Aries Systems Corporation

It is important for publications to collect key information throughout the editorial process. The amount (and type) of information needed may vary greatly from journal to journal, and adjustments may need to be made on-the-fly as journal policies evolve. Editorial Manager’s highly-configurable system allows journal offices to customize the Editor Decision Form to solicit specific data from Editors at various decision workflow points based on their unique preferences.

As Editors are ready to make their final decision on a manuscript within EM, they must first complete the Editor form. Decision terms (such as Accept, Revise, Reject, Transfer, etc.) can be customized by the journal, along with the subsequent decision letter that is triggered based on the term selected. Publications can choose to add a list of decision phrases to the form, which can be automatically included in the decision letter, and instructions on the Editor Form can be easily added or edited at any time. Sections and fields on the form can be configured as required or optional, and can also be reordered to appear in the desired format. The Editor Form may also include comments from Reviewers or other Editors for that particular manuscript.

Recent EM functionality grants journal offices the ability to create and add custom questions to Editor forms, allowing for more granular and specific data collection. Any number of questions can be crafted to an Editor Form questionnaire, which can then be assigned to a specific Editor role or Article Type as needed. Question format and response types available include text, date, integer, decimal, notes, list, yes/no, etc. Questions associated with a form are available for both new and revised submissions. If desired, custom questions and the Editor’s subsequent responses may be automatically included into decision letters to Authors through two merge fields:

%EDITOR_QUESTIONS_AND_RESPONSES% inserts Custom Review Questions and responses from Editors into Decision (Notify Author) letters, if configured. The field pulls selected questions and responses into the draft Notify Author letter, where Editors may edit the information directly in the letter draft before sending.

%EDITOR_RESPONSES_AND_COMMENTS_TO_AUTHOR% inserts all Custom Review Questions and responses from Editors and all Editor Comments to Author for decisions that have been submitted for the current version/revision of the submission into the Decision (Notify Author) letters and Ad Hoc from Editor letters, if configured.

Custom questions, and tailored Editor Decision Forms, allow publications to collect key information from Editors and ensures the data is maintained within the system, rather than shared via external channels such as email. Storing the response information within EM allows this data to be pulled into reports downstream, including these two report views in EM’s Enterprise Analytics Reporting (EAR) module: Editor Questions and Responses View (accessible from Custom Reports) and Cross-Publication Editor Questions and Responses.

For questions and configuration assistance, contact your dedicated Aries Account Coordinator.