Collection guidelines
- SE offers an efficient way of thematically linking sets of papers published in SE and other Copernicus journals. Collections cover specific topics within the scope of one or more Copernicus journals.
- Papers in collections are bibliographically based in their individual journal library and co-listed on collection web pages.
- Papers of any manuscript type can be included in a collection.
- Papers will be assigned to a collection after their publication as a journal article. Therefore, all manuscripts to be published in a collection must be within the journal scope and comply with the manuscript types and with the same quality standards as any submission to SE.
- Published papers may be included retroactively in newly created collections.
- Authors may ask the handling topic editor after the acceptance of their paper for publication in SE to include their journal article in an existing collection. The final decision for inclusion is made by the executive editors.
- Collections are initiated by the SE executive editors.
Inter-journal collections
- A collection can comprise publications in any number of Copernicus' open-access journals.
- All published papers are co-listed on a joint collection web page (in addition to the regular chronological volume of each journal).
What is the difference between a collection and a special issue?
| Criterion | Special issue | Collection |
|---|---|---|
| Proposal/setup | Anyone can propose to executive editors who then decide | Decided by the executive editors |
| Scope statement | Mandatory | Optional |
| Statement on the review | Specified in the scope statement | Obsolete |
| Collaboration with other journals | Yes, but only with SIs | Yes, but only with collections |
| Submission period | Limited | Open |
| Paper submission | Invitation possible | Always spontaneous, no invitation |
| Handling topic editors | At least supervised by regular journal editors, guest editors possible | Only regular journal editors |
| Peer review | Regular public peer review with all regular criteria | Regular public peer review with all regular criteria |
| Paper assignment | From the beginning, preprint is part of the SI | Only after the final revised journal article is published |
| Retroactive assignment | No | Yes, approval by executive editors |
| Prioritized workflow | No | No |
| APC discount (other than regular financial support scheme) | No | No |
| Metadata | SI part of meta data & SI statement in the paper | No information in metadata or in the article itself |