Copy Editor tasks

Copy editing

When you are assigned to copy edit a submission, you will receive a task assignment email from Editorial Manager. The Managing Editor will be copied in.

Production Notes

  • Check the Production Notes in your assignment email. MEs are asked to use the Production Notes to share editorial decisions and other relevant information, particularly if any aspect of the submission varies from standard practice. 

Cochrane Central Editorial Service currently manages 3 categories of manuscripts, during the transition to all manuscripts being submitted centrally. This should be indicated clearly in the Production Notes (see table below). If any information is missing, please don't hesitate to contact the ME to clarify. See Contact a Managing Editor.



Manuscript statusProduction Notes template wording
1

Manuscripts managed by CES from the point of first submission. These manuscripts have undergone a full range of checks as specified in teh Production Notes.

Managed by Central Editorial Service throughout. (If checked by Nuala Livingstone or Jennifer Hilgart:  Methods and analytical approach reviewed by QA Editors; SoFT data checked). Content and consistency checked. Signed off by Senior Editor [Sign-Off Editor Name]. If relevant: Characteristics of studies tables checked for completeness by Editorial Assistants.

Specify the following details:

  • Urgency and deadlines
  • Licence for publication type - e.g. Gold Open Access CC-BY. 
  • Funding details - e.g. NIHR funded review. 
  • Does the review need to be fast-tracked through copy edit?
  • UK or US spelling preferred
  • Group-specific style or terminology preferences 
  • Number of included studies (reviews and updates)
  • Number of excluded studies (reviews and updates)
  • Any other relevant information for Copy Editor (editorial decisions/strategies agreed with authors - particularly any methods or formatting which is non-standard)
2

Manuscripts transferred from a CRG into CES mid-way through the editorial process. These manuscripts may have undergone some CES checks, depending on the point of transfer.

Transferred to Central Editorial Service [specify point of e.g. following peer review]. Central Editorial Service checks [detail any checks completed e.g. ME checks before acceptance]. 

Specify the following details:

  • Urgency and deadlines
  • Licence for publication type - e.g. Gold Open Access CC-BY. 
  • Funding details - e.g. NIHR funded review. 
  • Does the review need to be fast-tracked through copy edit?
  • UK or US spelling preferred
  • Group-specific style or terminology preferences 
  • Number of included studies (reviews and updates)
  • Number of excluded studies (reviews and updates)
  • Any other relevant information for Copy Editor (editorial decisions/strategies agreed with authors - particularly any methods or formatting which is non-standard)
3

Manuscripts transferred from a CRG for production only (accepted by CRG before transfer). These manuscripts are not checked by CES.

Transferred to Central Editorial Service after acceptance, for production only. No additional CES checks. Production Notes from CRG (if provided).

  • Licence for publication type - e.g. Gold Open Access CC-BY. 
  • Funding details - e.g. NIHR funded review. 

Pre-edit task

  • If a Pre-edit has been completed for the manuscript:
    • The Production Notes will show sections edited. You can read these sections for sense but should not need to copy edit them.
    • A Copy Edit Comments Form including pre-edit notes will be available to you as an Assignment File in Editorial Manager. Follow the link in your assignment email to download the form including pre-edit notes.
    • Please ensure you add your comments to the version of the form including pre-edit notes. 

Copy Edit Comments Form

  • Follow the link in the assignment email to open the review in RevMan. 

Communication between editorial and production teams 

Open a dialogue with the Managing Editor

If you are copy editing a submission and you notice that:

  • there are significant discrepancies from standard practice in style, format or method; or
  • your queries to authors are becoming very lengthy

Please pause and use the 'Send Email' action in EM to contact the Managing Editor - see Contact a Managing Editor. Give brief details of your concerns. Ask if the issues you have identified have already been raised with the authors and/or the ME has previously agreed the submission can publish without further changes in these areas.

The Production Team will automatically be copied in to your message to track work. You may receive a further assignment while you wait to hear back from the ME to continue working.

If you are not satisfied with a response, or if you exchange more than 2 emails with the ME without reaching a resolution, please flag to production@cochrane.org cc. Ursula Gonthier 

Managing Editors are also advised to share editorial decisions and other information with you in the Production Notes.

