Responsibilities of a Scientific Journal Office(Part 1)

The success of a scientific journal does not only depend on its scientificity; it also requires precise and accurate management of its publication. One critical issue is managing the manuscripts of submitted or rejected articles.

Generally, some of the usual responsibilities of a scientific Journal office include managing article manuscripts and other documents, assessing and storing letters and information, and reviewing and evaluating these processes. All of these tasks need to be scheduled; therefore, it is recommended that if possible, a full-time secretary be hired for the scientific journal office so that the editorial board can thoroughly focus on the journal’s routine activities. It would be ideal if the secretary is familiar with the topic of the journal and also capable of communicating well with the editorial board. Since it is very difficult to find such a person with the sufficient experience of working with a scientific journal, especially in developing countries, the secretary usually needs to be trained. However, if the concessionaire of a scientific journal is a university, it cannot be difficult to find graduates who have the experience of helping with the work of a journal, but first they must be informed about their tasks because the workload could be beyond one’s capability.

• A secretory to schedule the tasks of the office
• Language editors or final editors
• Technical Editor
• Designer, graphist or page layout technician
• Publishing technician
• Computer and internet Technician

A scientific journal office requires hardware, software, and other equipment that can be used professionally. Even if all of these tools are not initially available, the editor can make a list of his/her priorities and leave the other ones for the future. The list of the needed equipment, such as desks, chairs, computers, software, internet lines, telephones, and faxes should be selected based on the place of the office.

The responsibilities of a scientific journal office can be divided into four categories:

• The usual tasks of a journal office
• Responding to clients