Moving from an Email Attachment to an Open Journal System

Abstract

Since 1914, the Ethiopian Journal of Social Sciences and Language Studies(EJSSLS) has been accepting manuscripts from authors and sending to reviewers andeditors as an email attachment. Accepted articles have been uploaded on the University’sserver being managed from the office of Public Relations and External Relations. Thissystem does not give the editor - in-chief and the managing editor of the journal aprivilege of managing publications online and uploading issues in or on time.Nevertheless, such a system is not convenient for archiving submitted, pended andrejected manuscripts. This calls for transforming from an email attachment to an openjournal system (OJS) practices. Open Journal Systems is open-source software for themanagement of peer-reviewed academic journals.OJS (software) has several advantages over an email attachment. The software,unlike to an email attachment, archives lists of authors, reviewers, editors, submitted,assigned, unassigned, accepted, pended and rejected manuscripts. This enables theeditor-in-chief or/and the managing editor to manage the publications effectively.Further, it enables the peer review processes to undergo online. It shows the stage of thereview process and the date on which the activity is performed. Furthermore, uponacceptance, the editor-in-chief and/or the managing editor of EJSSLS can immediatelyupload the publications without the help or permission of Public Relations and ExternalRelation office. On top of that, it allows researchers to access, to build on the findings ofother researchers, and to reuse publications without restrictions like payments.Therefore, to achieve its vision, being one of the most preferable journalsespecially in Africa, or to become a competent journal, EJSSLS needs transforming froman email attachment to an open access journal practice. To do so, the editor-in-chief hastaken training on how to operate on the software (OJS). The other editors will also takethe training. Now, an attempt of migrating previous publications from the server to theOJS is going on. We are also trying uploading the current issue (Vol 5.No.1) on thesystem. However, OJS is not without limitations. The editorial of the next issue (Vol.5No.2) will present the challenges that affect the promotion of best practices of OJS aswell as the alternatives.

The editor