Retrospective Blogging

It occured to me that I haven't linked to any of the blog posts that I have contributed to the Brain Work blog (C-EBLIP) in a really long time.  Here are the links and the titles:

• Reframing Instruction: Get Messy found at https://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/07/04/reframing-instruction/ 
• NAP: Assisting Students just in time found at: https://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2017/01/10/nap-assisting-students-just-in-time/ 
• Lessons Learned: A Book Editing Collaboration found at https://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2016/07/05/a-book-editing-collaboration/
• Lessons Learned: The Peer Review Process found at: https://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2016/04/26/lessons-learned-the-peer-review-process/

Final Numbers at Submission

Yesterday we submitted the finalized manuscript.  Here are the totals:

• 592 pages, double spaced, 12-point font with section breaks
• 136,140 words
• 44 contributing authors
• 22 chapters
• 20 months of work
• Our Dropbox folder has 402 files in 57 folders
• I have archived 869 emails since starting at SaskPolytech in August.  I also have emails in my old U of S email account and some in my Gmail. 

deadlines...

So the date that we have been working towards since January of 2015 was April 30, 2016 for submission of the final manuscript.  That is tomorrow.  Yesterday we had to ask for an extension as we have two chapters that have not been quite finalized as of yet.  But we are close, so close.

Currently the project is approximately 540 pages of double spaced content using a 12-point font and a whooping 125,000 words.  The project will have 22 chapters from 44 contributing authors, with one group of three authors submitting two chapters.

I know that the work is not yet done, but I do have a feeling of relief, like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.  It is amazing how much of a burden the mental strain is on your body.  I really haven't stopped thinking about the project since I received the first email inquiry.

a little snippet

So if you will have to write an introduction to a book project on which you are an editor, take my advice: when you respond to the authors of contributed chapters, capture all of the points that resonated with you, and key points of interest.  Then as you are working away, start filing those thoughts in a document.  This will make writing the introduction so much easier!

We decided to do it the hard way.  We are writing the introduction after the fact.  In a few cases, I do have email descriptions to fall back on.  And I guess it doesn't hurt me to review the chapters one more time...

I have always prided myself on my ability to take on multiple projects at the same time.  I like to be really busy.  I quickly get aggravated if my mind is not always occupied.

But, I think I have finally hit the wall of how much I can manage.  Or perhaps it is something to do with "when it rains, it pours".  For the month of January, we had so much work to do with our book, that I have found myself increasingly behind, and as a consequence not able to meet deadlines.

I have finally caught up, but I am sure this moment of relief will be short-lived.

The chapter that I am writing with 3 contributors is about to enter its final draft.  Almost all chapters are near completing the peer review phase.  Seems hard to believe that we may meet our deadline of April 30 for the completed product.  Just less than 3 months now.

At this point I would note several items that I would recommend should you ever wish to edit a book:

• Use an email address that has been created only for the project.  That way you can keep everything in one place.  I have found it difficult to manage a work/project account.  Also, I changed jobs halfway through this project, another reason why a separate email address would have been helpful.
• Work with at least one other person, and preferably someone who has a different skill set than you.  I am super enthusiastic at the beginning of a project and eager to get started.  I do start to fizzle towards the end however, so it has been useful to have someone who can keep me going as we trudge along towards the finish line.
• Organize your folders by author, not by process.  We currently have contributor, chapter, and peer review folders.  I think it would be better to organize by author and/or chapter and then keep everything from that chapter in the same place.  Or create sub-folders within the main folder for the different processes.
• We have a file naming procedure that I think has been very helpful.  For example: 27_Environmental Scan_Maddison.  It helps us to keep everything straight.  When we receive a peer evaluation we then would use 27_1_etc and 27_2_etc to identify the separate files.  

I have learned (part 2)

That when you paraphrase in APA you do not need to include page numbers.   And that you can use footnotes and endnotes to explain text that would be extraneous in the body of the article but are necessary for understanding the content / context.  They are not recommended as they are costly publish, but you can use them.

