Invitation letter from the Council of Science Editors to contribute to the 9th edition of The CSE Manual

In May 2024, three people from Korea contributed to editing the 9th edition of The CSE Manual: Scientific Style and Format for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (Fig. 1) [1], published by the Council of Science Editors (CSE). On March 15, 2021, the Korean Council of Science Editors (KCSE) received an email from Mr. Michael E. Fitzgerald, the project manager for the 9th edition of The CSE Manual. He extended an invitation, explaining that the goal was to complete the first draft by February 1, 2022, and to publish the revised edition in spring 2023. Each of the 32 chapters from the 8th edition required an editor, and he encouraged participation from Korea. After contacting the KCSE board and committee members, three individuals agreed to participate in the project.

Motivation for participation

I was thrilled when I received the letter inviting me to participate in editing the 9th edition of The CSE Manual. Although I had been a diligent reader of the 7th and 8th editions, I never imagined I would have the opportunity to contribute as an author to this esteemed manual for editors. Rather than serving as an editor for a specific chapter, I proposed adding a new chapter on digital standards in scholarly journal publishing. Previous editions of The CSE Manual addressed only a limited aspect of the digital environment in journal publishing. An online version of a journal is now essential, even for traditional print publications. Furthermore, the number of online-only journals has increased dramatically in recent years, a trend that is also evident in Korea. Below is a rough outline for the proposed new chapter:

1. Purpose: Recently, online journal publishing has rapidly become a dominant force in scholarly publishing. The growth of online-only journals requires new digital standards that were not necessary for print journals. Therefore, establishing digital standards for journal publishing is essential knowledge and a valuable skill for editors and publishers. This chapter aims to present various digital technologies required for journal publishing.

2. Methods: All known digital tools used in journal publishing will be compiled and summarized as best practices. Furthermore, new technologies will be suggested—for example, the application of deep neural networks in publishing. The adoption of JATS (Journal Article Tag Suite) XML (extensible markup language) will also be discussed.

3. Effect: Editors and publishers will gain the ability to understand and adopt new technologies in their journal publishing, thereby broadening the range of readers and authors.

Mr. Fitzgerald generously accepted my proposal and suggested that I include topics such as data archiving and abstracting services in the new chapter. I embraced his suggestion and added sections on data archiving and various abstracting services, including graphical abstracts.

When I discussed these matters with my fellow editors in Korea, I consistently emphasized that while improving journal content is essential, the online presentation must be of the highest quality globally. Since Korea is a leader in internet technology, investments in and training for online journal systems can be implemented with relative ease, thanks to the exceptional skills of the country’s information technology engineers. I have made every effort to create visually appealing and informative online journals. Additionally, I encourage my fellow editors to produce full-text JATS XML (formerly known as PubMed Central XML), which is the essential XML format for journal publishing. By adopting JATS XML, numerous Korean medical and life science journals have been included in PubMed Central since 2008. I also urged the publishing company to incorporate various features on the journal’s homepage. A prime example is the Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions (https://www.jeehp.org). I have been able to write this new chapter comfortably, as I have presented on or consulted about journal development for editors more than 50 times a year since 2009, in addition to authoring articles on editing and publishing. Emphasizing digital standards may be one reason why many society journals in Korea can compete with those published by commercial publishers.

Participating editors from Korea

The editor of Chapter 24, titled “Disease Names,” was Ms. Soo-Hee Chang from InfoLumi. Chapter 27, “Journal Style and Format,” was edited by Ms. Jae Hwa Chang, a former member of the KCSE Manuscript Editors Committee. Meanwhile, Chapter 33, “Digital Standards of Scholarly Journal Publishing,” was newly created for the 9th edition. I proposed the addition of this chapter and, upon its approval, took on the roles of both author and editor. While Chapters 1 through 32 involved revising and supplementing existing content, Chapter 33 introduced entirely new material that I had proposed. On March 30, 2021 (Korean time), a virtual meeting was held for all editors who accepted their invitations, during which the publication process and manuscript submission deadlines were explained.

