OJS Open Journal Systems Manual For Editors

OJS
Open Journal Systems

Manual for Editors
OJS
Manual for Editor and author
An Introduction to Open Journal Systems
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Manual for Editors
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Contents Open Journal Systems

Manual for Editors
Editors 1
Getting Started 1
Submissions 2
Assigning Articles 2
Issues 7
Create a New Issue 7
Notify Users 9
View Future Issues 11
Back Issues 13
Section Editors 15
Getting Started 15
Submissions 16
Assigning Reviewers 17
Working with Reviewers 20
Making a Decision on an Article 21
Copyediting 23
Layout Editing 25
Proofreading 28
Reviewers 30
Getting Started 30
Reviewing Articles 31
Copyeditors 38
Getting Started 38
Copyediting 39
Layout Editors 41
Getting Started 41
Layout Editing 42
Proofreaders 46
Getting Started 46
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Editors
The Editor oversees entire editorial and publishing process. The

Editor, working with the Journal Manager, typically establishes the
policies and procedures for the journal, which are used in setting up
the journal in Setup.
In the Editorial Process, the Editor assigns submissions to the Section

Editors to see through Submission Review and Submission Editing,
while, keeping an eye on the submission's progress and assisting with
any difficulties in the process.
The Editor can also play the role of Section Editor in the Editing
process, seeing accepted submissions through copyediting, layout,
and proofreading.
The Editor also schedules submissions for publication, arranges the

Table of Contents and publishes the issue, as part of the Publishing
Process.
Getting Started
Log in to your OJS account.

Select your role as Editor.
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Figure 135: Signing in as an editor
Submissions
Under Submissions, you will see articles which are unassigned, in

review, in editing, or in the archives. Clicking any of these links
will provide additional details on each article in these categories:
Figure 136: Editors Menu
Assigning Articles
Select unassigned and then click the article title link.
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Figure 137: Selecting an unassigned article
On the Summary page, go to the Submission section:
Figure 138: Unassigned article summary page

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From here, you have the option to:
Send an email message to the author (click on the envelope icon

next to the authors name)
Read the original file by clicking on the submission file name.
Add any supplementary files by clicking on the Add

Supplementary File link.
Change the section you want the article to appear in, using the
drop down menu.
Report author fee payments as paid, or optionally, waive those

payments, if the Payments module has been enabled.
Assign an editor or section editor. This will take you to a list of

your editors or section editors. Select the Assign link to give
the submission to that person:
Figure 139: Assigning a section editor

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Once the Assign link next to a Section Editor is clicked, an

email will be generated to the selected Section Editor informing
them of your decision:
Figure 140: E-mail to the section editor
In the Submission Metadata section of the article Summary page, you

may use the Edit Metadata link to make any changes to the
submissions metadata fields:
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Figure 141: Editing the article metadata
For example, you may wish to review the abstract provided by the
author.
You can also use the Review, Editing, and History links at the top
of the Summary page to follow the progress of the submission:
Figure 142: Summary Links
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Issues
Return to the Editor Home page:
Figure 143: Editors Menu
Under Issues, you have the option to:
Create a New Issue
Select Create Issue. From the Create Issue screen, choose whether it
will be a Back Issue, a Current Issue, or a Future Issue:
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Figure 144: Create issue
Enter the Volume, Issue, and Year information. You may also wish to
select an issue identification format (Year only, Volume/Year,
Issue/Volume/Year, etc.). This will depend upon the frequency of
publication as previously determined by the Journal Manager.
You also have the opportunity to add a special title and description for
the new issue. A custom cover and caption is also available. Use the
Save button when you have made your choices.
If the Journal Manager has enabled subscriptions, you will be able to

set an Open Access date at this point for the issue as a whole as well.
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The new issue will now be available when you schedule submissions.
Figure 145: Specify New Issue
Notify Users
Allows you to send an email to users associated with your journal:
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Figure 146: Notifying users
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View Future Issues
Selecting Future Issues results in a list of all issues you have so far
created, that have not been published:
Figure 147: Future Issues
Select the issue you wish to publish by clicking on the issue title:
Figure 148: Table of Contents
You can review each issue article by clicking its linked title:

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Figure 149: Article History
Use the Summary, Review, Editing, and History links to reveal every
aspect of the submissions lifecycle, who was involved with it, etc.
When there are multiple articles for an issue, you can use the up and
down arrows to reorder how they will appear in the table of contents.
You can also use the Remove check box to take an article out of that
issue and allow it to be reassigned.
When you are satisfied with the content for an issue, use the Publish
Issue button to build the new issue and make it available to your
readers.
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Back Issues
Lets you see all issues which have been published. Issues can also be
deleted from the journal:
Figure 150: Viewing back issues
Select the issue link to see the Table of Contents for that issue:
Figure 151: Issue Table of Contents
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It is possible to reorder the articles using the Order arrows, to delete

articles using the Remove checkboxes, or to edit the articles by
clicking on the linked titles.

