menuco-editor appointments
This page provides details of the procedures for appointing new Co-editors for IUCr Journals. The general aim is to appoint new Co-editors on an annual basis, rather than making most appointments in Congress years. Standard information needs to be collected for each candidate and a form for this is provided below, as is a timetable for appointments. Procedures for the appointment of Section and Main Editors are slightly different and are described elsewhere.
Co-editor appointments procedure
The general appointment procedure is as follows:
(1) One Main Editor is nominated for each journal as the primary point of contact for appointments.
(2) Suggestions for candidates are collected by the Editors of the journal from various sources.
(3) The Chester Office provides additional background information on candidates e.g. on citations, location and gender.
(4) The Editor-in-chief discusses the list of candidates with the Main and Managing Editors of the journal and the Executive Managing Editor, and gives approval or otherwise. This discussion may take place by phone or at the Journals Management Board meeting.
(5) The prospective Co-editor is approached by the Main Editor and asked if they are willing to become a Co-editor and to provide a CV. Examples of typical invites can be found here.
(6) Approved names and CVs are sent by the Managing Editors to the IUCr CEO and Executive Managing Editor.
(7) The IUCr CEO sends the approved names to Executive Committee (this is usually done in batches).
(8) No reply from the Executive Committee within 10 days indicates approval.
(9) The IUCR CEO sends out a formal letter of appointment.
(10) The Managing Editor for the journal sends out a welcome letter giving practical details of the appointment.
Information required for candidates
Timetable
Appointments can be made at any time, depending on the current needs of a journal. However, it is suggested that in most cases lists of candidates are prepared for discussion at the annual meeting of the Journals Management Board, which is usually held in early June.
Assessments of the number of new Co-editors required by end February
Initial suggestions for candidates by end March
Preparation of candidate information during April
Approval during May or further discussion at JMB by early June
Approved names to Executive Committee by end June
Appointments by end July
Co-editor appointment criteria
A shortlist of n + 20% candidates should be sufficient for n appointees, provided the guidelines below are followed.
(1) Candidates should be good scientists with good track records of publication in a variety of journals.
(2) They should ideally have at least 10 years of post-PhD experience depending on the field and journal. H index and citation rate are two useful measures but they themselves are not the only criteria. A ratio of H index to the number of post PhD years of one or more is generally considered good.
(3) Candidates can also include recently retired people who may be able to devote a greater amount of time but they should be able to attract high-quality papers and generally meet the other criteria given here.
(4) Candidates should be sufficiently well networked that they are able to find referees beyond their own expertise and attract new authors to the journal.
(5) Candidates should be selected to cover major gaps left by retiring Co-editors or new areas that the journal wishes to expand into. Efforts should be made to cover specialized areas among the existing board.
(6) The selections should aim to give a reasonable geographical spread and gender balance on the journal’s Editorial Board.
(7) Countries publishing most frequently (not just in our journals but in the field) should be well represented on the board, as should countries where there is rapid scientific growth.
In addition, you should bear in mind that the Editor-in-chief normally makes qualitative checks on proposed candidates such as:
are they respected by their colleagues
have they been to any conferences in the past 18 months
have they given any keynote talks in the last 5 years
If you require further advice on Co-editor appointments, please do not hesitate to contact the Editor-in-chief or your Managing Editor.
