Welcome for new editors

We hear from many of our new journal editors that taking on the editorial responsibilities for a journal for the first time can sometimes be a daunting prospect. In response, we have developed Editor Hub, based on input from some of our existing editors and our own long experience. Editor Hub, together with Editors’ Update and the expert insights from your publishing contact, will provide you with guidance on your role as editor, as well as background information about the publishing processes, Elsevier in general, and the ways in which we can assist you in your role. We look forward to working closely with you to support your communities. By the end of 2020, all our journals will benefit from being on the same editorial submission system. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank you all for your patience during this transition. Happily, the migration is going well, and we are accelerating our efforts to develop new tools to help you in your daily work, for example the reviewer recommender and our manuscript dashboard. This follows our approach of investing heavily in technology and technologists to create valuable resources for our customers.

We welcome any comments or feedback; please feel free to pass these to your publishing contact.

Once again let me take this opportunity to thank you sincerely for your work as editor and to wish you every success in discharging this pivotal role.

Laura Hassink MD, Elsevier Journals

Getting started

• As well as your Editorial Team and your Editorial Board, you’ll also be working directly with authors and reviewers. Check out these resources for more information about each role and the parts they each play in the publishing process.

• Get to know the Elsevier team who'll be supporting you in your editorial work.

• Learn more about Elsevier and see how we help advance healthcare and science, as well as find out more about how we enable access.

• As you adjust to your new role, it’s very likely that you will have questions about the peer review process. Read more about what goes on, how you fit in, the different models of peer review, and their advantages and disadvantages.

• Take the opportunity to ensure that your editorial profile is up to date.

Resources

• Journal homepage Serves as one of your most useful resources – it contains information about the publishing policies of the journal, open access information, listings of the editorial team and editorial board, showcases the latest articles, as well as providing information about the current performance of the journal under various metrics.

• Editor Essentials training course Designed to give new editors a thorough grounding in the role and responsibilities of managing a journal, as well as to provide an opportunity to more experienced editors to refresh their memory on particular issues. It's an ideal way to get some bespoke training for the role of editor.

• Editorial Manager training resources Submissions to most of our journals will be handled via our online submission system Editorial Manager (EM). This page provides an overview on how to access the system, as well as links you to further resources on how to use our effectively and efficiently.

• Elsevier policies This page contains a wealth of information here (and for anything else, or in case of confusion, please reach out to your publishing contact).

• Publishing Ethics Resource Kit Unfortunately, ethical breaches do occur from time to time and even if it’s not the first time you come across one, you may well find it helpful to have a helping hand. This is a comprehensive resource to help you navigate through such an issue and you will find plenty of practical and easy-to-follow guidelines here.

• Open Access This page contains introductory information on how Elsevier supports Open Access, and you'll also find information and details specific to your journal on its homepage.

• Copyright and Permissions A useful page detailing the author, institution, government rights for copyrights and permissions. You may wish to direct your authors or refer to this page when answering queries regarding this matter. 

• Learn how your journal is doing Part of your role as editor is to try to increase the quality and usefulness of the journal. Attracting high quality articles from areas that are topical is likely to be the best approach. However, practices that “engineer” citation performance for its own sake, such as forced self-citation are neither acceptable nor supported by Elsevier. To check your journal’s progress towards whatever goals you have agreed with your publishing contact, make use of these tools.

• Journal Update report Your publishing contact has access to a range of reporting tools which give you insights into the performance of your journal. These will normally be shared in the form of a comprehensive journal update report presented at Editorial Board meetings and other gatherings of the editorial team, though feel free to reach out to them if you want a copy at other times.

• Editor Feedback Program We also want to know how you are doing in your role as editor and that’s why we launched the Editor Feedback Program. On an annual basis, we collect anonymized feedback from you across a number of areas, from support for submission through to peer review and the final publication of the articles. Your views are incredibly valuable to us and we strongly encourage you to complete the survey when you receive an invitation. It is an opportunity for you to tell us honestly and openly what you think of us. We're listening!

• Other researcher tools Elsevier provides many tools which will prove highly valuable in your editorial work. You may well be familiar with these already, and you can find further information on ScienceDirect, Scopus, Mendeley and our other research platforms on this page. As an Elsevier editor, you also enjoy full complimentary access to ScienceDirect and Scopus, which you can access via your Elsevier account.

Stay connected

With Elsevier’s communication channels, you can keep up-to-date with your publications, new discoveries in your field, and hot topics in the community. You can also follow us on social media (see links in the footer below); your publishing contact will be able to confirm if there are any dedicated social media channels serving your area/journal.

News and alerts

Editors' Update

Editors' Update is an online resource to keep editors in touch with the latest industry and Elsevier developments. It also provides information on the support and training available to you. The comment function at the bottom of each article provides a valuable forum for you to share your views, stories or examples of best practice with your peers. Sign up now.

Alerts

As an Elsevier editor, you enjoy full complimentary access to ScienceDirect and Scopus, which you can access via your Elsevier account. You can keep tabs on new issues, articles, and other content appearing on ScienceDirect and Scopus with free alerts to help you stay current.

ScienceDirect Search alerts opens in new tab/window notify you when a stored search retrieves new results

• Volume/issue alerts notify you when new issues of selected journals are available

• Topic alerts notify you when new articles pertaining to a specific topic are available

Scopus alerts opens in new tab/window are email notifications of new content. These alerts are also available in a mobile application. To set up alerts and manage your preferences, visit My Alerts  opens in new tab/window

• Search alerts notify you each time a saved search renders new results

• Author citation alerts notify you when a document by one of your selected authors is cited

• Document citation alerts notify you when one of your selected documents is cited

Check out Mendeley

Mendeley  opens in new tab/windowis a global collaboration platform that makes your life easier by helping you organize your papers, citations and references, accessing them in the cloud on any device, wherever you are. Try it today opens in new tab/window!

Help & support

Should you need any assistance in your role as editor, please reach out to your Publisher, Journal Manager or visit our support center opens in new tab/window.