Two more reasons why peer reviewing can be a huge benefit to your professional development.

on a roll....

we started the day with 4 chapters yet to be assigned peer reviewers and 2 chapters with one peer reviewer assigned.

we are now at only 1 chapter yet to be assigned and 2 chapters with one peer reviewer assigned and it is only 2:00 PM in Saskatchewan.

look what can happen when you start bugging your friends and colleagues!

also to report: 14 of our chapters have been reviewed by two peer reviewers and are awaiting final comments from one of the co-editors.  2 of our chapters are completely complete (giggle), having finished the peer review process and we have received their final revised edition.

I have learned

I have learned through reviewing chapters that I have been using in-text citations incorrectly.  And that no one has caught me!

According to APA you only need the full in-text citation the first time in the paragraph.  So:
Maddison (2015) states "blah, blah, blah" (p. 15). OR "blah, blah, blah" (Maddison, 2015, p. 15) and then within the rest of the paragraph, just the page number, accepting of course that you are not citing more than one of my articles in the same document.

I also learned that I have been citing page numbers wrong.  I have always used (pg. 15) and not (p. 15).

Nothing like editing a book to discover your own errors.  Also, points to the wonderful fact that I am always learning!!!  And hopefully improving.

small cheer

We gave a small celebratory cheer when we sent back the first chapter to the author following the peer review process.  It is a tiny victory, but exciting nevertheless.

What I have enjoyed is that we are continually learning along the way.  We have put a peer review process into place.  We have divided up the duties and of course we are tracking everything on yet another spreadsheet.

Here are some of the details of this process:

• receipt of chapter
• request participation of two peer reviewers
• forward the peer reviewers the blinded chapter, saved as a PDF (to hide author details) along with a template for feedback
• receipt of peer reviews
• scan the reviews as well as the chapter for any additional feedback
• send the chapter back to the author for revision
• send the peer reviewer a thank you note

For more information on the peer review process, I would highly recommend a recent post on the 

C-EBLIP brain work blog: http://words.usask.ca/ceblipblog/2015/11/17/how-to-be-an-effective-peer-reviewer/ 

Peer Review Process

We have received 21 out of the 27 projects as of today.

For the peer review process, we are tracking all of the data on a spreadsheet.  We have numbered all of the chapters and I have tripled checked that the number corresponds to the correct chapter and author combination.  All chapters have been blinded which entails either deleting information from the paper or redacting identifible information.  10 of the projects are already in the hands of peer reviewers and we have received our first peer reviewed chapter back from a reviewer.  We have a small number of reviewers that will be available later this month due to other commitments, so further chapters will be sent at that point.  As well, once an author has completed the peer review process on their own chapter, they will be asked if they would be willing to peer review a chapter.

We have asked our reviewers to agree to one or two chapters and with each chapter they have a three week deadline.

as the deadline approaches

As October 31 quickly approaches, we have begun to receive chapter submissions.  To date, we have 2 of the 27.  We have also started to secure peer reviewers.  During on C-EBLIP session last week, we put a call out for reviewers as well as tweeting about it, using the conference's hashtag.

Next step: prepare the chapters for the blind peer review process and then send them out to the reviewers.  Each reviewer will have 3 weeks per chapter from the time that they receive the email.  I plan on putting together yet another spreadsheet to track the progress.  If all chapters are in on time, we should have all chapters back to the authors by mid-December at the latest.

Follow up on a previous action:  I am only waiting for one more address from one of our contributing authors.  Hopefully I can have a finalized list to the publisher by the end of this week.

As October rolls in...

Here is a list of things we are currently working on:

• Finishing our presentation for the C-EBLIP fall symposium 
• Complying a list of peer reviewers to look at chapter submissions
• Finalizing the contact information for our contributors

And I am very excited to announce that we received our very first chapter submission yesterday!

Musings

Updates:

• We recently issued a last call for contributor agreements.  As of today we are only missing one.  There was a fair bit of confusion as to who sent what in and who received it.  
• We will be presenting at the C-EBLIP fall symposium at the University of Saskatchewan this October on contracts - so watch for some key take-aways later in October.  
• Our publisher requested complete contact information for our contributors
• And finally, we requested feedback about the contract process from all of our contributors; re: presentation above

As it gets closer to the October 31st deadline for chapter submissions, the work and the need to organize the project is increasing.  I haven't even began to think about my own contribution.

