Journal Management (Editorial Roles)

The management of a journal at AME Publishing Company is a collaborative endeavor between the Editor(s)-in-Chief, Editorial Board, and editorial staff.

Responsibility of different roles

To ensure efficiency and productivity, the roles and tasks of each member of the editorial team are specifically designated and aligned with their personal expertise. The responsibilities of each role are detailed below.

The (Executive) Editor-in-Chief (EiC) is responsible for all final decision-making related to the journal topics and content, editing, website content, advertising, and relationship building, as well as the future direction of the journal. The EiC position is voluntary and unpaid, and most EiCs also hold full-time positions at academic medical centers. The general responsibilities of this role include:

Collaborating with Associate Editors to decide future issue topics, content, and contributors;
Managing the day-to-day operations of the journal, especially the peer-review process, with support from other editorial team members;
Ensuring that the content of contributions meets the appropriate ethical proprieties and high international standards of ethical practice in respect to research involving human or animal subjects;
Resolving problems that arise from time to time, such as plagiarism and ensuring articles are original and have not been published before elsewhere;
Commissioning content from experts on topical themes and facilitating efficient peer review of submitted material to generate a flow of content and ensure the punctual delivery of the journal;
Assigning responsibilities to all team members and ensuring that they are completed on time;
Editing the content to enhance its quality and approving or rejecting submissions based on preset grounds;
Maintaining regular communication with the Editorial Board;
Generating ideas to promote the journal and increase citations of articles, including by using new technologies, implementing ways to increase readership worldwide, and utilizing new media formats, such as apps, eBooks, and multimedia videos.

The Associate Editor-in-Chief (AEiC) assists the Editor-in-Chief to devise strategies such as developing journal-related subjects and organizing journal issues. The AEiC position is voluntary and unpaid, and most AEiCs also hold full-time positions at academic medical centers. The general responsibilities of the role include:

Proposing future issue topics, content, and contributors;
Assisting the EiC in the day-to-day operation of the journal, especially the peer-review process, with the support of other editorial staff;
Editing the content of journal issues;
Addressing problems that arise from time to time, such as plagiarism and ensuring articles are original and have not been previously published elsewhere;
Commissioning contributions from experts on topical themes and overseeing the peer review process for submitted articles to generate a flow of content and ensure the punctual delivery of the journal;
Editing content in order to enhance its quality and approving or rejecting submissions based on preset grounds;
Building relationships and communicating with editorial members and authors.

Associate Editors are highly recognized individuals in their field of expertise. The diversity of this group reflects the journal’s global scope, and promotes wider collaboration between research institutions. The Associate Editor position is voluntary and unpaid, and most Associate Editors also hold full-time positions at academic medical centers. The responsibilities of the role include:

Assisting EiCs in deciding future issue topics, content, and contributors;
Commissioning contributions from experts on topical themes, and facilitating efficient peer review of submitted material to generate a flow of content and to ensure the punctual delivery of the journal;
Generating ideas to promote recognition of the journal and increase article citations, including by using new technologies, implementing ways to increase readership worldwide, and utilizing new media formats, such as apps, eBooks and multimedia videos.

Guest Editors are globally respected authorities in their fields. They are voluntary and unpaid, and most also hold full-time positions at academic medical centers. A Guest Editor is responsible for:

Compiling the author invitation list for special series;
Encouraging other eminent doctors and scientists to contribute and share their knowledge and experience in the series;
Overseeing the scientific content of the series along with the Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors;
Generating ideas to promote the series.

Editorial Board Members are an internationally diverse group of recognized clinicians or surgeons with a strong interest in academic publishing. Editorial Board Members are voluntary and unpaid, and most also hold full-time positions at academic medical centers. As well as recommending expert external reviewers, the Editorial Board is responsible for:

Identifying new topics for commission or focused issues and advising on the direction of the journal, which can include feeding back on past issues and making suggestions for topics and potential authors or guest editors.
Providing constructive suggestions to authors regarding article content, structure, clinical relevance, and areas for improvement;
Peer reviewing articles;
Advising the AEiC and/or EiC on whether a submitted article should be accepted or rejected based on the objective peer review process;
Providing content in the form of occasional editorials and other short articles.