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Section Editors
The Section Editor manages the Review and Editing of submissions in
those Sections (e.g., Articles, Book Reviews, etc.) for which they have
been assigned responsibility. If the article is accepted for publication,
the Section Editor may also oversee the editing process; but more
often than not, this workflow falls to the Editor. The journal will have a
policy on how the tasks are divided.
Getting Started

Select your role as Section Editor:
Figure 152: Signing in as a section editor

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Submissions
Under Submissions in Review, you will see any articles which are in
review, in editing, or in the archives:
Figure 153: Submissions in review
Clicking any of these links will provide additional details on individual

articles in these categories.

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Assigning Reviewers
Click on the article title:
Figure 154: Review details
You have the option to:
Send an email message to the author (click on the envelope icon

next to the authors name) or the editor.
View the original submission file by clicking the link or upload a

new version of the document for review.

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Select a reviewer for the first round of review. Click the Select
Reviewer link. From the list of names, assign a reviewer:
Figure 155: Selecting reviewers
If you wish to assign further reviewers, repeat this process.
When you have finished assigning reviews, you should be

returned to the Review Section. Click on Select Review Form,
and on Review Forms page assign an appropriate review form.
Figure 156: Selecting Review Form

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Figure 157: Assigning Review Form
Click the Request icon to generate an email message to each

reviewer:
Figure 158: Requesting a review
This email message includes a one-click access URL that will

allow the reviewer immediate access into the OJS system.
Note that after sending the message, the Request icon now
includes a message sent date:
Figure 159: Review Request Date

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Working with Reviewers
You can use this section to cancel a review request (click Cancel
Request), change the due date (click the due date link), send a
reminder to the reviewer (use the Send Reminder link), and to read the
reviewers comments (click the Review Form icon). Any uploaded files
from the reviewer will also be available here.
The reviewers recommendation will also appear in this section once

their decision has been made.
Some journals are also configured to allow you to rate the reviewer on
a scale of 1 5, based on the quality of their review, their timeliness,
etc.
You will receive a message once the reviewer has completed their
review. At this point, you can use the Acknowledge icon to thank
them for their efforts:
Figure 160: Acknowledging the reviewer
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Making a Decision on an Article
You must now decide the next step for the submission. In the Editor
Decision section, you must select whether to accept, ask for
revisions, resubmit for another reviewer, or decline the submission.
Select your choice from the dropdown menu and click Record
Decision:
Figure 161: Making your decision
Once press Record Decision, a window pops up to ask for confirming

the director decision.
Figure 162: Confirming Message
Next, you will need to notify the author of your decision, using the
Notify Author email icon. You must upload an edited version to the
copyeditor:
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Figure 163: Uploading the Editor Version
Finally, you can use the Send button to select the copy of the article
for the copyeditor:
Figure 164: Selecting file for the Copyeditor
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Copyediting
You will then be taken directly to the editing section for the article. If
your journal employs people as copyeditors, you will be asked to
select one now. You will request and acknowledge their participation
as with the reviewers:
Figure 165: Assigning a copyeditor
The following screen will allow you to pick from your list of
copyeditors:

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Figure 166: Selecting a copyeditor
Once the copyeditor has been assigned, you can use the Request icon
to send an email asking him or her to undertake the assignment:
Figure 167: Requesting copyediting
The copyeditor will then review the document and correspond with the
author. You will be notified when they are both satisfied with the
article.
Figure 168: Completing the copyediting process
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Be sure to use the Acknowledge email messages to thank everyone

involved for their participation.
For journals where the section editor acts as the copyeditor, you can
begin the copyediting process by selecting the Initiate link. The
section editor reviews the copyedit version of the article by selecting
the file link. He or she then makes any changes and uploads the
edited version using the file upload tool. When the copyediting is
completed, select the Complete link. This will activate the Request
icon allowing you to send a message to the author asking for them to
now review your copyedits and make any changes.
When the author responds, send an acknowledgement message.

