1. Journals published on behalf of the British Society of Soil Science

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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.

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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)

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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)

20. 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

21. 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?

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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)

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. Final comments
Pressure to publish - the work involved for authors and editors is great
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

30. 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

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

32. Published on behalf of the British Society of Soil Science
For more information go to the journal web sites:
EJSS -
SUM -