The OSGeo Journal project has begun using the PKP Open Journal System (OJS) for managing its workflow and publication. At the moment (Oct 07) it is being tested by loading the previous Journal Volume 2 into the system. Future Volumes will also use it.

Current instance: http://osgeo.org/ojs - this is a draft/test instance and should not be considered operational yet.

Workflow

The workflow for accepting submissions, reviewing them and approving them will slightly change. For now the system will be used for publishing and indexing the final content. There are metadata indexing portions of the system that will help people search, find and cite our articles more effectively. Also, it opens up the process to be better handled for peer review.

Terms & Roles

Some terms used in the system may sound confusing if they are new to you. Here are the basics you need to know as an editor:

OAI - The PKP Open Archives Harvester is a free metadata indexing system developed by the Public Knowledge Project
Journal Manager - i.e. Editor in chief
Copyeditor/Proofreader - reviews the text of papers for grammar, typography, etc.
Galleys - preliminary versions of a published article for review purposes, i.e. a draft PDF (more) - not to be confused with a type of ship

Within the system, each user is given one or more roles. Roles define the functions that a user has available to use and what they are responsible to manage. Here are typical workflows for various scenarios. A comprehensive workflow diagram follows.

Authors

Upload files and metadata
Watches review process
Reviews edits - this is a part that has traditionally been missing in previous editions of the Journal. OJS will help us streamline it.

Editors

Automatically receive papers for your section
Interact with reviewers & authors
Finalise submissions

Reviewers / Proofreaders / Copyeditors

Receive notices of papers to review
Submit review comments

Journal Manager

Coordinates process
Participates in Journal-wide review
Publishes final articles
Submits to indexing engines

Here is a comprehensive workflow diagram:

References

Online documentation, support forum and web site for the OJS
Install notes for the OJS are almost identical to the SAC:Setup OCS item

Journal System

Contents