Definition

'Journal management systems provide electronic management of peer review processes for scholarly journals. These tools promise to facilitate efficient and centralized control and/or supervision by journal staff of the submission, assignment, tracking and publication of articles through the web, as well as enabling a central archive of various tasks' *.

The Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) provide a listing and brief description of available journal management systems. The Open Access Directory lists free and open-source journal management software.

* Shapiro, K. (2002). Electronic peer review management. University of Michigan Scholarly Publishing Office. Retrieved from: http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/handle/2027.42/78538

The editorial and publishing process workflow is automated by a journal management system. The Online Journal System (OJS) diagram (below) illustrates a typical publishing process:

Be prepared

When you submit your manuscript online you will usually need:

1. To register with the online submission system
2. To have all the elements of your submission prepared based on the required format and style in the instructions to authors. These elements may include - cover letter; title page; abstract; manuscript; supplemental material; research data details; tables, graphs, charts, and other illustrations
3. The title within the character limit and subtitle (if any)
4. Author details, including middle initial and affiliation (often an email address and abbreviated qualifications for each author is required)
5. Details about any conflict of interest, prior publication & institutional review board approval