Managing Editors are usually full-time employees at AME Publishing Company; however, in some cases, the role of a managing editor may be assumed by a physician who holds a full-time position at an academic medical center. The responsibilities of the role include:

Coordinating editorial activities, especially correspondence with authors and other editors;
Managing staffing and scheduling for the journal;
Monitoring the progress of soliciting articles;
Scrutinizing the progress of peer review;
Monitoring the journal’s website.

Section Editors/Academic Editors are experts from various research areas who play an important role in the growth and maturation of the journal, especially in the breadth, depth, and sophistication of its content. They are recruited via CV screening and online interviews. They are voluntary and unpaid, and most also hold full-time positions at academic medical centers. They pay close attention to the most recent progress in research and recommend high-quality experts to the Editorial Office and are responsible for:

Solicitation of editorial/editorial commentary and the review of the solicited commentary materials;
Corresponding with and extending invitations to recommended experts;
Promoting articles published in a specific journal via Chinese online platforms, such as WeChat and emed.amegroups.cn. Here is an example: http://emed.amegroups.cn/article/6766.
Carrying out initial manuscript checks and reviews according to the submission criteria;
Recommending appropriate reviewers for the peer review process;
Assisting other editors in implementing the policies of the journal and in monitoring the efficiency of its systems;
Contributing to the ongoing expansion of the reviewer database.

Science Editors/Senior Editors/Corresponding Editors are full-time employees at AME Publishing Company who are responsible for:

Conducting initial manuscript checks and reviews to assess whether the submission criteria has been fulfilled;
Examining manuscripts for errors with grammar, spelling, and terminology;
Examining manuscripts for stylistic issues;
Providing advice on figures and plots to be published in the journal;
Assisting with the design of optimal journal covers for each issue;
Supporting editorial staff with the editing and proofing of manuscripts and preparing the manuscripts for publication;
Providing assistance and identifying and resolving issues regarding the electronic format of the journal;
Carrying out the initial screening of unsolicited materials submitted to the journal and liaising on such matters with other editors;
Helping to identify potential guest editors and reaching out to them.

The Statistics Editor assesses whether a manuscript is of an acceptable statistical standard for publication in the journal. Statistics Editors are voluntary and unpaid, and most also hold full-time positions at academic medical centers. The responsibilities of the role include:

Ensuring that the objectives of the study are clear and the study design meets the objectives;
Confirming the patients are clearly described, and where relevant, that a power calculation has been undertaken;
Checking that the statistical methods are clearly described and appropriate statistical analysis methods have been used;
Ensuring the satisfactory presentation of statistical results;
Making sure meta-analyses have been appropriately conducted.

Language Editors are full-time or part-time employees at AME Publishing Company who are native English speakers with a background in academic writing and/or editing. They are responsible for:

Reviewing the language of articles as part of the review process;
Providing comprehensive and advanced editing (e.g., checking the language, logic, and structure of articles);
Verifying the consistency of terminology and compliance of the text with the glossary.

Video Editors are full-time employees at AME Publishing Company who are responsible for quality checking and editing the videos submitted along with an article.

Production Editors are full-time employees at AME Publishing Company who are responsible for:

Overseeing the entire production process and content of publications;
Communicating with authors and editors to ensure the publication meets quality standards and deadlines;
Editing content for websites and advertisements;
Ensuring that the journal’s style guide is followed and updated, and that all URLs and statements in the articles are correct;
Maintaining a calendar and notifying the team of upcoming deadlines (e.g., holidays and events);
Ensuring the journals are delivered on time, both online and in print, and are finished to the highest quality.

Copy Editors are full-time employees at AME Publishing Company who are responsible for:

Ensuring that the textual content is written in a scientific and understandable manner, is free from any spelling or grammatical errors, and conforms to publication styles and guidelines. This includes scrutiny of usage of certain words, phrases, or typographical elements, and ensuring consistency in textual and illustrative content;
Making the manuscript clear and concise, with relevant suggestions passed to the Editors-in-Chief;
Fact-checking and raising queries with authors;
Looking out for potential issues which may arise in relation to plagiarism and inconsistent results;
Checking that tables, illustrations, legends, and captions are correct;
Producing material for publication.

Updated on April 25, 2022