Hello all, @ctgraham , @asmecher, @NateWr ,
Is it possible to make OJS update automagically metadata fields?
Authors “forget” to add coauthors, or type their names wrong during submission and that misspelled name goes on during all the editorial process, even after publication, as we sometimes forget to check certain fields (mainly rights!).
How about adding this feature in future versions?
Can you provide more information about this feature? When should the metadata fields be automatically updated? How will OJS know the correct data to enter?
Hello @NateWr ,
In my mind I see the related metadata being updated or a confirmation to update related fields on saving what I would call the “primary” metadata fields (more important in hierarchy), especially collaborator fields.
Basically, the “rights (copyright)” field needs to be updated if collaborator information is updated. I think those are the only related fields, which are filled during submission, but are not updated after submission is completed and editorial process is ongoing. So, if the author submtting the article mispelled the collaborator’s name, or is missing a collaborator for any reason, and later on updates the collaborator list in any way, the rights field is not, keeping outdated info.
If it’s possible, it would be nice to have that feature to prevent publishing wrong information with the article.
I don’t know if I made myself any clearer…
In a typical workflow, the copyright field is automatically filled when an item is published. That takes care of most cases, where the author data changes throughout the editorial process. If your editorial team is filling out licensing information earlier, they should probably be instructed to avoid touching it altogether where possible.
I don’t think we’d have much luck with auto-generating license information, but we do want to implement a preview step into the publishing workflow, where the editorial staff will have a chance to review in a more systematic manner what they are publishing.