IEEE Technical Activities Volunteer Training IEEE Publications July 2014 Topics Publications contributions and value to the community Overview primary roles and responsibilities of publications Getting involved in the TAB publications organization Criteria and standards High level timeline IEEE Periodicals IEEE periodical content are deemed high-quality and are highly referenced – High citations rankings – IEEE publishing is the leader among patent citation sources The trust placed in our content is a result of the care and validation each paper receives. All IEEE articles, whether feature articles in magazines or papers in journals, are peer-reviewed – All levels of editors and peer-reviewers are members of that specific scientific community supporting the journal or magazine Importance of IEEE Periodicals The number of journal articles added yearly has increased steadily since 2001. Journal articles added yearly 4 23-Jun-16 Growth of Periodicals in IEEE IEEE publishes 161 Journals, Transactions and Magazines and represents more than 30% of the world’s annually published literature in energy, electrotechnology, information and communication technology, control and industrial automation, life science engineering, systems engineering, applied electronics, vehicular transportation systems, computing, and related fields. Reach of IEEE Periodicals There are currently nearly 3M conferences and publications articles in the IEEE digital library 7M+ articles are downloaded per month More than 2M engineers, scientists, and students have free access to articles Top-Ranking Publications Each year, the Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports® (JCR) examines the influence and impact of scholarly research journals The 2012 JCR study, released in June 2013, reveals that IEEE journals have sustained their status as premier scholarly publications For more information on metrics used to determine influence and impact, please see Gianluca Setti’s white paper on Bibliometric Indicators: – http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=06515033 7 6/23/2016 Top-Ranking Publications Impact Factor: the average number of times articles from a journal published in the past two years have been cited in the JCR year – – – – 18 of the top 20 journals in Electrical and Electronic Engineering 10 of the top 10 journals in Telecommunications 8 of the top 10 journals in Computer Science, Hardware, and Architecture 7 of the top 10 journals in Automation & Control Systems Eigenfactor Score: the measure of a journal’s total importance to the scientific community, using defined citation matrices – 8 of the top 10 journals in Electrical and Electronic Engineering – 10 of the top 10 journals in Telecommunications Article Influence Score: a measure of the average influence of each of a journal’s articles over the first five years after publication – 8 of the top 10 journals in Electrical and Electronic Engineering – 9 of the top 10 journals in Telecommunications 8 6/23/2016 IEEE Open Access Hybrid journals – Offered by majority of all IEEE transactions, journals, and letters – Permit both traditional subscription-based content as well as open access, author-pays content Fully open access journals – Dedicated to a specific subject area – Contain author-pays articles – Delivered online only IEEE Access – Rapid-decision, open access journal spanning all IEEE fields of interest – Fully open access – Contains author-pays articles – Delivered online only Global IEEE Publication Activity Regions 1-6: USA Region 7: Canada Region 8: Europe, Africa, Middle East Region 9: Latin America Region 10: Asia & Pacific (from March 2014 Stats) 100% 90% 80% 70% Region 10 60% Region 9 50% Region 8 40% Region 7 30% Regions 1-6 20% 10% 0% Editors Authors Consumers Lifecycle of Periodicals Periodical Life Cycle Management Ideation & Development Start-up – Adjustment as needed Constant Assessment Maturity – Regular pursuit of opportunities and continual improvement – Revitalize when larger-scale changes are needed – Merge when there’s a need to blending content of 2+ periodicals for strategic or economic advantage – Sunset a title when none of the other options are viable Periodicals Development Process Idea Generation Submit Letter of Intent Proposal Creation Approval Phase One Approval Phase Two Create First Issue Ongoing Production & Life Cycle Management First Year Review Third Year Review Periodicals Development Process Idea Generation Submit LOI Approval Phase One Proposal Creation Ongoing Production & Life Cycle Management Approval Phase Two Creation of First Issue First Year Review TAB Periodicals Review and Advisory Committee Third Year Review TAB Periodicals Committee assignment to Periodicals Watch List Idea Generation Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) A LOI: – Establishes a starting point for development – Notifies other impacted IEEE Societies/Technical Councils – Explains the need for/benefit of establishing new publication – Explains how new publication differs from existing publications LOI is sent to dedicated email address (periodical@ieee.org) An email with the LOI is sent to Periodicals Committee members for review prior to Board meetings Periodicals Committee reviews LOI at Board meeting A survey is then conducted by IEEE to be