Transcript Journals published on behalf of the British Society of Soil Science Welcome from the editors: Prof.

Journals published on behalf of the
British Society of
Soil Science
Welcome from the editors:
Prof. Steve Jarvis (EJSS)
and Prof. Mike Goss (SUM)
Soil Use and
Management
This presentation provides authors
with information to help you to:
 Understand journal policies and
processes.
 Optimize your time and efforts
(and ours!!).
It is not a guarantee of paper
acceptance
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Journal aims and scope
Soil Use and
Management
European Journal of Soil Science
 Provides a forum for high quality,
innovative and internationally relevant
developments in soil science.
 Advances our understanding of soil
processes and reports the development
of new approaches, techniques and
types of analysis.
 Suitable topics include:
 biological interactions;
 chemical/physical processes and
functions;
 carbon and organic matter;
 soil development, variability and
characterization;
 statistical and spatial distribution
methods.
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Journal aims and scope
Soil Use and
Management
Soil Use and Management
 Covers a wide range of applied soil
science e.g. agriculture, horticulture,
forestry, amenity and other soil
environments.
 Focuses on the use of scientific
principles to understand and solve
practical problems affecting soils,
crops and the environment.
 Papers must have international
relevance.
 Suitable topics include: soil-crop
interactions, environmental protection,
sustainable land use, soil conservation,
pollution control, land reclamation etc.
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Types of papers
Soil Use and
Management
Both journals accept:





Research papers.
Critical reviews.
Short communications.
Book reviews.
Letters to the editor/comments on
papers.
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Acceptance rates
Soil Use and
Management
 40% (EJSS) and 23% (SUM) of
papers are rejected immediately
by the editors (2013).
 Only c. 29% (EJSS) and 25%
(SUM) of submitted papers are
published.
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Origin of papers
submitted in 2013 (%)
Country
SUM
EJSS
30 (9)
40 (8)
North America
5
5
South America
7
5
26
21
India/Pakistan
/Bangladesh
9
7
Africa
7
5
16
17
Europe (UK)
China
Rest of World
Soil Use and
Management
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Why such a large rejection
rate?
Soil Use and
Management
 Topic not suitable for journal.
 Too ‘applied’ (EJSS).
 Too ‘process oriented’ (SUM).
 Not novel or innovative.
 Local relevance only.
 Poor science, experimental design
or execution.
 Poor analysis or interpretation of
results.
 Inadequate statistics.
 Plagiarism or double publishing.
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Other common problems
Soil Use and
Management
 Too long (<6500 words EJSS; <5000
words SUM)
 Too short!!!
 Too descriptive (e.g. no
hypothesis tested)
 Problems with English (use the Wiley
English language editing service)
 Incorrect structure and/or formatting
(e.g. references)
It may be possible to rectify these
problems
European
Journal of
Soil Science
How EJSS decides if a
paper is suitable
Soil Use and
Management
For example:
“Response of ground nuts to fertilizer and
manure addition in North Tawtonia in 2011”
 Is it novel/innovative?
 Possibly but....
 Is it too applied?
 Yes
 New basic science/process information?
 No
 Of general international interest
 No (North Tawtonia)
 Adequate experimental design?
 Probably not (only one year’s data)
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Examples of unsuitable
papers for SUM
 Impacts of soil slaking and drying
on release and retention of cations
during desalinization - too process
based (EJSS?).
 Topography and water regimen
influence phosphorus desorption
in the semi-arid soils of Outer
Embistan - local relevance only.
 Impact of sewage sludge
amendment on heavy metal
concentrations in soils growing
soybean - environmental survey;
no new science presented.
Soil Use and
Management
European
Journal of
Soil Science
What to do before you start
Soil Use and
Management
Ask yourself:
 Is the experimental approach and
design good?
 Have you consulted others:
statisticians, statisticians,
statisticians....?
 Does the work meet the criteria for
the journal ?
 Did you think carefully about
publication before you started
writing?
European
Journal of
Soil Science
For EJSS:
Soil Use and
Management
 Is it good science (this includes
experimental design and
techniques)?
 Is analysis of the data adequate and
appropriate to the investigation?
 Is it new or innovative?
 Does it improve significantly our
understanding of soil processes?
 Is it interesting to an international
audience?
European
Journal of
Soil Science
For SUM:
 Is it good science (this includes
experimental design and
techniques)?
 Is analysis of the data adequate and
appropriate to the investigation?
 Is it new or innovative?