Second deadline has past

We received 29 proposals from 26 different author(s).  We reviewed all submissions, made comments where we thought the focus of the chapter should be, recorded keywords and then responded to the contributors.

The meeting took approximately 3.5 hours.  I was totally impressed by what we were able to accomplish.  This is due largely in part to the fact that I have found someone to work with that has a similar work ethic to mine.  Doesn't hurt that we also really like each other!

Information from Chandos has been forwarded to the contributors including a sample chapter, abstract and keyword guideline and a reference style document, as well as, permissions information.  Each contributor will receive a contract directly from Chandos publishing.

My advice at this point in the process:

• pick someone that you work well with, if you are thinking of co-authoring or co-editing a book
• stay organized 
• we have many spreadsheets on the go!
• take a deep breath, because you will have a lot of work ahead of you!

organize your projects in advance

Something that has become abundantly clear to me is that it is very helpful to design your project, before you start.  I know this seems obvious and you are probably shaking your head at me now - but sometimes, you think, what will it hurt if I starting reading articles now. 

It really hasn't hurt.  I took good notes and highlighted important text while I read, but it would have been much easier (let me say that again - much easier) to read and record on a spreadsheet at the same time.  Instead of reading and now skimming each article.

So that you may benefit from my newly obtained knowledge, my research group is reviewing articles on the following criteria:

• author, date, title
• type of article
• creation (of online materials, ie: Camtasia, Jing, etc.)
• access (how those materials are accessed by students)
• assessment
• outcomes and recommendations
• other relevant information about the article

Reminder Email

Today we sent out the reminder email, announcing that the time is slowly ticking away and the deadline is drawing near. 

Lessons Learned:

• always keep an up-to-date contact list
• double check your list to ensure all the information is accurate and that all contributors are on your list
• send a reminder with a review of what you will require with the proposal

In the middle

How interesting it is to be in the middle of two deadlines.  We requested emails of interest by March 10th and chapter proposals by May 31st.We are diligently working away on small tasks, but the big picture is sometimes forgotten as there are not any looming deadlines. 

So to keep us busy in the meantime, we are working away on a comprehensive literature review.  Between the four of us we have read just over 100 articles on the subject.  I have been using a citation analysis process to generate new articles of interest, along with a search in Scopus. 

I have been reading the articles on my iPad using Adobe Reader.  It is very cool to be highlighting and commenting right on the document itself.  This has been a big step for me as I am typically 'old school' and prefer to print off and mark up the print copy instead.

Emails are flying in

I can barely keep up with my email today, as it is the last day to state your interest in submitting a chapter to our book.  We have a whooping 28 potential contributors already.  I am so excited that there are so many people out there who are interested in contributing.  I am also somewhat relieved to see such a huge outpouring of interest, as it means that our topic is relevant and timely!

Next step: chapter proposals are due on May 31, 2015.  To date, we have already received two proposals.

Big Wheels Keep on Turnin'

Quick update here as the wheels are starting to turn very quickly...

• Financial approval was received on February 2, 2015
• Ethics Application for a chapter that will be written by M. Kumaran, S. Lucky, C. Doi and I was submitted to the Dean's Office, U of S Library, then submitted to the Ethics Office and received on February 11, 2015 (has not been officially accepted as of today's date)
• Completed contract signed on February 16, 2015
• Invitations to submit a chapter were sent out starting on February 18, 2015
• Today, we have 12 potential contributors and there is still 13 days to respond to our initial request
• Today, I have read 26 articles on distributed learning of 43 found items that I am working on!

Proposal Accepted

I received the first email asking me if I would be interested in publishing a book on September 9, 2014.  Last week on January 28, 2015, we received an email stating that our book proposal had been accepted.  Now we just are waiting on financial approval and then I assume after that a contract.

We are tentatively putting out some feelers to see if certain individuals are interested in writing with us.  So far, I have agreed to write two chapters, both with co-authors as well as the introduction and conclusion with my main writing partner. 

We have started a literature review and the application for ethics approval. 

The wheels are slowly moving.  I have a feeling that I am on the edge of the pool, about to jump in to deep water.