Editors' virtual courses 2021:

Improving journal quality and impact 

These two related courses together provide journal editors with greater understanding of how to raise the quality of their journal, improve the peer review process, and make greater impact with their journal.

Course 1: improving quality and impact : Working with authors

Course 2: improving quality and impact : Peer review and the editorial board

Course 1: Improving quality and impact : Authors, readers and impact

This course is presented in two, 2-hour online workshops

Objectives

• To obtain better quality content
• To manage and mitigate author problems 
• To influence reader habits, raise visibility and increase citation

Course content

1. Journals and authors
   Topics covered will include: publishers and publishing | publication trends | publishing habits | open science | data policies | academic reward | geographical diversity | authorship pressures | preprints.
2. Authors, authorship and ethics
   Topics covered will include: authorship criteria | contributorship | author support | reporting guidelines  plagiarism | image manipulation | fraud and dishonesty | conflicts of interest | errata and retractions.
3. Readership and citation
   ​Topics covered include: readership research | language issues | lay summaries | indexing | impact measures | altmetrics | citation initiatives

Course 2: Improving quality and impact : Peer review and editorial boards

This course is presented in two, 2-hour online workshops

Objectives

• To improve the peer review process and make good decisions
• To identify the best reviewing methology
• To manage and utilize editorial boards

Course content

1. Journals and reviewers
   Topics covered include: reviewing research | bias and discrimination | reviewer recognition and reward
2. Peer review initiatives
   Topics covered include: peer review taxonomy | preprint reviews | reviewing initiatives
3. Ethical and practical problems of review
   Topics covered include: guidelines | citation manipulation | confidentiality | bias | managing the process | quality and usefulness | reviewer literacy 
4. The role of the editorial board
   Topics covered include: mission and vision | editorial structures and roles | responsibilities and ethics | social media promotion | planning | strategies