.. _ojs34-editorial-workflow-tutorial: =================================================== OJS 3.4 Editorial Workflow: Configuration & Practice =================================================== .. note:: **Format:** Self-paced or instructor-led tutorial **Length:** 20–30 minutes **Audience:** Journal editors and section editors **Prerequisites:** An editor-level (or Journal Manager) account on an OJS 3.4 journal Learning Objectives ==================== By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to: * Explain the four editorial stages that make up every OJS 3.4 submission's lifecycle. * Configure the journal's **Workflow Settings** (Submission, Review, Publisher Library, and Emails tabs) to match your journal's editorial policies. * Move a submission through the workflow — from initial intake to a published galley — and know which editorial decision to make at each stage. .. contents:: On this page :local: :depth: 2 Part 1 — The Four Editorial Stages at a Glance ================================================ Every submission in OJS 3.4 moves through up to four editorial stages, plus a final **Publication** tab used for scheduling: #. **Submission** — Intake and triage. The editor decides whether a manuscript is appropriate for review. #. **Review** — Peer review and author revisions. #. **Copyediting** — Language, style, and clarity edits after a submission passes review. #. **Production** — Galleys (PDF, HTML, ePub, etc.) are prepared for publication. A submission does not have to pass through every stage in order — an editor can skip Review entirely, send a submission backward, or decline it at almost any point. Each stage has its own **Participants** panel (for assigning people) and a **Discussions** panel (for private, stage-scoped conversation with authors, reviewers, or fellow editors). Part 2 — Configuring the Editorial Workflow ============================================= Before working submissions, a Journal Manager (or an editor with settings access) should configure **Settings → Workflow**, which has four tabs. 2.1 Submission Tab -------------------- Controls what happens *before* and *during* the moment an author submits: * **Disable Submissions** — turn off new submissions journal-wide, or per section via *Journal Sections*. * **Metadata** — enable metadata fields (e.g., keywords, subjects, supporting agencies) and choose whether authors fill them in or only editors can. * **Components** — define file types authors can upload (manuscript, figure, data set, etc.); mark components as supplementary or dependent. * **Checklist** — a list of requirements (formatting, citation style, blinding, etc.) authors must confirm before submitting. * **Author Guidelines** — instructions shown to authors during submission. 2.2 Review Tab ---------------- Controls peer review policy: * **Setup** — choose the default review mode (open, blind, double-blind); this can be overridden per submission. Enabling **one-click reviewer access** lets invited reviewers open the review page directly from their email without logging in (editors lose the ability to edit/CC that invitation email when this is on). * **Reviewer Guidance** — criteria and instructions shown to reviewers for judging suitability. * **Review Forms** — optional structured forms editors can assign so reviewers answer specific questions rather than free text only. 2.3 Publisher Library ------------------------ A shared file repository for boilerplate documents — author contracts, release forms, style guides — that editors can quickly attach to a submission's library during any stage. 2.4 Emails ------------ OJS sends automated emails at nearly every workflow transition (acknowledgement, review invite, decision letters, etc.). This tab lets you: * Edit the signature appended to outgoing mail. * Edit the default subject/body of any template. * Filter templates by sender, recipient, workflow stage, or enabled status. .. tip:: Configure these four tabs *before* your first live submission arrives — Author Guidelines, the Checklist, and Reviewer Guidance in particular shape what authors and reviewers see from their very first interaction with the journal. Part 3 — Working a Submission Through the Editorial Process ============================================================== This is the day-to-day workflow an editor follows once submissions start arriving. 