2012Q3 Reports: CL Journal Editor
CL Journal Report for 2011-2012
Robert Dale, Editor
Wednesday 13th June 2012
1 Summary
Raw submission numbers continue to move upwards, but as noted in the previous report, much of the increase is accounted for by papers which are inappropriate for consideration in CL, either because (a) they are more like conference papers in length; (b) they appear a little naive; or (c) they would be more at home in a journal that represents a different community (for example, we get quite a few papers that would be better in a corpus linguistics journal). In 2011 we received 107 first submissions, compared to 78 in 2010, for an increase of 37%; 42 of these were considered inappropriate for CL. For 2012 to date, we have received 46 first submissions, of which 24 were considered inappropriate for CL; so the problem appears to be increasing. We have updated our submission guidelines in an attempt to improve the self-selection process.
Our average time to first decision for 2011, not including papers deemed inappropriate by the editor, was 57 days, compared with 58 days in 2010. For papers handled so far in 2012, the average time to first decision is 66 days.
2 Submissions
2.1 Articles
See the numbers at the end of this report for a detailed breakdown of statistics regarding submissions. In 2011 and 2012 we handled submissions for two special issues: one on 'Modality and Negation' and one on 'Parsing Morphologically Rich Languages'. The former will appear later this year; the latter will appear in 2013.
2.2 Squibs
[Provided by Pierre Isabelle, Squibs Editor]
At the beginning of year 2011, there were three submissions in the squibs pipeline pending from 2010. In the course of year 2011, 8 additional papers were (re-) submitted. At the end of 2011, there were no submissions left in the pipeline. Thus, 11 decisions were made over the year.
The results were as follows:
- 1 paper accepted
- 6 papers rejected
- 4 invitations to revise and resubmit
The mean time taken for those decisions was 70 days.
In the course of 2011, I also served as associate book review editor for three different books.
Concerning the current year (2012), thus far I have received 2 new squib (re-) submissions plus one new book to be reviewed.
2.3 Book Reviews
[Report by Graeme Hirst]
Book reviews are edited by Graeme Hirst. We publish two or three reviews in each issue. In order to avoid a conflict of interest, reviews of books in the Morgan & Claypool series that Hirst edits are coordinated by our squibs editor, Pierre Isabelle, with Hirst out of the loop.
3 Administrative Matters
3.1 Editorial Assistance
Suzy Howlett continues to do an absolutely exceptional job as editorial assistant. Michael Olney has been carrying out some work modifying the Open Journal Systems manuscript management software that we use.
3.2 Author Support
As noted in the previous report, for some time we have been using a LaTeX class file, called clv2.cls, provided to us by the typesetter. In part to remove this dependence, and in part to overcome some occasional compatibility problems we have found, Suzy has developed a replacement class file that is simpler, and works in conjunction with a number of recommended packages for various specialised purposes. We have been testing and refining this over the last six months.
4 Issues and Points of Note
4.1 LaTeX Copyediting
During 2011, MIT Press had intended to switch to a new production workflow, where the copy editor would make changes to the source LaTeX files. Unfortunately, the LaTeX-aware copy editor we had identified decided against working with us when he saw the extent of the work required. MIT Press has now identified a candidate copy editor, who is in the process of editing some samples for us.
4.2 Journal Size
As noted in previous reports, the journal is getting bigger, largely as a consequence of us publishing papers as soon as they are ready, rather than waiting for space to be available within page limits. While this is good for authors and the community overall, it does mean that our annual costs are increased.
5 Statistics
Here are the raw statistics referred to above.
