Online Early Policy
JCAL currently does well for getting accepted manuscripts into print. Delays arise from reviewing (although we are quicker than most at this) and from author editing (quite out of our control). But, at present, once a manuscript is accepted, we expect to have it available in print in about 80 days. However, submission rates are increasing. And, quite understandably, authors are increasingly concerned to have their work visible as soon as possible.
JCAL now takes part in the “Online Early” system for publication of manuscripts. This will allow us to make manuscripts available online via Blackwell’s ‘Synergy’ before being published in the traditional way, in print. The Online Early version of an article is considered the final, published product and will be identical to the subsequent printed version. The only difference will be that the printed version will contain page numbers and volume/issue information. For copyright purposes, the online PDF article is consided the definitive version rather than the full-text HTML version. What really matters is that this development will result in an even shorter acceptance-to-publication time period for us and so an overall faster rate of exposure for citable new work.
The system functions as follows. Once an article has been accepted, it is copy-edited, typeset, corrected by authors and returned to the typesetter on an individual basis. Final articles, known as ‘electronic deliverables’, will be sent to the relevant electronic content quality controller, who will process them and enter them onto Synergy. No corrections or changes can be made to the article from this point onwards. Changes could not be made to a printed page after publication, thus Online Early articles are treated in exactly the same way.
When the issue compilation stage is reached, the Editor provides an ordered list of manuscripts that are to appear in the issue. The typesetter then produces a set of issue-revised proofs that contain volume, issue and page numbers, but are otherwise identical to the articles already on Synergy in the Online Early area for that journal. The completed issue is then placed online, and the respective Online Early versions of papers, included in the issue, are simultaneously removed. By definition, the Online Early articles have no volume, issue or page numbers. They are therefore cited using their digital object identifier (DOI) number. These DOI numbers are explained in greater detail at http://www.doi.org/. Basically, they are a way of identifying content objects in the digital environment. They are a solution to the much-observed (and most irritating) experience of finding a “digital object” is no longer at the URL it used to be at. On this system a unique identifier, a DOI, stays with that object even though its location – and other identifying information about it - may change.
On adopting this DOI means of defining a paper, its correct citation once processed would take a format such as the following:
Beckett, Chris, McKeigue, Bridget & Taylor, Hilary (2006) Coming to conclusions: social workers' perceptions of the decision-making process in care proceedings. Child & Family Social Work doi: 10.1111/ j.1365-2206.2006.00437.x
Later an appropriate, and more familiar citation, would become:
Beckett, Chris, McKeigue, Bridget & Taylor, Hilary (2007) Coming to conclusions: social workers' perceptions of the decision-making process in care proceedings. Child & Family Social Work 12(1), xxx-xxx
An illustration of the system in full flow is provided by the journal from which the example above was taken. You may scrutinise this at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/cfs or another example at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/ipd
DOI: sequence of events following paper acceptance
Authors are also encouraged to register for author services.
This service enables authors to track their article - once it has been accepted - through the production process to publication online and in print. Authors can check the status of their articles online and choose to receive automated e-mails at key stages of production so they don't need to contact the journal editor to check on progress.
When an author's accepted article has been received in the production department, they will receive an e-mail with a URL link to the Author Services website. The author is invited to click through to the site and register their name and e-mail address using the unique link in the e-mail. Using this link and registering will automatically add the article to their new Author Services account.
Once registered, authors can request to receive e-mail alerts at all or any of the tracked stages of production. The e-mail alerts are in html although there is an option to receive them in plain text. If an author decides not to receive e-mail alerts they can still log in periodically to track the status of their article online. The website contains clear descriptions of all the production stages tracked.
The Author Services website at www.blackwellpublishing.com/bauthor also includes further information for anyone wanting to contribute articles to the journal. This includes author guidelines, information on how to submit an article, how to optimize an article for search engine rankings, details of archiving rights and how to link to articles on Synergy. This information is available to all website visitors and will be expanded over time.
DOI: A note on what it is
The point of this number is to give intellectual property a unique identifier that lets internet-users find it - even though its actual file address may change (which we know happens a lot with traditional URLs for documents).
WIth such a system you need only enter the DOI number in a resolver at http://www.doi.org. You will then be automatically forwarded to the latest storage location for the document. You can also select the document directly by entering the address http://dx.doi.org/ plus the corresponding DOI,
e.g.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1000/186 for the DOI manual.