Immediately before the annual meeting each year, a number of editors and publication managers arrive early to participate in the CSE short courses. These classes provide a unique opportunity to learn about topics relevant to various elements of scientific publishing. In 2011, they will be held at the Hilton Baltimore, the meeting venue. For the first time, CSE is offering the Short Course on Publication Ethics, a half-day course on Friday, 29 April. Registrants for this course who also register for one of the Short Courses held on Saturday are eligible for a discounted fee.
As is happening throughout the publication arena, the short-course faculty are embracing the benefits of technology. Registrants are encouraged to bring computers to the courses and will be given flash drives of all the handouts to follow in class and take home with them.
New Short Course on Publication Ethics
Friday, 29 April—The objective of this new half-day course is to address ethical issues that arise in journal publication and to consider ways of investigating and resolving breeches of publication ethics. The course will present an introduction of ethical issues for the new editor or managing editor and a review for seasoned editors. The course will use CSE’s White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications, 2009 Update as a guide and will include topics such as conflicts of interest, duplicate publication, piracy and plagiarism, human subjects, data misrepresentation, image fraud, authorship disputes, editorial independence, falsification of data, and research misconduct. Participants will learn the appropriate ways to investigate suspicions of breeches of publications ethics and uses of errata, retractions, expressions of concerns, and sanctions. Case studies will be used as examples for discussion, audience participation and questions will be encouraged, and resources for resolving ethical issues participants may be faced with will be presented. Managing editors, journal staff, and those in management positions in the publication industry should find the course useful. Faculty is still being determined.
Short Course for Journal Editors
Friday, 29 April–Saturday, 30 April—The course coordinator for the 2-day Short Course for Journal Editors is William Lanier, editor-in-chief of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. This course provides an introduction for new editors and a refresher for experienced colleagues, offering a comprehensive survey of the roles and responsibilities of editors, authors, peer reviewers, and consultants of scientific journals. Faculty lectures will highlight case studies, and discussions will focus on publishing ethics, business decisions, manuscript throughput and office logistics, use of metrics, and related topics. Ample time is given for participants to engage in group discussions and present questions and problems for consideration by the faculty and other participants.
Short Course on Publication Management
Saturday, 30 April—Patricia Baskin, executive editor of Neurology, coordinates the 1-day Short Course on Publication Management. This course addresses the management challenges that managing editors and publication managers face, whether they are new in their positions or seasoned veterans. Topics include managing periods of change; the scope and tone of communications handled by publication managers; work flow and management of office staff; working with vendors; ethics, conflicts of interest, and open access; and expectations of editors, authors, and reviewers. The course includes practice exercises and opportunities to present questions for discussion among the attendees.
Short Course for Manuscript Editors
Saturday, 30 April—The 1-day Short Course for Manuscript Editors is led by Stacy Christiansen, director of manuscript editing for JAMA. The course is designed for both novices and experienced editors who need to stay current in their skills. Group sessions will address topics of central importance to scientific manuscript editors, such as levels of editing, ethical and legal issues in biomedical publication, usage, and editing of statistics in manuscripts. The afternoon will end with an opportunity for questions and informal discussion with course faculty and participants.
Short Course on Journal Metrics
Saturday, 30 April—Angela Cochran, director of publications production for the American Society of Civil Engineers, organizes the 1-day Short Course on Journal Metrics, which is designed to help journal managers use available data to make strategic decisions. The course will present different ways to collect, analyze, and provide journal data to editorial boards; offer guidance on detecting trends and analyzing changes; describe ways to apply online usage data in conjunction with circulation data for journal marketing and to take advantage of data from readership and competition surveys; and suggest ways to use programs such as Microsoft Excel for creating high-impact reports.
Patricia K Baskin
Chair, CSE Short Courses and Workshops