TL;DR for reviewers/editors

Summary for those already familiar with extended abstract reviewing/editing in Biodiversity Information Science & Standards (BISS).

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Last updated 4 June 2024

The complete instructions for reviewing/editing 2024 extended abstracts may be found here. This high level summary provides relevant links to that document. Note that only those volunteering to review will have access to unpublished abstracts in the system.

Getting started

  1. Familiarize yourself with author requirements (TL;DR for authors)
  2. Notification of abstracts to review in ARPHA will come via awt@pensoft.net
  3. List of abstracts available to be reviewed are found (when logged in) on your ARPHA dashboard with status “in pre-submission review” - abstracts in “Draft” are unavailable.
  4. Attend to reviews promptly
  5. Only one reviewer may be in an abstract at a time; close window when not working.

The review

  1. Track Changes - correct grammar, spelling, or style issues; suggest wording changes
  2. Comment - select relevant text and add comment or question for authors to resolve
  3. Status flags - check to mark editing/reviewing progress
    1. Language reviewed - verified spelling, grammar, consistency of style
    2. Content reviewed - examined structure, logic, clarity, & context of text and other materials (figures, tables, references, etc)
  4. Action flags - check to mark recommended actions by volume editors
    1. Revise
    2. Approve
    3. Rarely used: Move, Reject, Remove
    4. Not used: Accept with revisions
  5. DO NOT use the Send feedback button for any reason
  6. Enter status and action flags in Abstract Tracking by Sessions worksheet (link sent separately)

Additional help

  1. Ask editor@tdwg.org after reviewing more detailed instructions
    1. always include ARPHA or BISS identifiers in the subject line of your email
  2. Check online help (marked as Tips in ARPHA)