Journals published on behalf of the British Society of Soil Science

Editors-in-Chief of BSSS Journals European Journal of Soil Science (EJSS) – Professor Margaret Oliver University of Reading Soil Use and Management (SUM) – Professor Michael Goss University of Guelph, Canada

Writing papers Why is this important? Your research is not complete until you have published your results or any new methods Publication in a journal is an important stage in the evaluation of scientific ideas Publication justifies society’s support for our work through research grants we obtain Process of writing is not easy - papers must be written well so that they communicate clearly with your readers and they should be accurate

What should you do before you start? Ask yourself: Is your experimental approach and design good? Does it meet with the statistical analyses you want to do? Consult statisticians and other analysts for advice Which journal is suitable for your work? Does your work meet the criteria for the journal? Study past papers in the journal and if possible reference one or more

Arrange material for publication Follow the structure of a scientific paper (see later) Write a first draft Ask someone else to read it to make sure it is clear and succinct To achieve this Use short sentences Minimize jargon, Use the active voice where possible Avoid long strings of adjectives

Statistics This is probably the major problem in our journals Get help from a statistician at an early stage in your work Use SI units (Système International d'Unités) Avoid the use of stars to show significance Avoid the use of letters to show differences between means with Anova Do not use post-hoc tests with Anova, such as Tukey

Tables and Figures Summarize results in tables – statistics in the text makes reading difficult You can cast your eyes down columns and take in a series of results “A picture is worth a thousand words” Make figures simple and clear – label axes clearly, give units and make font large enough Our journals charge for colour for hard copy, but it is free for the online versions Submit figures that benefit from colour in both forms

The Editorial Teams: EJSS & SUM Editors-in-Chief Deputy Editors Associate Editors Reviewers Editor in Chief Deputy Editor Associate Editor (1) (2) (…29) (…30) EJSS SUM Referees

Aims and scope of EJSS Provides a forum for high quality, innovative and internationally relevant developments in soil science. Advances our understanding of the soil and reports the development of new approaches, techniques and types of analysis. Suitable topics include: biological interactions; chemical and or physical processes and functions; carbon and organic matter; soil development, variation and characterization; statistical and spatial analysis methods.

Aims and scope of SUM Covers a wide range of applied soil science e.g. agriculture, horticulture, forestry, urban, amenity and other soil environments. Focuses on the use of scientific principles to understand and solve practical problems that affect soil, crops, communities and the environment. Papers must have international relevance. Suitable topics include: soil-crop interactions, environmental protection, sustainable land use, soil conservation, pollution control, land reclamation.

Types of papers Both journals accept: Research papers. Reviews. Short communications – at present EJSS seems to avoid these Book reviews. Letters to the editor and comments on papers. I would like to see a discussion forum for the Journals on social media

Acceptance rates 40% (EJSS) and 30% (SUM) of papers are rejected immediately by the editors (2013). Only c. 29% (EJSS) and 25% (SUM) of submitted papers are published.

Why such large rejections rate? Topic is not suitable for the Journals Too ‘applied’ for EJSS Too ‘process oriented’ for SUM Not novel or innovative. Local relevance only. Poor science, experimental design or execution. Poor analysis or interpretation of results. Inadequate statistics. Plagiarism or double publishing – Cross check

Other common problems Too long (<6500 words EJSS; <5000 words SUM) Too short Too descriptive (e.g. no hypothesis tested) Problems with English – rarely reject for poor English, but if paper is difficult to read – the value of the science may be hidden Use the Wiley English language editing service or ask a native English speaker for help Incorrect structure and or formatting (e.g. references) Many such problems can be rectified

How EJSS decides if a paper is suitable For example: Response of oil seed rape to fertilizer and manure addition in York in 2014 Is it novel and innovative? Possibly but.... Is it too applied? Yes New basic science and or process information? No Of general international interest No - York Adequate experimental design? Probably not (only one year’s data)

Examples of unsuitable papers for SUM Impacts of soil slaking and drying on release and retention of cations during desalination  - too process based (EJSS?). Effects of topography and water regime on phosphorus desorption in semi-arid soil of Marakesh - local relevance only. Impact of sewage sludge amendment on heavy metal concentrations in soil growing soya beans - environmental survey; no new science presented.

