Getting started for subeditors

This article is aimed new subeditors to assist them in getting started. 

The role of subeditors is to support the section and managing editors in the day-to-day content review as well as special projects. Everybody has different amount of time they can volunteer on Radiopaedia.org but as a rule of thumb at least a weekly contribution is expected.

Editorial process

Every edit on Radiopaedia.org is listed on the all edits page and its status as being reviewed is indicated by a green thumbs up (positive review) or a red thumbs down (negative review):

• green thumbs up:
  • articles: no or minor editing required; fits within the style guide; correct spelling, grammar and punctuation
  • cases: patient confidentiality/privacy maintained; correct diagnosis; correct spelling, grammar and punctuation
• red thumbs down: everything else
  • for every red thumbs down you should contact the user, you can use the automated inserts or write your own, explaining the reason and coaching them so that the user’s next edit is perfect

The little number next to a user’s name is the “karma score”, which indicates the number of positive vs. negative reviews. A karma score of >10 is required for edits to become automatically published. 

Common style guide errors

The style guide that has been developed at Radiopaedia.org is one deliberately chosen to ensure clarity, consistency and quality. Below are listed some of the most common errors that should be kept in mind when reviewing article edits and cases:

• general spelling and punctuation issues including spaces before a comma/full-stop and double spacing after a full stop
• capitalizingcapitalising the first letter of a bullet point
• incorrect headings and/or order (see: standard article structure)
• incorrect referencing (see: references)

Special projects

From time-to-time the managing editors will run special projects aimed at improving the quality of articles or creating content in a specific area. You will be invited to participate in these and it is expected that subeditors preference working on special projects over general editorial reviewing. Examples of past and current special projects include:

• top 500 article review
• review of style guide violations (1800+ articles)
• RANZCR part one anatomy articles
• basic radiology articles for medical students

If there is a specific area that you wish to work on please contact Henry Knipe, managing editor for content development, for support and liaising with section editors.

Practical points

• bookmark the all edits page so you can easily and quickly access it; one or two reviews a day make a huge difference to the site
• if there is something that you are not sure about then escalate by emailing the appropriate section editor