A Style Shift at Ecological Applications
We want authors to write their papers so that they clearly communicate with potential users of the information presented in their manuscripts and not overemphasize ties to colleagues conducting research on the same topic. We encourage authors to clearly state the scientific and practical challenge and then describe the contribution that their paper makes toward understanding or resolving the issue. This requires a clear, simple, and direct opening paragraph. The background and literature pedigree of the work should be described in subsequent paragraphs. The title and abstract should be aimed at communicating with users of the new knowledge rather than with researchers in closely allied areas. This does not mean that we want authors to write for a lay or less informed audience; rather, we hope authors will address the needs of practitioners as well as those of researchers. We are not suggesting any change in the style or rigorousness of the methods, results, and discussions; nor will there be any change in our peer-review standards for the excellence of the underlying research.
However, the presentation style should also change in concluding sections. In these sections, authors should again clearly address potential applications of their results. It is not enough to indicate that, for example, species with complex management dynamics require innovative management approaches. What are the implications for the species studied, and what generalities can be drawn? If the results indicate a problem, but not a solution, what steps are required to implement the new ideas as management techniques? If the study addresses a technique or concept that may be applied by other researchers, under what circumstances can the new method be employed?
The purpose of these style guidelines is to solidify the role of Ecological Applications as a journal where excellent science meets pressing technical issues of environmental policy, management, and governance. As a side effect, they may encourage more communication among ecological subdisciplines by demystifying some of the science as well! In any case, these new guidelines are now evident in many papers in the journal, and they will be communicated to new authors by the Editorial Board. They will certainly influence the review process.
Our reviewers will continue to invest their expertise in critiquing the science underlying submitted manuscripts. It will be the Editorial Board members and the Editor-in-Chief who implement the new policies and who determine the suitability of papers for the journal. In general, a paper will not be rejected for failing to communicate in the spirit of the new guidelines, but it may be returned for editorial revision before technical peer review.
ESA Data Registry
We are very happy to announce the establishment of ESA's official Data Registry at data.esa.org. The editors strongly encourage the registration of data sets associated with manuscripts accepted by ESA journals. New links to the Data Registry from the Instructions to Authors and from the ESA submission site itself will facilitate the registration of data by our authors. Our hope is that the Data Registry will serve as a mechanism for “data discovery,” leading to communication (and possibly collaboration) between researchers and to meta-analyses.
Data registry simply serves to announce the existence of data and to provide contact information. By registering data, one does not relinquish rights to research findings. In fact, the registry may serve to establish precedence for ecological studies. Our hope is that the Data Registry will eventually be linked to Data Archives containing the actual data referred to in the registry, and that all data underlying published papers in ESA journals will be readily available for purposes of verification, replication, and meta-analysis.
Help for Authors Whose Native Language Is Not English
At the “What Editors Want” session organized by ESA's Student Section for last summer's Annual Meeting, the journal editors were asked to establish a mechanism for assisting authors whose native language is not English in preparing manuscripts for submission. The Governing Board enthusiastically endorsed this idea, and so we are pleased to announce that ESA has established an online Bulletin Board where individuals can express their willingness to assist such authors. A “call for volunteers” has been e-mailed to all ESA members. Contact information for individuals who volunteer their services will be posted (along with areas of ecological expertise and languages spoken) at www.esa.org/authorhelp/. Note that ESA does not guarantee the availability of volunteers. Note also that the editorial services of volunteers will not in any way assure acceptance for publication by ESA journals.
In the past, our advice has been that authors requiring English language assistance should enlist the aid of a colleague or service at their home institution. We still think this is the best solution. There are also “authors' editors” for hire. A good source for finding authors' editors is the Council for Science Editors web site: www.councilscienceeditors.org/jobbank/services.cfm.
Our goal is to publish the very best papers in ecology, regardless of the authors' native language. Our copy editors have always worked especially hard to improve the presentation of papers by nonnative speakers of English. We hope that the new ESA electronic Bulletin Board will further ensure that language barriers will not preclude communication of scientifically worthy papers in ESA journals.
rev 3/29/06
