Journal cover Journal topic
Encyclopedia of Geosciences Encyclopedia
of Geosciences
A collection of scientific review articles

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

  1. What major advantages does the Encyclopedia of Geosciences offer to the authors of scientific review papers?
    • Contrary to publications in other online encyclopediae, each article is a regular journal article and will contribute to the performance metric of the author.
    • The authors benefit from the excellent journal metrics of the partner journals. Thus the article will have high visibility even in the early phase of the Encyclopedia of Geosciences.
    • The inclusion of a review article in the Encyclopedia of Geosciences increases its visibility.
    • The Encyclopedia of Geosciences aims at a "living reviews" concept in a sense that outdated review articles can be superseded by updates.
    • All advantages of the partner journals apply.
  2. What major advantages does the Encyclopedia of Geosciences offer to the readers and scientific community?
    • The Encyclopedia of Geosciences offers online access to high-quality up-to-date review articles written by the experts in their field free of cost.
    • Transparent peer-reviewing and quality control guarantee a high scientific standard.
    • The reader can find review articles either by using the search engines of the partner journals, by keywords, or via a hierarchically organized list of topics.
    • All Encyclopedia articles are regular articles in peer-reviewed journals; they can easily be referenced via a DOI.
    • All advantages of the partner journals apply.
  3. How are efficient distribution and permanent archiving and accessibility of the articles linked to the Encyclopedia of Geosciences achieved by the publisher Copernicus Publications?
  4. Copernicus Publications makes sure that the online, open-access publications are indexed and archived worldwide in electronic archives, search engines, and databases, in order to guarantee their maximum dissemination and impact. All journals contributing to the Encyclopedia of Geosciences are archived in the eArchives Portico and CLOCKSS.

  5. How is the high quality of the articles linked to the Encyclopedia of Geosciences ensured?
    • Contrary to some other online encyclopedia, the author's name is listed on the paper.
    • Review papers linked to the Encyclopedia of Geosciences are either solicited articles or their submission has been approved by the editors of the Encyclopedia and the executive editor of the partner journal. This will ensure that the articles are written by renowned experts in the respective field.
    • The articles undergo the same rigorous peer-reviewing as the regular articles in the respective partner journal.
    • Possibilities of updates in the sense of "living reviews" will help to continuously improve the article.
  6. How are the typical categories "scientific relevance", "scientific quality", and "presentation quality" applicable to review articles in the Encyclopedia of Geosciences?
    • Since review articles for the Encyclopedia of Geosciences are either solicited or encouraged by the editors and the executive editor of the partner journal, a positive preliminary decision on the "scientific relevance" of the topic has already been made. It is thus not expected that an article is rejected because the topic as such is considered irrelevant. Instead, scientific relevance in this context is understood as a criterion to judge if all relevant content is actually dealt with and all important relevant literature is referenced.
    • In the category "scientific quality" basically the same criteria as with regular research articles apply. The content must be formally correct. The argumentation must be conclusive. Evidence for claimed facts must be furnished, for example, by appropriate references to the original literature. A balanced discussion of topics under dispute is necessary.
    • "Presentation quality" is of utmost importance for a review article in the Encyclopedia of Geosciences. The introductory part at the very least should be written in a way that it can be read by scientists who are not specialists in the related research field. Unified notation, definitions of non-standard technical terms etc. should guarantee the best possible accessibility of the article.
  7. What is the role of the abstract in a review paper?
  8. Normally the abstract summarizes the results of the work reported in a research paper. Since a review paper does not contain new results, the role of the abstract should be adjusted. An abstract of an article in the Encyclopedia of Geosciences should be a summary of the review paper, written in a style that it can easily be understood by non-experts. That is, the use of non-standard technical terms, for example, should be limited. The body of the paper can then be written in a more demanding style, addressed at professional scientists.