Making a List…
For many, the end of the year is a time of reflection. If you had a good year, it’s a time to savor your accomplishments; for a not-so-great year, it’s a time to consider what might need to change in the coming new year. And for others, it’s a time to check your calendar because it can’t possibly be December, right?
In this spirit of reflection, I’d like to revisit the Question of the Month from November: “If you could provide one piece of advice to budding science editors on how they can improve their editing skills, what would it be?”
We received a few responses, but I’d like to see if we can increase that number by tweaking the question: If you could provide one piece of advice to yourself at an earlier time in your career, what would it be? This could be advice that would have helped you at the start of your career, or something that would have come in handy last week if you’d only known it then.
Is there a skill you wish you had learned? Some book/article/post you wish you had read earlier (or was around when you needed it)? Some bit of knowledge you have now that would have saved you a lot of trouble?
Responses should be emailed to scienceeditor@councilscienceeditors.org , and when we receive enough helpful responses, we’ll compile them into a future Science Editor article. Who knows, maybe your response will be the piece of advice that makes all the difference for someone in 2019.
Jonathan Schultz
Editor-in-Chief, Science Editor
Recent Early Online Article
One question to consider reflecting on is, does your journal or organization reflect the diversity of the field it represents?
For many, the answer is no, but in their Case Report, Advancing Science through Diversity and Inclusion in the Editorial Process , M. Rivera Mindt and co-authors describe the steps they took at The Clinical Neuropsychologist to develop a strategic plan to increase the diversity and inclusion of its editorial board, ad hoc reviewers, and manuscript submissions, and the progress they have made in a relatively short period by making diversity a priority.
Hot Articles from Recent Issues (For CSE Members only)
As a CSE member benefit, once Science Editor articles are moved to an issue, they are available only to CSE Members for one year.
This month, CSE Members should be sure to check out Hiring and Training Copy Editors for Scholarly Publishing by Science Editor Copy Chief, Jessica LaPointe. It’s a cliché when discussing the importance of copyeditors to leave in a mistake, so I won’t do thab, but copyeditors are essential, mostly unsung, heroes that can make a publication great.
Not a CSE member? Additional membership info along with instructions for becoming a member of the Council of Science Editors can be found here .
CSE Members are reminded to update their member profiles following these steps so they can access all of Science Editor.
From the Archives
As several research funders became increasingly assertive in their push for full open access this year, 2018 will likely be seen as an inflection point. So it is interesting to look back at the March 2013 Science Editor special issue, Perspectives on Open Access . At the time, the Research Councils UK had just implemented their OA mandate, and it’s worth reading through the articles to see what has, and hasn’t, changed in the intervening 5 years.
Resource of the Month
Being an editor and working at a scientific publication requires being ever knowledgeable of a rapidly changing scientific and publishing landscape, so each month I highlight a resource that will hopefully make this at least a little bit easier.
This month it’s the upcoming CSE Webinar: Getting Out of the Reporting Rut
I use a lot of reports, and I frequently wonder if I’m running the right ones and using the data as best as I can. This webinar is designed to help by providing “examples of reports meant to advise editorial decisions, plan strategically, and make data-driven decisions. In addition to new reports added to your arsenal, we will provide a list of top do’s and don’ts for preparing your very own show stopping reports.”
A Tweet for the Road
1960s Christmas lightbulb salesman case. pic.twitter.com/OAfPmB1DdG
— Present & Correct (@presentcorrect) November 27, 2018
In the spirit of the season, please enjoy this photo of a 1960s Christmas lightbulb salesman case. For lovers of the holidays, meticulous organization, and cases.
Be on the lookout for the Winter 2018 issue later this month, and then see you in 2019!
Feedback and suggestions are always welcome at scienceeditor@councilscienceeditors.org.
We are also always looking for new submissions or article suggestions you may have; for more details, see our Information for Authors.