Helpful hints for EJSS and SUM Read the guidance notes to authors very carefully (go to the journal websites; author guidelines) Look at slide shows on website Look at example papers on website or in a recent issue (on-line or print): Look at: paper structure statistics format of figures and tables format of references

Statistics and soil Excellent series of papers by Richard Webster on the use and presentation of statistical methods and results in soil science: SUM 5 (issue 2) and EJSS 48 (issue 3): Regression EJSS 52 (issue 2): Statistics to support soil research and their presentation EJSS 58 (issue 1): Analysis of variance, inference, multiple comparisons and sampling effects

Points to consider Are full details of experimental design given? Replication or pseudo-replication? Randomization Are results presented clearly? (see papers by Webster) ‘Treatment A yielded significantly more than treatment B (P < 0.05)’ – essential to quote mean values also. Give Standard Errors of the Mean (SEM) rather than Standard Deviations (SD)

Points to consider CV –restrict to variables with an absolute zero Regression – give the regression equation, S.E. and value of R2 ANOVA – must include replication, randomization and a table of results Consider types of data transformation for non- normality Give numerical results to 3 significant figures Read statistics guidance notes on journals’ websites

For EJSS and SUM Is it good science (this includes experimental design and techniques)? Is analysis of the data adequate and appropriate to the investigation? Is it new or innovative? Is it of interest to an international audience? EJSS - Does it improve our understanding of the soil? SUM - Does it contribute to the improved management and use of soils?

Example structure for an EJSS paper Title: Organic matter turnover in a Podzol Summary Introduction Materials and methods Site description Sampling Analyses Turnover time of organic carbon Statistical analysis Results Discussion Conclusions

Example structure for a SUM paper Title: Phosphorus loss to waterways in a catchment Abstract Introduction Materials and methods Site description Treatments Measurements Analytical methods Statistical analyses Results Discussion Conclusions

Before you submit your paper Have you followed the recommended style, length and format ? Check all references are included and correctly formatted. Ask colleagues to read and criticize your paper. Non-native English speakers – get guidance and help from a native English speaker (or use the Wiley English language editing service)

How does the editorial system operate? 1. Initial review (Eds): No  Immediate reject Yes  Associate Ed.  2 2. Associate Ed. No  Reject Yes Reviewer  3 3. Reviewer Reject Reject but re-submit  1 Major revision  4 Minor revision  4 4. AE assessment Reject Major revision  3 Minor revision  3 Accept  5 5. Editor-in-Chief Final review and edit Questions to authors Send to publishers – then proofs to authors

What to do if your paper is rejected Outright or immediate rejection Little chance - accept decision Rejection after full review If the advice from AE and reviewers is solid – accept decision Contact EiC ONLY if you have evidence that the reviewers are wrong

What to do if you need to revise your paper Take each recommendation very seriously - do not ignore recommendations unless you have very good reasons Explain your reactions and changes carefully Provide concrete evidence if you ‘dispute’ decisions Always explain fully what you have and have not accepted “We are right” is not good enough

Origin of papers submitted in 2013 (%) Country SUM EJSS Europe (UK) 30 (9) 40 (8) North America 5 South America 7 China 26 21 India/Pakistan/Bangladesh 9 Africa Rest of World 16 17

Final comments Pressure to publish - the work involved for authors and editors is great 300-350+ papers received/year Do not take short cuts Our editors and referees will find you out! Both journals now check for plagiarism and double publishing Listen to advice Read decision letters and reviewers’ reports very carefully

If all this advice is followed Better chance of your paper being accepted. We need a continuous flow of high quality papers. Editors want to publish – it is very disappointing to reject papers BUT we must maintain the international reputation of our Journals More satisfaction for you and an easier life for the editorial team

And finally – read this Published by Cambridge University Press (2014) Price £24.99 Paper back £23.74 Kindle

Published on behalf of the British Society of Soil Science For more information go to the journal web sites: EJSS - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-2389 SUM - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1475-2743