Workshop for scholarly journal publishing 2019
Article information
Time and date: 12:00-17:00, March 7, 2019
Venue: International Conference Room, National Library of Korea, Seoul, Korea
Theme: Workshop for scholarly journal publishing 2019
Organizer: Korean Council of Science Editors
The workshop for scholarly journal publishing 2019, jointly hosted by the Korean Council of Science Editors (KCSE) and the National Library of Korea was held on March 7, 2019, at the International Conference Room, National Library of Korea. Similar to the workshop for scholarly journal publishing in September 2018, this event was highly anticipated to provide a meaningful time in meeting and sharing information with other participants as was its predecessor (Fig. 1).
Group photo of the workshop for scholarly journal publishing 2019 (March 7, 2019).
The event began with a lecture on the role of journal authors and international author identifiers. In scientific articles, authorship is gaining its importance more than ever. Among the various types of authors, there are corresponding authors, first authors, co-authors and more, which heavily depend on each journal’s criteria for accepting co-corresponding authors or co-first authors. The ordering and roles of authors should be negotiated among the authors. The order of author names is usually arranged according to their respective contributions, with the first author being the person who has made the greatest contribution. There are often cases where authors request for the addition, deletion, or reordering of authors after submission; such issues must be discussed and agreed upon by all authors and approved by the Editorial Board. Whenever possible, it is recommended that the order of the authors and their English names be clearly confirmed by the corresponding author. Author identifiers include ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID), ISNI (International Standard Name Identifier), Researcher ID, and Scopus Author Identifier. Since there are many authors with the same name and abbreviation, a growing number of journals are adopting authors’ unique identifiers.
The second lecture was an introduction to the online repository and electronic journal archives of the National Library of Korea. When submitting a journal to the repository, one can upload online files, send storage media, or indicate the URL of the journal website. A convenient method can be chosen depending on the number and frequency of journal publications. The National Library of Korea is continuously contributing to the permanent preservation of submitted materials through digital archiving (http://seoji.nl.go.kr/archive).
The workshop continued with an education session about how to write an e-mail in English. International journals often require communication with authors from foreign countries via e-mail. What I acknowledged from my previous working experience was the importance of formality and conciseness in writing along with the use of proper grammar. This session provided various tips in such areas, which would help writing in the correct manner. Afterwards, we were also provided with a practice session where we could detect and correct errors using actual e-mail examples. I became more aware of the expressions I had frequently used and was able to change them in a more refined way.
Finally, there was an introduction to manuscript editing qualifications and curricula. In Korea, there is a certificate system for manuscript editors operated by KCSE since 2016. A total of 67 certificates have been awarded to date. It offers a good opportunity for editing professionals to verify their competency as manuscript editors and develop the relevant knowledge through preparation for the examination.
After the lecture, there was a group discussion on the required qualifications of the members of a publishing team. The publishing team includes editorial staff of academic societies, layout editors, website and JATS XML file producers, and manuscript editors. Because punctuality is very important in publishing an academic journal and many experts work to reduce errors as much as possible, the most important work guideline in editing is considered to be a fast and accurate publication. Moreover, much time and effort are spent while a manuscript is submitted, reviewed and published. Therefore, the publishing members need to have an overall thorough knowledge about manuscript editing and the publishing process, along with communication skills with domestic and foreign authors and reviewers. I also think that sincerity and cooperative spirit are necessary virtues for the members, in addition to the sense of responsibility to take charge of the entire work.
In order to enhance such qualities, it is necessary for publishing staffs to accumulate experience in reading many papers and journals. Analyzing the publishing style and website composition of various domestic and international journals will facilitate the better improvement of one’s own journal. It is also helpful to gain specialized knowledge on editing and to expand exchanges with relevant professionals through training courses and workshops held at specialized institutions such as KCSE.
Throughout the time at this workshop, I realized that everyone was working with responsibility in their positions. Sharing the difficulties and new ideas for development among the members of different institutions made it a meaningful and rewarding event.
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Conflict of Interest
No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.