SET E

Statistics is the core as well as the nightmare of editorial decision. How much should an editor know about statistics? Are there differences among the scientific fields and journals? Come to this session and be a part of the solution by proposing guideline suggestions for editors.

E2. Internet Information Resources: How Medical Informatics Can Make an Online Publication Useful for the Medical Community
Richard Newman, Associate Director, HighWire Press
Dr. David Masuda, Department of Medical Education and Biomedical Informatics, University of Washington School of Medicine
Patty Baskin, Executive Managing Editor, GeneTests/GeneReviews, University of Washington (Speaker and Moderator)

The advance of e-publishing has allowed enhancement of scientific articles with videos, supplements, and links to other journals and databases. A different approach for new publication ventures online: create a structure first using bioinformatics, so that information from databases is merged into articles that are continually updated and customized for users.

E3. Online Reader Usage Across Disciplines
Kent Anderson, Publishing Director, New England Journal of Medicine
Bill Silberg, Vice President, Communications and Publishing, The Commonwealth Fund (Moderator)
Other(s) to be added

Publishers and many editors sit up late at night worrying about readership, counting on their own or syndicated research to gauge what readers are doing and applying that information in their business and editorial decisions. At least that’s how it’s been in traditional publishing. But online publishing gives us — for the first time — a view of what readers are really doing, by mining and analyzing the wealth of data that Web-based publishing systems constantly record. Within user logs lay clues on what readers want. Some publishers are truly leveraging digital technology’s ability to track and interact with users and authors to push their editorial and business processes to new levels of sophistication and to create better products. Hear some practical advice on making the most of the usage data you might not even know you have, and get a sense of the state of the art in analyzing and harnessing that information.

E4. Lessons Learned: Innovations in Scientific Communications
Nancy Gough, Managing Editor for STKE, Science
Monica Bradford, Executive Editor, Science (Moderator)
Other(s) to be added

During the last six years, many journals have embraced digital technologies to expand upon and refine the ways in which they disseminate scientific and medical information. This session will present what did and did not work in experimenting with new models, such as knowledge environments and new digital products.

E5. Establishing and Maintaining an Editorial Department Servicing Researchers in an Academic Medical Center
LeAnn M. Stee, Head, Section of Scientific Publications, Mayo Clinic
Karen L. Dodson, Director and Managing Editor, Academic Publishing Services, Washington University School of Medicine
Patricia K. Hodgson, Director of Communications, Duke Clinical Research Institute (Speaker and Moderator)

How does one set up and maintain an editorial office in a medical center? Some critical issues: threading the bureaucracy; assuring financial support; proving the value; finding space; assuring the office runs well; hiring editors; training; measuring success; branching out. Three editors who run academic editorial offices will share their experiences.