The majority of the editors of the 9th edition were from the United States (36 editors), but there were also three from Korea, three from Canada, two from the United Kingdom, two from Nigeria, and one from Hong Kong. The final print and online editions were ultimately published in May 2024, a year behind schedule. Subscription details for the online version can be found on the CSE website (https://www.councilscienceeditors.org/cse-manual). The print version is priced at US $80.00, and the annual online subscription fee is US $60.

Introduction to the new chapter in the Preface and Acknowledgments

In the Preface, Mr. Michael E. Fitzgerald, the project manager, introduces this new chapter as follows [1]:

Enhanced Digital Guidelines

To address the perpetually evolving electronic environment in scientific writing and publishing, a chapter titled “Digital Standards of Scholarly Journal Publishing” was added to The CSE Manual. Written by Sun Huh, MD, PhD, while he served as the president of both the Korean Council of Science Editors and the Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors, the new Chapter 33 covers topics ranging from the basic elements of journal home pages and the variety of Crossref services to journal metrics and artificial intelligence in scholarly publishing.

He also offered special recognition in the Acknowledgments [1]: Also worthy of special praise is Sun Huh, MD, PhD, the only contributor who drafted a new chapter for the ninth edition.

It has been both an honor and a pleasure to be invited as the author and editor of the new chapter in the 9th edition of The CSE Manual.

Presentation at the 2024 CSE Annual Meeting

On May 6, 2024, I had the opportunity to present at the CSE annual meeting, as part of a session titled “Unveiling The CSE Manual, Ninth Edition.” Unfortunately, I was unable to attend in person, so I delivered my presentation via a recorded video (Suppl. 1).

In this presentation, I emphasized that society journal editors and publishers are the primary target audience of the new chapter. The essence of digital standards lies in the production of full-text JATS XML and the implementation of Crossref services. I also highlighted the significance of research data and innovations in abstracts, concluding with a discussion of the application of artificial intelligence programs in publishing. The estimated global readership for this chapter may exceed 50,000 individuals. This estimate is based on the fact that the 2023 Journal Citation Reports (JCR) listed 21,973 journals, while many additional journals in various countries have yet to be included in these databases [2].

The new Chapter 33 is organized into 12 section headings: Introduction, Journal Home Page, Presentation of Journals Online, Crossref Services, Uniform Identifiers, Auxiliary Services, Research Data and Data Sharing, Preprints, Innovations in Abstracts, Digital Archiving, Manuscript Management Systems, and Artificial Intelligence Programs in Journal Publishing.

One notable regret is that ChatGPT (OpenAI)—a form of generative artificial intelligence (AI)—was first released on November 30, 2022, and began to be widely adopted shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, I was unable to include a more in-depth discussion of it while drafting my chapter. I hope the manual can be updated to address generative AI even before the release of the 10th edition, as AI has already become significantly integrated into manuscript writing, peer review, editing, and publication processes. We must closely monitor how these tools continue to evolve and impact scholarly publishing.

The pleasure of collaborating with top-tier professional editors

This chapter was not written from scratch; instead, it involved compiling and reorganizing my previous publications and presentations. It also referenced numerous papers published in Science Editing and other journals. The editing process was exceptional. I collaborated with Mr. Michael E. Fitzgerald and Mr. Peter Olson, the manuscript editing coordinator at JAMA Network, whose initial recommendation was to shorten my manuscript. The original word count was about 20,000, excluding content, tables, figures, and references. However, vigorous editing reduced it to less than 10,000 words, retaining only the essential information for readers. Moreover, the professional editors at the University of Chicago Press did an exceptional job with copyediting. They identified typographical errors and ambiguous expressions that I had overlooked. It was a truly valuable experience to collaborate with such skilled professionals.

The significance of being an author and editor of The CSE Manual

In addition to The CSE Manual, other well-known and authoritative style guides for academic editors include the AMA Manual of Style, The Chicago Manual of Style, and the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The CSE Manual is noteworthy for covering an extensive range of topics aimed at scientific editors. Hence, the fact that Korean editors were invited for the first time to contribute to such a prominent international reference is highly significant. Even more noteworthy is that a Korean editor authored a new chapter that had not existed in previous editions.

