General
The editors have immediate editorial responsibility for their respective publications. They are responsible to the Publications Board. The staff of each editor consists of such associate editors, department editors, assistant editors, and other personnel as are considered necessary by the editor, are appointed by the editor, and are subject to approval by the Publications Board.
Except insofar as they are constrained by Association or Publications Board policies, editors have complete authority over all aspects of the operation of their journals. They are free to delegate certain responsibilities to their associate editors (such as selection of reviewers). Associate editors evaluate the issues raised by reviewers and make their own recommendation to the editor, who retains the authority to make final editorial decisions on the basis of the reviews, the associate editor’s recommendation, and the editor’s own evaluation of the manuscript.
Only editors (i.e., not associate editors) may write decision letters (accept, reject, etc.) and convey reviewers’ comments to authors. Editors are free to solicit manuscripts for publication. Although invited papers are subject to peer review, editors can give special consideration to such papers in the review process.
All journals use the standardized online system, Manuscript Central, for manuscript submission, peer review, tracking and decision-making. However, each editor is free to develop operating procedures that govern manuscript flow and decision making. These activities include, but are not limited to:
- development of forms for tracking manuscripts,
- drafting of form letters for routine correspondence with authors and associate editors,
- assignment of manuscripts to associate editors,
- monitoring performance of reviewers with regard to quality, tone, and timeliness of reviews,
- and development of policies regarding number of reviews per manuscript, selection of reviewers for revised manuscripts, and so on.
The only exception is JSLHR. Due to the constraints of an online system, the three editors of JSLHR must agree on any changes to correspondence templates and reminder schedules.
Year-end reports and published editors’ reports
All editors are required to prepare an annual report on journal operations for presentation at the first meeting of the Publications Board in the subsequent year. Editors are encouraged to prepare an interim report for the meeting held in conjunction with the ASHA Convention; such a report is required when a second meeting is held at the National Office in any given year.
A report summarizing operations of all the ASHA journals for an entire calendar year is included in the Annual Report of the Publications Board Chair to the Executive Board.
Each editor publishes annually in the earliest feasible issue a report on manuscript statistics for the preceding year. Also each retiring editor prepares a term report covering his or her tenure as editor.
The annual cut-off date for reporting statistics on manuscript processing (in the published summary report) is December 31 of the year following the reported year to allow for completion of the editorial process for a majority of the manuscripts received in the reported year. Also, the reports should appear in each journal at the earliest opportunity.
The published summary reports should include:
- information on acceptance and rejection rates (in percentages, with explanation of how they are determined),
- information on the average interval (in days) from submission to final decision,
- information on the average "accept to publication" interval (in months) for manuscripts received during the preceding year, and
- circulation figures.
It was further specified that the statistics in the summary reports should aggregate to reflect three year’s worth of data. A summary report is to be listed in the relevant issue's table of contents.
With respect to the average interval clause above, the "Av. Days" statistic does reflect those days the manuscript was in the authors' hands undergoing revision. The online manuscript system does not subtract this time.
Keeping production office informed
It is an editor’s responsibility to keep the Production Office apprised in a timely fashion of any changes in the information that appears on the masthead or front matter of his or her journal. For JSLHR the three editors are responsible for relaying to the Production Office by October 15 the names of Guest Consultants, who are individuals not otherwise named in the front matter who served as reviewers for manuscripts considered for publication in the current year.
Manuscript files
Editorial offices should keep manuscript files for one year after a final decision (Accept, Reject, Resubmit) has been rendered. The Production Office keeps files of published articles for one year after publication, but keeps Copyright Assignment forms indefinitely.
Promotion of journals
Editors are advised to note on their January calendars the upcoming submission deadline for "Hot Topic" convention proposals and ensure that they submit proposals before the deadline.
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