be used for submissions, but as it has been just set-up, do please give feedback on any problems or rough edges you may encounter while using it. Articles and issues published earlier are not yet accessible through the OJS system, please, see the Bulletin’s published issues page for contents and downloads for the first two issues.