ScholarOne Documentation
Thank you for volunteering to serve on one of our journal editorial boards. Below you will find information on our submission system as well as an FAQ for troubleshooting common issues. We recommend new members go over the materials in the General section to get acquainted with our system, as well as any pages specific to their role. If the question you have is not covered within these training materials, please feel free to reach out to us for more information using the information below.
General
ScholarOne Manuscripts Walkthrough (MP4 download): A video walkthrough of the top to bottom process for manuscript processing in Scholar One.
Navigating the Submission System: A quick guide to the types of pages you will find within ScholarOne to help you get around the site.
Decision Workflows: An overview of the general decision workflow for all journals, as well as specific decision workflows for each journal.
The Manuscript Information Tab: An overview of the Manuscript Information tab, where editors can view or edit important system or author-supplied information.
The Audit Trail Tab: An overview of the Audit Trail tab, where editors can view all actions taken or emails sent on a manuscript.
The Manuscript Files Tab: An overview of the Manuscript Files tab, where editors can view, download, or replace files on a manuscript. Note, not all editors have access to this tab.
Email Templates: An overview of email templates, which are used to notify authors, editors, and reviewers of actions needed, decisions made, or other important information.
Editors
Editor Dashboard Overview: A quick guide to the Editor dashboard.
Assigning and Replacing Editors: How to assign or replace editors on a paper.
Rescinding Decisions, Recommendations, and Reviews: How to return decisions, recommendations, and reviews to editors and reviewers for changes.
Editor Decisions: How to make final or immediate decisions on papers.
Referral Decisions (PDF): How to complete transfers between journals and the English Language Editing Service.
Referral Decisions (MP4 download): How to complete transfers between journals and the English Language Editing Service.
Granting Extensions: How to grant extensions for revisions or reviewers.
Unsubmitting Manuscripts: How to return a manuscript to an author for changes during peer review.
Withdrawing Manuscripts: How to withdraw a manuscript from peer review.
Flags: An overview of the flags used to categorize manuscripts and how to use them.
Plagiarism Reports: How to check papers for plagiarism concerns.
Resignations: How to handle a resignation from the editorial board.
Word Counts: How to calculate word counts for journals that have word limits (JEQ, A&EL, CFTM only).
Resubmissions: How to process resubmissions for journals that require additional documentation (JEQ and SSSAJ only).
Editor Reports: An overview of the regular reports delivered to editors. (Coming soon)
Technical Editors, Senior Editors, and Co-Editors
Technical Editor Dashboard: A quick guide to the Technical Editor dashboard.
Assigning and Replacing Editors: How to assign or replace editors on a paper.
Rescinding Decisions, Recommendations, and Reviews: How to return decisions, recommendations, and reviews to editors and reviewers for changes.
Technical Editor Decisions: How to make final or immediate decisions on papers.
Referral Decisions (PDF): How to complete referral or transfer decisions between journals and the English Language Editing Service.
Referral Decisions (MP4 download): How to complete referral or transfer decisions between journals and the English Language Editing Service.
Granting Extensions: How to grant extensions for revisions or reviewers.
Flags: An overview of the flags used to categorize manuscripts and how to use them.
Plagiarism Reports: How to check papers for plagiarism concerns.
Resignations: How to handle a resignation from the editorial board.
Technical Editor Reports: An overview of the regular reports delivered to technical editors. (Coming soon)
Associate Editors
Note: Associate editors for journals that do not have technical editors or their equivalent (Journal of Plant Registrations, Natural Sciences Education, The Plant Genome, and Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems) should also review technical editor training materials as needed.
Associate Editor Dashboard: A quick guide to the Associate Editor dashboard.
Associate Editor Checklist: How to complete the Associate Editor checklist when a paper or revision is assigned. Note, Agronomy Journal and Crop, Forage & Turfgrass Management do not have this step.
Selecting and Inviting Reviewers: An overview on how to select and invite reviewers, as well as several tools to find them.
Alternate Reviewer Functionality, PDF: How to set reviewers as alternates, which will then be automatically invited to review if reviewers from the first round of invitations decline.
Alternate Reviewer Functionality, YouTube: How to set reviewers as alternates, which will then be automatically invited to review if reviewers from the first round of invitations decline.
Editing Reviews: How to make changes to reviews.