Copy editing Summary of Findings tables (SoFT) linked with GRADEPro GDT

    • Check the review dashboard to confirm if the GRADEPro integration is enabled
    • If the integration is enabled, check the SoFT to confirm if linked tables have been created using the integration (linked tables have a GRADEPro icon - see the RevMan Knowledge Base)
    • If there are no linked tables, or the integration is not enabled, make any required changes to the SoFT to apply Cochrane style (if this has already been done as part of the Pre-edit task this will be noted in the Production Notes)
    • If there are linked tables, Cochrane Support can ask the authors' permission to deactivate the GRADEPro integration to allow you to apply Cochrane style in RevMan:
      • If all changes required are to style, format and wording, add to Copy Edit Comments Form: 'No action required from authors. We will disable the GRADEPro integration to apply Cochrane style to your tables during the Final Proofread. There will be no change to the data in your table. Cochrane Support will contact you by email with further information.'
      • Email Cochrane Support and request deactivation.
      • If the authors need to make changes to the data within the table, explain the changes on the Copy Edit Comments Form. Review the changes at the final proofread. If the data are correct, email Cochrane Support and request deactivation.


  • Complete your initial copy edit and tag a version with a relevant description (e.g. Copy edit complete) when you have finished your work.
  • When you have finished editing, follow the task link in the task assignment email to locate the task in Editorial Manager. If you cannot find the email, you can also log in to Editorial Manager and go to Submission Tasks Assigned to Me on the Tasks tab.

  • Submit Task.


  • On the task submission screen, select Upload Files.

  • Select Item Type > Copy Edit Comments Form.
  • Browse to select your Copy Edit Comments Form as an attachment.
  • Add a relevant Description.
  • Proceed.

  • Customise the letter if you wish (the recipient is Elizabeth Royle).
  • Submit Production Task.

  • Assign Follow-On Task.

  • Choose task RevMan: ME Review Copy Edit (this will be automatically selected).
  • Proceed with Selected Task.

  • Select the correct Managing Editor in the Task Assigned to field (the ME copied in to your task assignment letter).
  • Assign Task and Send Letter.
  • On the task completion screen, select Done.

Final proofread

When you are assigned to proofread a submission, you will receive a task assignment email from Editorial Manager.

  • Follow the link in the email to locate the task.
  • Select Assignment Files to view amended Copy Edit Comments Form.

  • Follow the link in the task assignment email to open the review in RevMan Web and compare the current version with the last copy-edited version of the assignment, to view author and editor changes.
  • Identify the areas where changes have been made. 
  • Check that all comments from previous copyedits have been adequately addressed, amended or rebutted, in the current version.
  • Check that changes made by the author/editors:
    • Adhere to preferences and previous copy edit decisions on spelling, use of abbreviations, etc (see Copy Edit Comments Form).
    • Adhere to Style Manual (e.g. active voice, and/or, dates etc)
    • Haven’t introduced inconsistency with other sections, for example, PRISMA diagram, results or names of outcomes.
  • When satisfied, in green, sign each point off as ‘OK’ on the form and insert date and your initials in the right-hand column.
  • If changes are inappropriate, or do not answer the question/comment adequately, add a note in red to the form to explain the issue, and insert date and your initials in the right-hand column. Assign a Final queries task (see below) to ask the author or ME to address outstanding issues. Do not submit the Final proofread task.
  • Run a spell check.
  • Run a validation check.

Final queries

After the final proofread, you may have some outstanding queries which need input from either the Corresponding Author or the Managing Editor before the submission can move forward to publication. 

  • Leave the RevMan: Copy Edit Final task open.
  • From the submission Action Menu > click on Assign Production Task > Select Production Task: RevMan: Final Queries for ME or RevMan: Final Queries for Author > Click on Proceed with Selected Task. 
  • Upload the Copy Edit Comments form with details of outstanding issues that the Managing Editor or the Corresponding Author should address.
  • Assign Task and Send Letter > customise the letter to include brief details of your queries.
  • If you have chosen to assign the task RevMan: Final Queries for Author, locate the review in Archie and switch to Authoring phase.

