Two rating functions can be used by publications when asking Reviewers and Editors to rate manuscripts: an overall numeric rating and/or questions with individual ratings.
Publications can ask Reviewers and Editors to rate the overall quality of a manuscript using a single manuscript rating (1-100). This setting appears as a text box to be filled in by the user. Reviewers see the rating question on the Reviewer Recommendation and Comments page when submitting a review. Editors see the rating text box on the Decision and Comments page when submitting a decision.
Go to PolicyManager > Reviewer and Editor Form Policies > Manuscript Rating Question Configuration > Overall Manuscript Rating Question Settings. Check the box next to the applicable setting(s) and click Submit.
In addition to requesting an overall rating, publications can also create multiple questions with different rating scales to gain additional input about submissions from Reviewers and Editors.
Three rating scale options are available: 1-3, 1-5, and 1-10. The choice of scale is made per question (i.e., a publication may use a scale of 1-3 for one question and 1-10 for another).
Reviewers answer manuscript rating questions on the Reviewer Recommendation and Comments page. The publication may choose which questions apply to each Article Type/Reviewer role combination. Each question may be set separately as mandatory or optional.
Editors answer manuscript rating questions on the Decision and Comments page. Responses of subordinate Editors and Reviewers also appear on the Decision and Comments page.
The presentation of manuscript rating questions are the same for all Editor roles (though they can vary among Article Types). This means that all Editors in the chain are presented with the same set of questions. Typically, a submission is rated by the Editor making the first decision; subsequent Editors (with permission) have the option of modifying the first Editor's responses.
Note: Manuscript rating questions apply to new submissions only; revised submissions cannot be rated. Manuscripts are expected to improve significantly throughout the revision process. Including the higher ratings for revisions in statistics would adversely affect the desired result, which is to evaluate the overall quality of submissions coming in to the publication.
To create questions, go to PolicyManager > Reviewer and Editor Form Policies > Manuscript Rating Question Configuration > Edit Manuscript Rating Questions. Click the Add New Manuscript Rating Question to create a new question.
The main Edit Manuscript Ratings Questions page displays the list of configured questions. Existing questions may be edited, e.g., to correct a typographical error (click Edit). Questions that have not been used and answered may be removed (click Remove).
To provide instructions related to the questions for Reviewers and Editors, go to PolicyManager > Reviewer and Editor Form Policies > Manuscript Rating Question Configuration > Edit Manuscript Rating Instructions. Use the text box to enter any custom instructions. When finished, click Submit. (These are seen by Reviewer and Editor roles when manuscript rating questions are configured for use.)
To configure presentation of manuscript rating questions to Reviewers, go to PolicyManager > Reviewer and Editor Form Policies > Reviewer Recommendation Policies > Match Review Forms to Article Types and Reviewer Roles. For details, see Create Review Forms.
To configure presentation of manuscript rating questions to Editors, go to PolicyManager > Reviewer and Editor Form Policies > Editor Decision Policies > Editor Manuscript Rating Configuration. These settings apply to all Editor roles. For each Article Type:
Usually, the manuscript rating questions are answered by the first Editor in the decision-making chain. Subsequent Editors (with permission) have the option of modifying the first Editor's responses and changing the overall manuscript rating before submitting the decision.
If this permission is not turned on, then only the first Editor in the Editor Chain (the Editor making first decision) can answer the rating questions. Other Editors are able to see the questions and ratings, but they are not able to alter them.
To allow Editor roles to modify the responses of a subordinate Editor, go to RoleManager > Editor Role. Select the appropriate Editor role and click Edit. On the Edit Role Definition page, go to the Editor Decisions section, check the box next to the permission, Modify Editor Manuscript Rating Answers during Decision Process, and click Submit.
Note: The difference between this permission, Modify Editor Manuscript Rating Answers during the Decision Process, and the permission, Edit Editor Comments and Ratings after Decision, is that in this case the Editor making the changes is part of the Decision Chain.
The editorial office or Editor (with appropriate RoleManager permission) may change the manuscript rating responses of both Reviewers and Editors on the View Reviewer and Editor Comments page, in the same way that Reviewer and Editor comments may be edited.
Changes may be made at any point following the submission of recommendations and decisions. This might be necessary in the following scenarios:
Only an authorized Editor role can access the original review or decision for editing. This Editor can access the individual's ratings by going to the submission's View Reviews and Comments page (via the Action link, View Reviews and Comments) and clicking on the Reviewer's or Editor's recommendation/decision term to access the individual's comments page. An Edit link appears below the Reviewer or Editor name (Edit Reviewer Comments or Edit Editor Comments). Clicking the link makes the page editable, and the manuscript ratings can be changed.
Note: Edited ratings overwrite the original ratings. The original ratings are not preserved, and cannot be retrieved if the user accidentally changes or deletes information.
Two RoleManager permissions apply to this functionality: one relating to Reviewer recommendations and the other to Editor decisions.
Go to RoleManager > Editor Role. Grant permissions to the applicable Editor roles:
The manuscript rating card is a page that provides the Editor with a comprehensive, detailed picture of all of the individual manuscript rating scores for a particular submission. This page is accessible from the following pages in EM:
Three manuscript rating reports are available for users with Reporting permission.
Manuscript Ratings Report displays individual manuscript ratings and averages by Article Type. Stratification is also permitted by and country or geographic region.
Manuscript Ratings by Issue Report displays manuscript ratings by volume/issue.
Manuscript Ratings Summary Report summarizes all manuscript ratings by Article Type.
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