Towards the implementation of a system for manuscript editor certification

Style and format are important criteria for evaluating a journal and indexing it in major databases. In Korean science, technology, and medical journals, interest in manuscript editing has increased over the past seven to eight years, and the responsibilities of manuscript editors have expanded as w...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hyun Jung Yi, Hye-Min Cho, Hee Kyung Chung, Hwan Tae Ahn, Myung-Soon Kim, Yoon Joo Seo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Korean Council of Science Editors 2016-02-01
Series:Science Editing
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.escienceediting.org/upload/se-3-1-3.pdf
Description
Summary:Style and format are important criteria for evaluating a journal and indexing it in major databases. In Korean science, technology, and medical journals, interest in manuscript editing has increased over the past seven to eight years, and the responsibilities of manuscript editors have expanded as well. However, since no clear standards for the roles and qualifications for manuscript editors are yet available, a formal certification system is needed to establish appropriate standards and to provide professional training. To identify ways of developing a manuscript editor certification program in Korea, this study investigated similar certification programs in and outside the country and surveyed 195 Korean editors, manuscript editors, publishers, and medical librarians. The survey revealed that manuscript editors were necessary (mean score of 4.38 on a five-point Likert scale, with a score of 5 indicating strong agreement), and that their main contributions were efficiently managing the editorial board, improving the accuracy of references, and accelerating the editing process. The respondents were also positive about the possibility of implementing a manuscript editor certification; 45.1% showed interest in becoming certified, and 47.1% reported interest in hiring a certified manuscript editor. Regarding the system for issuing certification, respondents favored a professional training course (53.1%), validation of work experience (27.1%), or an examination (16.8%). This study concludes that it is essential to establish a formal certification program to train manuscript editors properly, and an examination system is the most efficient and suitable method for managing the certification process.
ISSN:2288-8063
2288-7474