Rescinding Reviews: How to return reviews to reviewers for changes.
Uninviting Reviewers: How to uninvite extra, unnecessary, or otherwise unusable reviewers, as well as when you should uninvite reviewers.
Granting Extensions: How to grant extensions for reviewers.
Associate Editor Decisions and Recommendations: How to make recommendations or decisions on a paper.
Referral Decisions (PDF): How to recommend referrals between journals and the English Language Editing Service.
Referral Recommendations (MP4 download): How to recommend referrals between journals and the English Language Editing Service.
Reviewer Troubleshooting: How to resolve common problems that reviewers face.
Flagging for Promotion: How to flag a paper for promotion. Please note, not all journals have this feature.
Resignations: How to handle a resignation from the editorial board.
Associate Editor Reports: An overview of the regular reports delivered to associate editors. (Coming soon)
FAQ and Troubleshooting
Peer Review Questions
Q: The person I assigned or invited to review cannot find the manuscript in their editor or reviewer dashboard.
A: This is usually the result of duplicate accounts. Please see our duplicate accounts page.
Q: My or another user’s decision or recommendation is not going through.
A: This is usually caused by pop-up blocker settings. Please see our pop-up blockers page.
Q: I need to extend a deadline for an author or reviewer.
A: Please see our guide for granting extensions.
Q: I accidentally pressed the wrong button or chose the wrong option. Can I undo an action or return the paper to the previous step?
A: There are multiple ways to undo actions taken, which will vary by the type of action. Please look through the above documentation, and if you do not see your issue listed, email us at manuscripts@sciencesocieties.org for assistance.
Q: The technical editor or associate editor I want to assign is not on the list.
A: First check to see if the person is an author on the paper. Authors cannot be assigned to their own papers. If they are not an author, email us at manuscripts@sciencesocieties.org to confirm that person's permissions.
Author Questions
Q: The author needs to replace or update the files on a paper.
A: Please see our guide on uploading or replacing files.
Q: The author is having problems with supplemental files.
A: Please see our troubleshooting page for supplemental files.
Q: The author needs to make changes to the manuscript.
A: Please see our guide for making changes to manuscripts.
Q: I need to return the paper to the author.
A: Papers can be returned to authors by unsubmitting them. If you are an editor, please see our guide on unsubmitting manuscripts. If you are a TE or AE, please email us at manuscripts@sciencesocieties.org. Please make sure to include the manuscript id and any relevant information, including any confirmation from the authors.
Q: The author has requested to withdraw the paper.
A: If you are an editor, please see our guide to withdrawing manuscripts. If you are a TE or AE, please confirm the withdrawal the request with the author, then forward the confirmation to us at manuscripts@sciencesocieties.org. Please make sure to include the manuscript id and any other relevant information.
User Account Questions
Q: I or another user am having difficulty logging in to the ScholarOne site.
A: Please see our guide on login troubleshooting.
Q: The person I assigned has out of date or incorrect information.
A: Please see our guide on updating account information.
Q: The person I assigned has duplicate accounts.
A: Please see our guide to resolving duplicate accounts.
Q: I am going on vacation or leave. Can I temporarily be removed from the list of editors to assign?
A: Please see our guide on setting up unavailable dates and communicating absences.
If you have questions about anything that is not covered here or in the training materials, please email manuscripts@sciencesocieties.org, being sure to include the following information:
- The manuscript id if the problem is for a specific paper.
- Specific details about the problem, including what stage of the peer review process the paper is at, the tab you are on, or the section of the tab you are seeing. If you are seeing an error, including a screenshot can be helpful also.
- Any other relevant information about the paper, problem, or other circumstances.
Contact Us
These training materials should serve as your primary resource for day to day activity within the submission site. However, if you experience any issues not covered here, please feel free to contact the following people with specific issues.
Editorial Matters
If you are an AE, please contact your TE.
If you are a TE, please contact your Editor.
If you are an editor, please contact the Editor-in-Chief and your Managing Editor.
Please make sure to include:
- The manuscript id
- A clear explanation of the problem
- Any relevant background information
ScholarOne Technical Issues
Please contact either the admin listed on the paper or manuscripts@sciencesocieties.org.
Please make sure to include:
- The manuscript id
- A clear explanation of the problem
- Any troubleshooting you have tried
- Any relevant background information or files