3.1 Stage 1 — Submission --------------------------- A new submission lands here automatically. The editor reviews the files and decides how to proceed, optionally assigning a section editor (**Participants** panel) or opening a **Pre-Review Discussion** with the author first. **Editorial actions available:** .. list-table:: :header-rows: 1 :widths: 30 70 * - Action - What it does * - Send to Review - Moves the submission into the Review stage for peer review. * - Send to Copyediting - Skips peer review entirely and sends the submission straight to Copyediting. * - Decline Submission - Removes the submission from the active workflow and archives it. 3.2 Stage 2 — Review ----------------------- Peer review happens in **rounds**, starting at Round 1. Each round has its own panels: * **Review Files** — the files reviewers can see (unless restricted per reviewer). * **Reviewers** — assign reviewers, set due dates, and track recommendations; confirm a review once it's complete. * **Revisions** — author-uploaded revised files, ready to move forward once approved. * **Review Discussions** — private conversation among editors, sub-editors, and reviewers (authors cannot join or message reviewers directly). Discussions carry over across rounds. **Editorial decisions at the end of a round:** .. list-table:: :header-rows: 1 :widths: 30 70 * - Decision - What it does * - Request Revisions - Minor revisions — the editor can approve them without a new review round. * - Resubmit for Review - Major revisions — a new review round is created once the author resubmits. * - Send to Copyediting - The submission has passed review and moves forward. * - Decline Submission - The submission did not pass review; it is archived. Every decision automatically emails the author using the templates configured in :ref:`Emails ` (Part 2.4). 3.3 Stage 3 — Copyediting ---------------------------- A copyeditor (assigned via **Participants**) aligns the writing with house style, checks grammar and clarity, and prepares the text for layout. If you have no dedicated copyeditor, use this stage yourself to fact-check and clean up the manuscript. * **Draft Files** — files selected by the editor for copyediting (typically the approved review revisions). * **Copyediting Discussions** — clarify points with the author or coordinate with the copyeditor. * **Copyedited** — the finished files, uploaded by the copyeditor (or editor) and ready to move on. **Editorial action:** *Send to Production* — forwards the submission (and any files in **Copyedited**) to the Production stage. This is the only decision available at this stage; to decline this late, an editor must first send the submission back to an earlier stage. 3.4 Stage 4 — Production --------------------------- Production assistants (assigned via **Participants**) turn the copyedited files into publication **galleys** — separate formats such as PDF, HTML, or ePub. * **Production Ready Files** — the finished copyedited files used to generate galleys. * **Production Discussions** — coordination between editors and production assistants. Once galleys are ready, the editor uses **Schedule for Publication** to move the submission from the Workflow panel into the **Publication** tab. 3.5 The Publication Tab -------------------------- The final step before (and after) an article goes live: * Review and edit the article's metadata. * Upload the galley file(s). * Set access/permissions and assign the article to an issue. * **Create New Version** — publish an updated version of an already-published article while preserving prior versions for the public record. * **Unpublish Article** — remove an article from its issue and public view if needed. Quick Reference — Editorial Decisions Cheat Sheet ===================================================== .. list-table:: :header-rows: 1 :widths: 20 30 50 * - Stage - Decision - Result * - Submission - Send to Review / Send to Copyediting / Decline - Advances to Review, skips straight to Copyediting, or archives the submission. * - Review - Request Revisions / Resubmit for Review / Send to Copyediting / Decline - Minor fix without a new round, major revision with a new round, advance, or archive. * - Copyediting - Send to Production - Only available action; declining requires moving back to an earlier stage first. * - Production - Schedule for Publication - Moves the submission to the Publication tab for metadata, galleys, and issue assignment. Wrap-Up & Additional Resources ================================== * Every stage has a **Participants** panel (who's assigned) and a **Discussions** panel (private, stage-scoped messaging) — get comfortable with both; you'll use them constantly. * Configuration lives in **Settings → Workflow**; day-to-day work happens in each submission's **Workflow** tab. * Official documentation: `PKP Learning OJS 3 — Editorial Workflow `_ and `PKP Learning OJS 3 — Workflow Settings `_. * Source reference for this tutorial: `PKP OJS User Guide — Editorial Workflow `_ and `Workflow Settings `_. .. seealso:: Pair this tutorial with a live walkthrough in a sandbox/staging journal so editors can click through each stage and decision on a real (test) submission.