When you accept a paper for publication, the author/s can make no further changes. The system notifies the publisher that the paper is ready for final quality assurance and publication. The publisher then reviews the paper and checks if it is ready for publication. She may contact the authors directly to check on or ask for information, such as references. Usually, the paper will be online within two weeks.

Once you accept a paper for publication, encourage (but do not require) the author to deposit any data gathering instruments they created (such as scales) as well as their raw data to be stored alongside their published paper. They do this by forwarding such additional documents to the publisher (Publisher@InformingScience.org). Doing so allows our journals to fulfill the ISI mission to “set knowledge free” even better.  Our mission is to make research more freely available to scholars worldwide, and to assist other researchers in using these instruments and data in their own research (and cite the author). Such files will be stored with the paper and accessed on the paper’s landing page. Depositing the raw data (and SPSS files) also allows readers who so wish to re-analyze the data, and depositing the author-constructed survey instrument enables fellow researchers to re-use the survey. Note, however, that authors should review their university’s ethics approval (if applicable) before deciding to make data publicly available. Some universities will not permit the use of data collected without prior permission of research participants and/or approval by an ethics committee. If authors have any uncertainty about these, please advise them to discuss these issues with their university’s ethics committee.


Figure 16. The Publisher can upload additional files to accompany the published paper

Now you know how to use the system to shepherd a submission from when you are first notified of it until you have completed the entire review process.