Workflow and Manuscript Contributor Role Tagging

Richard Wynne

VP Sales and Marketing

Aries Systems Corporation

Competing Interests

Funders and Institutions want:

• Structured Data• Accurate Data• Granular Data

Authors want:

• To focus on the research• Freedom to prepare the

manuscript however they want• Quick, easy submission with low

administrative overhead

Conflicting Messages

Funders and Institutions

“Why can’t publishers provide more, clean data?”

Authors

“Why do publishers keep asking us for all this stuff?”

Context:

• Publishers’ “value add” questioned• Downward pressure on APCs and subscription prices resulting in cost constraints• Assumptions about technology

Publishers

Peer Review Systems

Data Quantity – No End in Sight• Conflict of interest• Funding sources• Disclosures• Animal research • Statistical methods• Data sets• Ethics statements• Contributor ID (ORCID)• Institutional ID (e.g. Ringgold)• Credentials• Methodologies• Protocols• Authors and Co-contributors• Plagiarism checking• Identity validation• License data • Most of this has to be entered by humans in a timely manner

Data Structure

THE PAST: Flat, Static, Indexed, Data based on Single Primary Object (the Manuscript)

Manuscript

TitleAuthorsAbstract…etc.

THE FUTURE: Relational, Dynamic with Multiple Objects

ManuscriptFunder

Contributor Taxonomy

Institution

Contributors

Contributor TaxonomyCreating a Useful Solution

• Defining the taxonomy

• Integration with peer review systems

– Workflow questions

• Integration with production systems

• Integration with composition

• Integration with discovery tools

• Operating costs per manuscript

Collecting Contributor Data

Adding the Taxonomy

Workflow Models and Considerations

• Submitting author unilaterally assigns tags on behalf of all contributors:– Simplest front-end approach– Burden on submitting author– Downstream contention possible

• Tags assigned by submitting author and “confirmed” by contributors:– Highest fidelity

• Each contributor assigns their own tags– Shared burden– “Democratic”

• What point in the workflow? (Initial submission, Revision, Final acceptance). Mandatory or optional?

• Reporting, chasing, exception handling, output..• What article types? Different for different article types?

More Questions

• Are all Contributors “Authors” for publication workflow purposes? Implications? Confusing with acknowledgements, credits?

• Deceased Contributors?• Contributor conflicts• Cultural influences• Contributor groups• Corrections • Historical consistency (e.g. tag no longer used)

Summary

• Manuscript contributor tagging beneficial to the scholarly process, and to many consumers of scholarly manuscripts

• Technologically viable?

• Operationally viable?

• Economically viable? (Start up cost funding. Operating cost funding)

Workflow and Manuscript Contributor Role Tagging

Richard Wynne

VP Sales and Marketing

Aries Systems Corporation