According to the 2023 Web of Science Core Collection, Korea produced 105,238 scientific articles, ranking 12th globally (Fig. 2) [3]. Furthermore, 305 Korean journals were listed in the 2023 JCR, placing Korea 17th worldwide in terms of journal count (Fig. 3) [2]. Despite these numbers, Korea’s scientific journal market is relatively inactive on the global stage compared to major commercial publishers. Many Korean journals, primarily published by academic societies, have not been indexed in international databases, which hampers their ability to compete with large commercial publishers. Continuing to pay publication fees to foreign journals or contribute scholarly output to major overseas commercial publishers, drawn by their brand value, is not a sustainable long-term strategy. To boost the international competitiveness of Korean journals, concerted efforts from both academic societies and Korean editors are crucial. Increased involvement of Korean editors in international organizations, coupled with the creation of globally recognized editorial guidelines, can place them at the forefront of discussions that shape international scholarly publishing. The inclusion of Korean editors in the revision of The CSE Manual demonstrates that our editorial community is well-equipped to participate in this global initiative.

Participation in international manual editing and the creation of a new chapter reaffirms the capabilities of Korean editors, who have successfully elevated local journals to international recognition without the support of major commercial publishers. This achievement emphasizes our editorial competence on a global stage.

Future of The CSE Manual for editors

Korean editors were invited to participate in the 9th edition of The CSE Manual because the KCSE had registered for institutional membership in the CSE and maintained consistent networking with the CSE board. In other words, the ongoing activities of our scientific editors through the KCSE established the groundwork for this opportunity.

I hope that Korean editors and manuscript editors will continue to accept invitations from international publishers to contribute to editorial guidelines and style manuals, thereby showcasing their expertise on a global scale. The 10th edition of The CSE Manual is tentatively expected to be released around 2034. I encourage Korean editors to remain actively engaged in shaping that future edition. Such participation will also serve as a steppingstone toward publishing our open-access manual that meets international standards, further enhancing the brand value of Korean scholarly journal editing. Rather than continually importing editorial and publishing guidelines from other countries, I look forward to the day when Korean editors take the lead in producing a globally relevant manual that reflects our unique perspectives while adhering to international standards.

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to Mr. Michael E. Fitzgerald, who served as the project manager for the 9th edition of The CSE Manual, and Mr. Peter Olson, the manuscript editing coordinator at JAMA Network, as well as the copy editors at the University of Chicago Press, who graciously invited me to participate and handled my manuscripts with dedication and care.

Notes

Conflict of interest

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Funding

The author received no financial support for this article.

Data Availability

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analyzed in this study.

Supplementary materials

Suppl. 1. Overview of the newest chapter in The CSE Manual, highlighting the most noteworthy aspects of Chapter 33, “Digital Standards of Scholarly Publishing.” Presented at the 2024 CSE Annual Meeting on May 6, 2024.

Fig. 1.

Cover page of the 9th edition of The CSE Manual: Scientific Style and Format for Authors, Editors, and Publishers [1].

Fig. 2.

No. of papers in the 2023 Web of Science Core Collection [3] according to country.

Fig. 3.

No. of journals in the 2023 Journal Citation Reports [2] according to country.

References

• 1. Council of Science Editors Style Manual Task Force. The CSE manual: scientific style and format for authors, editors, and publishers. 9th ed. Council of Science Editors; 2024. In cooperation with The University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/cse9.
• 2. Clarivate. Journal Citation Reports [Internet]. Clarivate; [cited 2025 Jan 19]. Available from: https://jcr.clarivate.com.
• 3. Clarivate. Web of Science Core Collection [Internet]. Clarivate; [cited 2025 Jan 19]. Available from: https://clarivate.com/academia-government/scientific-and-academic-research/research-discovery-and-referencing/web-of-science/web-of-science-core-collection/.

Figure & Data

References

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by