Synapse
Client - Elsevier B.V.
Prototype Scientific Manuscript System (Version 1)
(Circa 1994-1995) Synapse (SYstem for Neuroscience APplication to SharE) is a collection of programs designed to work together to support the submission of peer-reviewed science manuscripts through the entire review cycle. Synapse uses the Internet as the connecting medium among all users. The basic submit/review/edit cycle is not affected. Manuscripts are still written in the same manner as before and review is still done on a peer review system. However, the manner in which the manuscripts are sent to the journal editors, and how they are distributed for review are electronically facilitated. Advantages are greatly reduced time-to-review, time-to-publish, and time-to-read periods. This was developed for Elsevier Scientific Publishers and the Neuroscience community at large. Its goal is to interface to a new electronically managed edition of Brain Research, published by Elsevier.
Fully electronic manuscript submission and its editorial management are viewed as vastly improving the time-to-publish factor, as well as increasing other levels of efficiency, notably, the handling of the manuscripts, the accuracy of reproduction to the reviewers, the complete auditing of the review process, as well as ease of review for the reviewers, and instant incorporation into the final published edition of the Journal, whether that be hard copy, electronically distributed or both. Furthermore, new vistas of information management could be opened with electronic submission and publication, such as the ability to include data modalities not possible with traditional hardcopy journals, such as live data display, video presentations, low-cost color graphics or images, personalized bulletin board commentaries on previously published papers, and easy and fast searching of Journal contents.
| Author information is added to begin the process of entering a manuscript for submission. The author here is the corresponding author to whom all communications are conveyed. |
|
| The new manuscript record is then prepared for submission to editorial board by entering in metadata . The first author here is the same as the corresponding author. |
|
| The other authors are added as well to this manuscript. |
|
| The journal to which the manuscript is being submitted is selected from a pull down menu. |
|
| The word processor that created the original source manuscript file is selected from a pull down menu. |
|
| Keywords, themes, manuscript files, word processing format and method of notification is then specified. |
|
| The manuscript is scanned by the server and keywords and themes compared against the database to suggest reviewers knowledgeable in the field that could review the manuscript. |
|
| Editors analyzing the new manuscript can look at the suggested reviewers as well as all other to compared their core competencies as it relates to the subject matter of the new manuscript. |
|
| Each scientist entered into the system also has flags indicating whether he can review for particular journals. Some scientists are not appropriate, either because of competency or conflict, to participate in some journals' reviews. |
|
| When a scientist is added as a reviewer to a new manuscript, the status of his/her review is available from the editor's window. The review and status can be retrieved at any time. The reviewer can also be graded by the editor and this is also used by the system to recommend reviewers for new manuscripts. |
|
| The server also logs all essential information. |
|
| Other statistical information is also availabled from the server, such as the number of scientists, manuscripts, manuscripts under review, rejected, accepted, etc. |
|
SYNAPSE has three main software components, each of which is described in more detail later.
- The Submission Agent facilitates the submission of electronic manuscripts
- The Database Agent integrates new manuscripts with the existing journal operations database
- The Reviewer Agent works with reviewers during manuscript review.
Submission Agent
The Submission Agent is a program that members of the Neuroscience community have running on their own computers. Its sole responsibility is to make it easy and uniform for the submitter to gather all the individual pieces of the manuscript together (i.e., body of text, illustrations, photographs, list of recommended reviewers, letter to editor, etc.), put them into one mailable manuscript package , and send it to the network for forwarding. The Submission Agent works with standard message transport systems to move the manuscript package from the submitter's site to the Central Repository (i.e., the electronic office for communicating with this publication).
Database Agent
The Database Agent operates at the Central Repository (i.e., journal office or offices) , monitoring the arrival of incoming manuscript packages, retrieving them from the Submission Agent, and performing required housekeeping functions on them (i.e., acknowledgement of manuscript, logging the manuscript into a database, suggesting a list of reviewers in addition to those given by the submitter, electronic distribution to the editors and reviewers, etc.).
Reviewer Agent
The Reviewer Agent is software that the reviewers need to receive the manuscripts from the Database Agent. It will extract the various pieces of the manuscript and present them for review. It will also take input from the reviewer and send back this information to the Database Agent for final scoring.
SYNAPSE provides through software and hardware a complete scientific manuscript submission process, follows its course through the review process and concludes with the publication of accepted manuscripts.