You will receive a notification from Editorial Manager to let you know when the Managing Editor or the Corresponding Author has addressed your final queries: 

  • If you assigned the task RevMan: Final Queries for Author, locate the review in Archie and switch to Editorial phase. 
  • If you are happy that all queries have been addressed, go to Editorial Manager > Production Tasks Menu > Submission Tasks Assigned to Me.
  • Locate the task RevMan: Copy Edit Final > Submit Task. 
  • On the task submission screen, select Upload Files and add the most up-to-date version of the Copy Edit Comments Form > Submit Task. 

If you need to repeat the Final Queries task more than once, please flag to support@cochrane.org. We are monitoring the number of submissions which require multiple rounds of queries. 

Review information

You can help to pre-empt technical issues in production by checking key aspects of the review information at final proofread stage. 

  1. Author order
  2. Author footnotes
  3. What’s New events
  4. Advanced features in use in empty reviews (reviews with zero included studies)

Author order

From 15 June 2023 author order is managed in RevMan. See Authors and affiliations. Authors are added and removed in Archie, and reordered in RevMan. There may therefore be legitimate discrepancies between the author order in RevMan and Archie.

As a precaution, MEs may list the author order in the manuscript Production Notes. If you note any discrepancies between the Production Notes and the author order in RevMan, please flag to support@cochrane.org.

Author footnotes

  • In RevMan Web, go to Review information > Authors in the left-hand navigation.
  • If author footnotes have been added, these will show:
    • With superscript lower-case letters after the relevant authors' names.
    • In the 'Footnotes' heading below the 'Affiliations'.
  • Footnotes should use recommended wording - see Footnotes for authors. 
  • Please update footnotes to the recommended wording or raise a query with the authors if it is unclear which recommended wording should be used. 


What's New events

  • In RevMan Web, go to Dates and Events in the left-hand navigation.
  • Events added here form the published version history of the review on the Cochrane Library.
    • If you are copy editing a new review or protocol, this section should be blank.
    • If you are copy editing an updated review, you should see two What's New events, one of which should be Updated.
  • Please flag any doubts or discrepancies to support@cochrane.org. Guidance on how editors should use these events is available at Assigning What’s New events to Cochrane Reviews.

Advanced features in empty reviews 

  • There is a known issue where an empty Risk of bias heading and table will show on the Cochrane Library, in empty reviews using Risk of bias 2. 
  • In RevMan Web, check which advanced features are shown on the dashboard. Is Risk of bias 2 enabled?
  • Check the number of included studies.
  • If there are none (empty review), please flag to support@cochrane.org.

Send the submission to publication

If all your queries have been answered and the review information looks correct,  please read through the main article before completing your proofread.

  • View the current version in RevMan.
  • The submission View shows all the content that will be published, as it will display after publication. 
  • You can generate a PDF of the View if you prefer.
  • Read through the full article, from the Abstract to the Acknowledgements to identify any obvious errors or typos. 
  • Tag or check in a version with a relevant description when you have finished editing.

  • Follow the task link in the task assignment email to locate the task in Editorial Manager. If you cannot find the email, you can also log in to Editorial Manager and go to Submission Tasks Assigned to Me on the Tasks tab.

  • Submit Task.

  • On the task submission screen, select Upload Files. 


  • Select Item Type > Copy Edit Comments Form.
  • Browse to select your Copy Edit Comments Form as an attachment.
  • Add a relevant Description.
  • Proceed.

  • Customise the letter if you wish (the recipient is Elizabeth Royle).
  • Submit Production Task.
  • This ends your tasks for this submission. You can return to your Production Tasks Menu to view other open tasks. 

Contact a Managing Editor

  • On the Tasks tab, select the folder View all Submissions in Production. 

  • Locate the submission for which you have a query.
  • Select action Send Email.

  • The email will automatically go to the Corresponding Editor for the submission, with production@cochrane.org in CC. 
  • You can add other recipients in the To: field if you wish.
  • Customise the letter Copy Editor query to CRG (Copy Editor query to ME - on Central Editorial Service site) to include your queries.
  • Preview and Send.