Review any changes they have made. You may now use the file upload
tool to add any final changes you wish to make.
Layout Editing
Once the copyediting has been completed, you may now begin the
layout editing process by using the file upload tool to enter the latest
version of the article and selecting a layout editor. If the section editor
is also acting as the layout editor, you will initiate the process and
upload the galley formats yourself.
If you have people to act as Layout Editors, you may select one using
the Assign Layout Editor link:
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Figure 169: Assigning the layout editor
Choose a layout editor from the list:
Figure 170: Assigning the Layout Editor
Use the Assign link to assign them to the article. Request their
participation using the Request email icon:
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Figure 171: Request Layout Editing
You can review any layout comments from the Layout Editor using the
Layout Comments icon.
When the HTML and PDF documents are delivered by the Layout
Editor, you can view, edit, or delete them. You also have the option of
uploading additional files. Send the Layout Editor an acknowledgment
message when you are satisfied with the galley files:
Figure 172: Final layout editing
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Proofreading
You may now begin the proofreading process by sending a request to

the author for a final review of the article before publication. Use the
Request icon to send the message:
Figure 173: Proofreading request to the author
If your journal employs people as proofreaders, you will be asked to

select one now. You will request and acknowledge their participation
as with the reviewers. Use the Assign Proofreader link for a list of
possible proofreaders:
Figure 174: Selecting a proofreader
If the section editor acts as the proofreader, you can begin the process
by selecting the Initiate link.

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Throughout the proofreading process, you will be able to examine the

revisions and communicate with the author and/or proofreaders.
Acknowledgement messages can also be sent as each task is
completed.
Once the author and proofreader/section editor are satisfied with the
galleys and have recorded any necessary changes in the proofreading
corrections section, send acknowledgement messages thanking all
involved for their efforts:
Figure 175: Completing the proofreading process
Finally, scroll down to the Scheduling section, and using the dropdown
menu, select the issue in which this article will appear. Notice that the
article can be placed in a current issue, a future issue, or even a back
issue:
Figure 176: Scheduling the submission

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Reviewers
The Reviewer is selected by the Section Editor to review a submission.
Reviewers are asked to submit reviews to the journal's web site
(although some journals opt for an email review policy see Journal
Setup section 2.2) and are able to upload attachments for the use of
the Editor and Author. Reviewers may be rated by Section Editors,
again depending on the policies for this journal.
Getting Started

Select your role as Reviewer.
Figure 177: Selecting role as Reviewer

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Reviewing Articles
In the Active Submissions section, select the article title (note the
due date of the review):
Figure 178: Active submissions for review
From the Review page, you can see some brief information about the
submission and the review schedule (including the due date of the
review):
Figure 179: Review page

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Further down the Review page, you will see the 5 review steps which
need to be followed:
Figure 180: Review Steps
Step 1: To accept the request, click the Will do the review icon and
send the email message that is generated:
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Figure 181: Accepting Review Request
To decline the request, click the Unable to do the review icon and
send the email message that is generated.
Step 2: Click the file name to read the submitted article (as well as any
supplementary files). Depending on the settings of your journal, the
reviewer may not be able to see the file until they have accepted the
review request. Once the acceptance email is sent, the link to the file
will appear.
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Step 3: Click the Review Form icon to record your review. You need
to enter text, check boxes, make selections of all required fields:
Figure 182: Review Form
If no review forms are created or the created review forms are

deactivated, a Review icon appears, and the default form for the
reviewer looks like below:

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Figure 183: Review Comments
Save your reviews. You may return to this form and add additional
information at anytime until your review is complete. When you have
finished your review, select Done.
Step 4: If you wish to upload files for the author and/or the editor to
consult, use the Upload files tool.
**Important**: Please read the linked information on ensuring a blind

review.
Step 5: Select a recommendation and submit the review to complete

the process. You must enter a review or upload a file before selecting
a recommendation:

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Figure 184: Making a recommendation
Once you have submitted a review to the editor, you will no longer be
able to make changes to your review. Be sure you have completed
your review before clicking the submit button:
Figure 185: Warning message
At this point, an email message will also be provided, informing the

Section Editor of the completion of your review:
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Figure 186: Completed Review Message
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Copyeditors
The Copyeditor edits submissions to improve grammar and clarity,

works with authors to ensure everything is in place, and ensures strict
adherence to journal's bibliographic and textual style, and produces a
clean, edited copy for the Layout Editor to turn into the galleys that
will be in the published format of the journal. Some journals have an
Editor or Section Editor play this role.
Getting Started

Select your role as Copyeditor.
Figure 187: Signing in as a copyeditor
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Copyediting
Choose the title link for the article to begin the copyediting process:
Figure 188: Selecting an article for copyediting
From the Copyedit section, you can view a copy of the submission:
Figure 189: Downloading an article for copyediting
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Make any necessary changes and upload the revised document using
the upload tool. Select the Complete icon to send a message to the
author, as well as a revised copy of the submission.
When the author has finished with their copyediting, they will notify
you and submit a revised document. You may then review this
document for final copyediting.
When finished, you may or may not upload a revised version, and
select the Complete icon informing the Section Editor and Author
that you have finished with the submission:
Figure 190: Completing the copyediting
The article is now ready for layout editing. Remember to read the
copyedit instructions and review any copyedit comments.