used in proposal creation Proposal Creation Approval Phase 1 Approval Phase 2 Roles and Responsibilities Many Ways to Volunteer Within a specific publication (Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editor, Reviewer) Within a specific Society/Technical Council (different positions defined by Society/Technical Council, including Vice President of Publications, Chairs of various committees, member of publications committees, representative to steering/advisory publication committees) Within a TAB/IEEE committee (Periodicals, PRAC, Proposal Development committees) Editor-in-Chief Responsibilities of Editor-in-Chief are different for each journal or Society/Technical Council Responsible for day-to-day Volunteer leadership of publication, which may include: – Coordinating and overseeing peer review process – Recommending/selecting candidates for editorial board – Developing editorial plans – Serving as member of Steering Committee and/or Publications Board – Working in general with Volunteers and staff to ensure and maintain timely, high-quality publication Associate Editor Manages the peer review of manuscripts by members of the peer community Handles manuscripts and communications with authors Advises the EiC on questions related to special issues, overview papers, new AE nominations, suitability of papers, plagiarism, etc. Attends Editorial Board meetings Handles comments, corrections, and errata Associate Editor (continued) Editors are generally assigned a specific topic segment covered by an IEEE journal or magazine. Under the direction of the Editor(s)-in-Chief, the Editor will guide submitted articles through the peer-review process to ensure the content is vetted among community experts – Identification of and coordination with appropriate reviewers who properly vet the article content in the allowable time span for decision – Usually there is a database of potential reviewers, however there is always need for adding more willing experts to do that important role. Identification of new reviewer prospects may be necessary Reviewer Peer review of all papers that appear in transactions, journals, or letters publications is required by the IEEE Papers are selected for publication on bases of technical merit and appropriateness This is an important way to give back to your technical community, as there is always a shortage of reviewer experts The time commitment for this role is variable, depending on the complexity of the article. The assessment of the article content can range from a few hours in total to something which may take a few evenings to validate step-by-step Author Research and identify which periodical best fits your needs Identify basic criteria for paper submission to best-fit periodical The basic structure of scientific papers – All scientific papers have the same general format, typically comprised of the following parts: Title Abstract Introduction Literature Review Methods Results Discussion Cited Literature Periodicals Positions within Societies/Councils Periodicals positions within Societies/Technical Councils are defined by each respective Society/Technical Council These typically include leadership roles: – Vice President, Publications – Chairs of various boards/committees within Societies/Technical Councils And membership roles within Society-defined boards and committees: – Member of Publications Board – Member of Publications Committee – Member of other operational publications committees TAB Periodicals Committee Facilitate TAB action on proposals for new Society/Technical Council (S/C) periodicals by reviewing all such proposals and making recommendations to TAB and the PSPB on all matters other than those relating to finance Monitor the quality and timeliness of S/C sponsored periodicals and recommend appropriate action to TAB to ensure that adequate standards are maintained Assist S/Cs in resolving any disagreements regarding overlapping fields of interest in S/C periodicals Report to TAB important developments in Institute publication policies as they impact S/C periodicals Advise TAB on proposed changes in Institute guidelines, policies and procedures concerning S/C periodicals Assume other responsibilities related to publications with which it may be charged by TAB in furtherance of its functions TAB Periodicals Review and Advisory Committee (PRAC) Monitor the timeliness, appropriateness, and quality of all TAB S/C periodicals Establish a schedule to review each S/C at least once every five years Work with the appropriate S/C Presidents and Division Directors to ensure that scheduled reviews are completed, and the findings of these reviews are submitted to the TAB Periodicals Committee in a timely manner Work in a collaborative and collegial fashion with S/C publication boards to develop improvements in quality and timeliness to enhance competitive positioning of the S/C periodicals, based on best practices used by other IEEE periodicals TAB Proposal Development Committee Monitor the timeliness, quality, and potential problems with proposals undergoing the TAB New Periodicals Development Process Report to the TAB Periodicals Committee any feedback the Committee has regarding all proposals Indicate to Technical Activities staff the readiness of proposals to proceed to the multiple approval