 Does it contribute to the improved
management and use of soils?
 Is it interesting to an international
audience?
It is not easier to get a paper
published in SUM !!
Soil Use and
Management
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Helpful hints…
 Read the guidance to authors very
carefully (go to websites; author
guidelines)
 Look at slide shows on website
 Look at example paper on website or
in recent issue (on-line or print):
 paper structure
 figures and tables
 references
 statistics
Soil Use and
Management
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Example structure for an EJSS paper
Stock, turnover time and accumulation of
organic matter in bulk and density fractions
of a Podzol soil
Soil Use and
Management
Summary
Introduction
Materials and methods
Site description
Sampling
Analyses
Density fractionation
Turnover time of organic carbon
Statistical analysis
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Example structure for an SUM paper
Soil Use and
Management
Phosphorus fertilizer form affects phosphorus
loss to waterways: a paired catchment study
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and methods
Site description
Treatments
Measurements
Analytical methods
Statistical analyses
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Statistics and soils
Soil Use and
Management
Excellent series of papers by
Webster: guidance on the use and
presentation of statistical methods
and results in soil science:
 SUM 5 (2) and EJSS 48 (3): Regression
 EJSS 52 (2): Statistics to support soil
research and their presentation
 EJSS 58 (1): Analysis of variance,
inference multiple comparisons and
sampling effects
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Points to watch
 Are full details of experiment design given?
 Pseudo-replication?
 Are results presented clearly? (see papers
by Webster)
 CV – should be restricted to variables with
an absolute zero
 ‘Treatment A yielded significantly more
than treatment B (P < 0.05)’ – essential to
also quote mean values.
 Give Standard Errors of the Mean (SEM)
rather than Standard Deviations (SD)
 Regression – give the regression equation,
S.E. and value of R2
 ANOVA – must include replication and
randomization
 Importance of data transformations
 Numerical results to 3 significant figures
Soil Use and
Management
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Before you submit …..
 Have you followed the
recommended style, length &
format ?
 Check all references are included
and correctly formatted.
 Ask colleagues to read and
criticise your paper.
 Non-native English speakers – get
guidance and help from a native
English speaker (or use the Wiley
English language editing service)
Soil Use and
Management
European
Journal of
Soil Science
The Editorial Team
Soil Use and
Management
Editor in
Chief
Deputy
Editor
Associate
Editor
(1)
Deputy
Editor
Associate
Associate
Editor
Editor
(2)
Associate
Editor
(…29)
Associate
Editor
(…30)
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Referees
How does the editorial
system operate?
Soil Use and
Management
1. Initial review (Eds): No  Immediate reject
Yes  Associate Ed. & refs  2
2. Review
3. Revision
4. Review
5. Editor in Chief
No  Reject
Yes Revision
Reject but re-submit
Major revision
Minor revision
Reject
Major revision
Minor revision
Accept
Final review and edit
Questions to authors
Send to publishers
3
1
4
4
3
3
5
European
Journal of
Soil Science
What to do if the paper is
rejected
Soil Use and
Management
 Outright/immediate rejection
 Little chance - accept decision
 Rejection after full review
 If the advice from Assoc. Ed and
referees is solid – accept
decision
 Contact Ed in Chief ONLY if you
have evidence that the
reviewers are wrong
Don’t rant at the EiC!
European
Journal of
Soil Science
What to do if you need to
revise the paper
Soil Use and
Management
 Take each recommendation very
seriously - do not ignore
 Explain your reactions and
changes carefully
 Provide concrete evidence if you
‘dispute’ decisions
“We are right” is not good enough
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Final comments.
Soil Use and
Management
 Pressure to publish and the
work involved (for authors
and editors) is great
• 300-350+ papers received/year
 Do not take short cuts
 Our editors & referees will find
you out!
 Both journals now check for
plagiarism/double publishing
 Listen to advice
 Read decision letters and
review reports very carefully
European
Journal of
Soil Science
If all this advice is followed
Soil Use and
Management
 Better chance of your paper
being accepted.
 Continued flow of high quality
papers.
 Improved international
representation of good work.
More satisfaction for you and an
easier life for all of us!!!
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Thank you for watching this
Soil Use and
Management
Please do ask questions
Do not hesitate to contact us for
initial guidance on the potential
suitability of a paper…..
…. we look forward to receiving
your papers.
European
Journal of
Soil Science
Published on behalf of the
British Society of
Soil Science
For more information go to the journal web sites:
EJSS - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2389
SUM - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1475-2743