The use of manuscript submission systems in academic publishing has been met with a variable response. On one hand, they can facilitate an efficient peer review process and ensure the seamless collection of materials. On the other hand, just like any other technology, they can be susceptible to frustrating glitches and learning curves.
Recognizing the need to serve accurate, properly vetted research quickly, and acknowledging that this is only possible through the adoption of a manuscript submission system, IGI Global chose the eEditorial Discovery® system, a proprietary submission system that supports all phases of the publishing process including the author and editor proofing process.
Over the years, we at IGI Global, have found that eEditorial Discovery® has greatly increased our efficiency across all departments, while decreasing our overall publication turnaround times to as little as 7 to 9 months. This more expeditious turnaround is allowing authors and editors to benefit from their published work much faster and ensures that the innovative content can reach the academic community while it is still relevant.
To ensure that all authors, editors, and reviewers receive proper credit and recognition for their contributions, eEditorial Discovery® offers an authentication process that collects a researcher’s ORCID iD, verifies their identity, and ties their work to their account. Through ORCID’s partnership with Publons, researchers can also export their verified review history from Publons to their ORCID profile. When submitting a journal manuscript review into the eEditorial Discovery® submission system, they will receive a review receipt that will support with the verification of reviews through Publons.
The workflow management capabilities of the system allow editors and authors to manage their projects from beginning to end from the time the initial manuscript drafts are submitted through to the submission of the final front materials (e.g. the preface). Manuscript contributors and reviewers can utilize this efficient workflow management system to keep track of their projects and review assignments. The system helps to facilitate and expedite a process that would be otherwise complicated by keeping all relevant and important information in a single system, all accessible through a single log-in.
Each and every manuscript submitted through the eEditorial Discovery® system can easily be assigned for peer review in accordance with industry standards and also the best practices outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), of which IGI Global is a full member. It provides functionality that allows manuscripts to be fully blinded so that reviewers may provide an impartial critique of the research. Additionally, because the system tracks and records all reviews and actions taken, submitting authors can rest assured that a fair review process is always undertaken. The retention of these reports is also vital to combat unethical issues that may arise during the publishing process.
The system also permits editors to track pending and completed evaluations, and send reminders to reviewers to ensure that they complete the review by a specific deadline, thus ensuring the swift movement of the manuscript, cutting down the possibility of manuscripts being delayed or even misplaced and forgotten due to outstanding reviews.
In addition to advanced management tools, robust reporting and communication services are also available to editors. Notifications of decisions on manuscripts as well as reminders for other various tasks, such as the ability to send reminders to reviewers, can be sent either manually or automatically from the system. This helps to cut down time and allows projects to advance with fewer unnecessary pauses.
There are currently more than 100,000 IGI Global authors, editors, and reviewers utilizing eEditorial Discovery®, and we welcome their feedback regarding their user experience. We oftentimes will share their feedback with our technology support team to work toward continual improvements to the system.
Dr. Samuel Goundar, one of IGI Global’s valued editors (specifically, an editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Fog Computing (IJFC)) and a senior lecturer at The University of the South Pacific, Fiji, was kind enough to share his user experience with us:
“IGI Global’s eEditorial Discovery® system makes reviewing, editing, and publishing a pleasant experience. I have used the system as an author, peer reviewer, editorial review board member, and as an Editor-in-Chief. The ease of use, user-friendly interfaces, prompts, confirmations, error corrections, undo features, and step-by-step procedures make the e-Editorial Discovery system one of the best publishing systems out there.
As an author, I was informed of my manuscript’s publication decision within a few weeks. As a reviewer, I am able to upload my comments and provide my evaluation of the manuscript by using Likert scale ratings, openly typing comments, and even using track changes to work directly on the author’s manuscript. As an Editor-in-Chief, I get email notifications when a manuscript is submitted to my journal, when I assign reviewers, when reviewers finish their reviews, when receiving requested revisions from authors, and when making publication decisions.”
In addition to the workflow management that the system offers, there are also informative pages on eEditorial Discovery® that aid editors, authors, and reviewers in the publishing process. Submission guidelines and guides for editing books and journals are available for potential editors to read over as they consider publishing with IGI Global. There is also an Advice for Editors section which provides relevant information to journal editors on how to increase submissions, subscriptions, and the overall visibility of their journal. In addition, guidelines for increasing the impact of a book or journal are included which highlight promotional and marketing tools that can be utilized to increase the citation impact of an author’s or editor’s publication. Book and journal user guides are available for book authors and editors as well as journal editors that explain the various stages of a project and the functions that eEditorial Discovery® provides in these stages.
As part of our commitment to providing one-to-one support during the publishing process and to producing the highest quality publications, IGI Global will continue to strive to offer the most advanced technology tools to all our contributors, now, and in the years to come.