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Layout Editors
The Layout Editor transforms the copyedited versions of the
submission into galley files in HTML, PDF, PS, etc., depending on
which formats the journal has elected to use for electronic publication.
This system does not provide software for converting word processing
documents to galley formats, so the Layout Editor should have access
to and be able to use third-party software packages for creating
galleys (Adobe Acrobat, PDF Creator [open source] or Open Office
[open source] for PDFs; or Dreamweaver or Nvu [open source] for
HTML), which present the articles on the screen with a well-formatted
and readable layout, in the manner of scholarly journals, and with an
eye to this new publishing medium (by consulting the layout used by
other online publishers, such as Highwire Press, for example, in the
life sciences or Project Muse in the humanities).
Getting Started

Select your role as Layout Editor:
Figure 191: Signing in as a Layout Editor

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Layout Editing
From the Active Submission page, select the title of the article:
Figure 192: Selecting an article for editing
In the Layout section, you must download a copy of the submission

and create HTML and PDF versions of the article (galley formats). It is
important to review the standards for these documents before
uploading them by reading the Layout Instructions. Any comments can
be recorded using the Layout Comments icon.
Use the upload galley format tool to submit these documents:
Figure 193: Uploading galley files
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For HTML documents, you will add a label (e.g., HTML; OJS may
already have guessed the correct label, so you may not have to change
this):
Figure 194: Adding the HTML galley
Any image or style sheet files associated with the HTML document
should also be uploaded at this point.
For PDF documents, you will add a label (e.g., PDF):
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Figure 195: Adding the PDF galley
When the HTML and PDF documents have been uploaded, you may
then change the order in which they will appear, using the up and
down Order arrow links.
You may also view the proofs, edit them, or delete them:
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Figure 196: Editing the galley files
When you have finished, select the Complete email icon, notifying
the section editor that the documents are ready for proofreading.
Once the author and proofreader have finished with the HTML and PDF
versions, you may review any proofreading corrections using the
Proofreading Corrections link near the bottom of the section. When
you are finished making all changes to the documents, use the
Complete icon to notify the Section Editor:
Figure 197: Completing the layout editing
The article is now ready to be published.
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Proofreaders
The Proofreader carefully reads over the galleys in the various formats
in which the journal publishes (as does the author), checking for
typographic and formatting errors, which the Layout Editor will fix. In
the case of some journals, the Editor and Section Editors play this role.
Getting Started

Select your role as Proofreader:
Figure 198: Signing in as a proofreader
Proofreading
Select the article title from your list of submissions to proofread.
The HTML and PDF versions are available in the Layout section.
Proofreading instructions are linked at the bottom of the section. You
may also submit corrections using the Proofreading Corrections icon.

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When you are finished, use the Complete icon to notify the Layout
Editor:
Figure 199: Proofreading

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OJS

Open Journal Systems

Manual for Editor and author

An Introduction to Open Journal Systems

Contents Open Journal Systems

The Editor oversees entire editorial and publishing process. The

In the Editorial Process, the Editor assigns submissions to the Section

The Editor also schedules submissions for publication, arranges the

Log in to your OJS account.

OJS in an Hour 1 116

Figure 135: Signing in as an editor

Under Submissions, you will see articles which are unassigned, in

Figure 136: Editors Menu

Select unassigned and then click the article title link.

Figure 137: Selecting an unassigned article

On the Summary page, go to the Submission section:

Figure 138: Unassigned article summary page

OJS in an Hour 3 118

From here, you have the option to:

Send an email message to the author (click on the envelope icon

Read the original file by clicking on the submission file name.

Add any supplementary files by clicking on the Add

Report author fee payments as paid, or optionally, waive those

Assign an editor or section editor. This will take you to a list of

Figure 139: Assigning a section editor

OJS in an Hour 4 119

Once the Assign link next to a Section Editor is clicked, an

Figure 140: E-mail to the section editor

In the Submission Metadata section of the article Summary page, you

Figure 141: Editing the article metadata

Figure 142: Summary Links

Return to the Editor Home page:

Figure 143: Editors Menu

Under Issues, you have the option to:

Create a New Issue

Figure 144: Create issue

If the Journal Manager has enabled subscriptions, you will be able to

Figure 145: Specify New Issue

Allows you to send an email to users associated with your journal:

Figure 146: Notifying users

View Future Issues

Figure 147: Future Issues

Figure 148: Table of Contents

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Figure 149: Article History

Figure 150: Viewing back issues

Figure 151: Issue Table of Contents

It is possible to reorder the articles using the Order arrows, to delete

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Log in to your OJS account.

Figure 152: Signing in as a section editor

OJS in an Hour 15 130

Figure 153: Submissions in review

Clicking any of these links will provide additional details on individual

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Click on the article title:

Figure 154: Review details

You have the option to:

Important: Please read the linked information on ensuring a blind