First submissions in 2011
Special Issue on Modality and Negation
Total: 23
Revise and resubmit: 6
Reject: 17
Special Issue on Parsing Morphologically Rich Languages
Total: 10
Revise and resubmit: 6
Reject: 4
Survey proposal
Total: 3
Reject: 2
"No review: resubmit as article": 1
Articles
Total: 107
Accept: 1
Revise and resubmit: 20
Reject: 42
Reject (not suitable): 42
"No review: resubmit as squib": 1
SI intro, not reviewed: 1
Average time to decision: 38 days
Average time to decision (excluding "reject (not suitable)" and "no review"): 61 days
Resubmission of an article from 2010 or before
Total: 23
Accept: 14
Accept with revisions: 1
Revise and resubmit: 5
Reject: 3
Resubmission of an article from 2011
Special Issue on Modality and Negation
Total: 6
Accept with revisions: 5
Reject: 1
Articles
Total: 14
Accept: 6
Accept with revisions: 2
Revise and resubmit: 6
Totals (All submissions in 2011, including special issues and survey proposals)
Total: 186
Accept: 21
Accept with revisions: 8
Revise and resubmit: 43
Reject: 69
Reject (not suitable): 42
"No review: resubmit as article": 1
"No review: resubmit as squib": 1
SI intro, not reviewed: 1
Times for all submissions (incl. special issues and survey proposals)
Average time to decision: 54 days
Average time to decision (excluding "reject (not suitable)" and "no review"): 70 days
Times for all article submissions
Average time to decision: 41 days
Average time to decision (excluding "reject (not suitable)" and "no review"): 57 days
Country of first author
(New submissions and resubmissions from 2010 or before)
Articles
Algeria 1
Argentina 1
Australia 1
Azerbaijan 1
Basque Country 1
Belgium 1
Brazil 3
Canada 6
China 9
Denmark 1
Finland 2
Germany 11
Hong Kong 2
Hungary 1
India 9
Iran 4
Ireland 2
Israel 4
Italy 4
Japan 1
Kazakhstan 1
Lithuania 1
Malaysia 6
Morocco 1
Netherlands 4
New Zealand 1
Pakistan 1
Portugal 1
Russian Federation 1
Saudi Arabia 1
South Africa 1
Spain 10
Sweden 2
Switzerland 1
Taiwan 1
Tunisia 2
UK 8
US 22
TOTAL 130
SI Mod Neg
Austria 1
Canada 1
China 1
Germany 3
Hong Kong 1
Italy 1
Korea 2
Norway 1
Spain 3
Sweden 2
UK 2
US 5
TOTAL 23
SI PMRL
Bulgaria 1
Czech Republic 2
Germany 3
Israel 1
Pakistan 1
US 2
TOTAL 10
Survey proposals
Australia 1
France 1
US 1
TOTAL 3
2012 up to 10 June
First submissions in 2012
Survey proposal
Total: 3
Revise and resubmit: 1
Reject (not suitable): 1
No decision: 1
Articles
Total: 46
Revise and resubmit: 8
Reject: 4
Reject (not suitable): 24
No review, no file submitted: 1
No decision: 9
Average time to decision: 23 days
Average time to decision (excluding "reject (not suitable)"): 66 days
Resubmission of an article from 2011 or before
Special Issue on Parsing Morphologically Rich Languages
Total: 5
No decision: 5
Articles
Total: 16
Accept: 3
Accept with revisions: 1
Revise and resubmit: 8
No decision: 4
Resubmission of an article from 2012
Survey proposal
Total: 1
Reject: 1
Articles
Total: 3
Accept: 1
Revise and resubmit: 1
No decision: 1
Totals (All submissions in 2012, including special issues and survey proposals)
Total: 74
Accept: 4
Accept with revisions: 1
Revise and resubmit: 18
Reject: 5
Reject (not suitable): 25
No review, no file submitted: 1
No decision: 20
Times for all submissions (incl. special issues and survey proposals)
Average time to decision: 29 days
Average time to decision (excluding "reject (not suitable)" and "no review"): 54 days
Times for all article submissions
Average time to decision: 31 days
Average time to decision (excluding "reject (not suitable)" and "no review"): 57 days
Country of first author
(New submissions and resubmissions from 2011 or before)
Articles
Basque Country 1
Canada 1
China 3
France 2
Germany 3
India 4
Iran 5
Italy 2
Japan 1
Jordan 1
Lebanon 1
Malaysia 3
Netherlands 1
Pakistan 1
Portugal 1
Saudi Arabia 1
Spain 11
Sweden 3
Switzerland 1
Tunisia 1
UK 3
US 12
TOTAL 62
SI PMRL
Germany 3
Israel 1
US 1
TOTAL 5
Survey proposals
Austria 1
Malaysia 1
US 1
TOTAL 3