stages identified in the TAB New Proposals Development Process Work in a collaborative and collegial fashion with S/C periodical proposers to impart the Committee’s knowledge of best practices for periodicals and also best practices for the proposal creation. How to Work Effectively with Associate Editors, Reviewers, and Authors Thrasos Pappas, Northwestern University Presented at IEEE Panel of Editors Meeting Chicago, 28 March 2014 EIC Tasks (Day-to-Day) Select and appoint AEs Assign AEs Immediate rejects Advise AEs on unusual cases, difficult decisions, etc. Author complaints Duplicate submissions Plagiarism Paper Overload Over-length papers Page budgets, etc. Reporting to Vice President, Publications of the sponsoring Societies/Technical Councils Reporting to IEEE EIC Tasks (Long-Term) New research directions – AE selection – Overview articles – Special issues – “Editors Information Classification Scheme” (EDICS) updates Publication quality – Significance of the contribution (novelty; too narrow; etc.) – Balance between incremental and groundbreaking papers – Selective/inclusive balance – New ideas, new perspectives, new people – Immediate rejects – NOT based on reference to home journal Dealing with increasing number of submissions – AE and reviewer fatigue – Difficult to find enough qualified AEs and reviewers – Traditional system does not scale well Selecting and Appointing AEs Quality of research/publications – Publications in IEEE transactions/journals – Too many publications is not a good sign Experience – Tenure; number of years since Ph.D. – Peer pressures Dedication, honesty, integrity Review activity Other obligations/conflicts Covering topical areas, prominent people – AEs with reduced load Demographics – Geography, gender, minorities, academia/industry Seek advice from TCs, other AEs, EICs AE Tasks Understand what the paper is really about Secure at least 3 reviewers for each paper – A lot easier to defend a decision based on 3 reviewers but increasingly hard to find qualified reviewers – Personalized invitation letters help attract reviewers – Sending papers to people who have interest in the work – “Editors Information Classification Scheme” (EDICS) – Selecting reviewers with different perspectives on the work Timeliness vs. quality of reviews Make decision based on substance of the reviews – Not a mechanical, majority rule – reviews are only advisory – May add their own opinion – What is the significance of the contribution? – Incremental vs. breakthrough AE Tasks (continued) Justify and clearly communicate the decision to the authors – Active and clear decision letter – Why a rejection decision was made – What the AE expects to see in a revision – Reviewer comments may be contradictory – Not all comments/suggestions are correct or need to be addressed Second round of reviews – Did the authors address AE expectations? – Do not bring up new issues, except if… New evidence had come up (e.g., another paper by the authors) Keep track of paper length – Paper can grow too long if authors try to address every reviewer recommendation Conference vs. journal papers EICs with the AEs Assigning papers – Individual assignment… but too many papers… – Based on EDICS – Let the AEs choose (but potential ScholarOne limitations) – Allow AEs to swap papers Can override AE decisions – But better to work with them Dealing with difficult authors Difficult issues brought up by reviewers Resubmissions of rejected papers – Give clear guidelines to AEs how to handle these papers – Explain how the paper has addressed reviewer concerns – Substantial departure from previous submission Time off or reduced load EICs and AEs Working with Authors Important to respond – Authors are appreciative – Understand author complaints – Make sure you have AE version of the story – Coordinate with AE – and VP Pubs if needed Be fair Mutual respect Follow Operations Manual Follow EIC guidance Other issues – Simultaneous submissions – Reviewer exclusion – Conflicts of interest with reviewers or AEs Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) support unit Ethics and Member Conduct Committee (EMCC) Working with Other IEEE Journals Recommend authors consider other IEEE journals for papers that are out of scope Sharing information about plagiarism, duplicate submissions Exchanging info about best practices Exchanging ideas and bringing communities together Contacts Who to Contact to Volunteer Within a specific publication (Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editor, Reviewer) – Contact Editor-in-Chief of the desired publication for more information Within a specific Society/Technical Council (different positions defined by Society, including Vice President of Publications, Chairs of various committees, member of publications committees, representative to steering/advisory publication committees, or to propose a new publication) – Contact Vice President of Publications of desired Society/Technical Council for more information Within a TAB/IEEE committee (Periodicals, PRAC, Proposal Development committees) – Contact Chair of desired committee or IEEE Vice President for Technical Activities for more information Staff contact, for additional questions: – Laura Creighton, Senior Periodicals Product Manager (l.creighton@ieee.org) Any Questions?