Sunset Reviews for EDIS Articles

Revised March 30, 2022

At least every three years, a current expert contact reviews each EDIS article on the Ask IFAS website to make sure it is still up-to-date and relevant. If the information isn’t current, they will either update it with new information, or take it down from the site so that the information users find on the Ask IFAS site is always relevant to todays needs. All EDIS articles remain available unchanged as a record of the academic work of the authors on the EDIS journal site at https://journals.flvc.org/edis.

What do we look for in a sunset review?

In addition to the information that is the subject of the article, sunset reviewers should pay attention to the following:

Make sure all the references, resources, contacts, and links are current. Even when the material in a publication is “evergreen” these tend to become outdated. Internet addresses in particular are prone to “link rot.”
Update the bios of the authors if needed. If authors have been promoted or changed job titles, we update the author note. If they have left UF/IFAS, we indicate that they are “former,” “retired,” “emeritus,” or “(deceased)” as appropriate. Former student authors may have their degree and year of graduation added in parentheses. Typically, we only update the bio of an original author to their new affiliation if they were consulted in their new capacity on the review or revision.
Check the UF/IFAS Assessment for changes in conclusions for non-native plants. Any EDIS article that refers to specific nonnative plants (e.g., invasiveness, ecology, distribution, management, use, and value) is required to include the recommendations of the UF/IFAS Assessment. Information about how to cite components, conclusions, and results of the UF/IFAS Assessment can be found at http://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu under FAQs.
Check figures. Ensure that they are of good quality, and that what they depict is relevant, correct, and uses imagery that represents and communicates with Florida’s population authentically.

Recording Decisions in the EDIS Contact Dashboard

Unless there is a major revision or a change to the way the publication is cited (for example, a new author or a change in the title) all communication and submissions can be handled in the contact dashboard. Please see Managing Your EDIS Publications Using the EDIS Admin System for detailed instructions.

Contacts can Export Word versions of any of their publications from the dashboard.
You will be able to submit minor revisions that meet the following criteria
- no author changes (changes in bio are okay, adding or removing authors are not)
- one file in .docx format — you can add a link to a shared folder with any additional files

For each sunsetting article the following statuses can be recorded

No Changes Needed: You have reviewed the selected publications and they do not need any changes at this time. The publication’s status will be changed to ‘Reviewed’. It will be kept online and checked by ICS staff before being stamped with the review date.
Working On It: Indicates that you are currently working on a revision to the selected publications
Submitted via OJS: allows you to enter the OJS ID and update the status on your dashboard while the submission is in process.
Archive: Indicates that the selected publications should be archived. They will be added to a queue to be archived by ICS staff.
Submit Revision: Allows you to upload a revised manuscript. Note: you will only be able to do this for one publication at a time. It will be sent to ICS layout staff for updating on EDIS.
Clear Request: Removes any request for action on the selected publications and sets their status back to ‘Released’

Each of these statuses also allows you to add a comment that will go in the review history.

NOTE: if there are only changes to author bios, select “No Changes Needed” and indicate the bio changes in the comment box.

Submitting to the EDIS Journal

For major revisions or changes to the way the publication is cited revised manuscripts should be submitted to https://journals.flvc.org/EDIS/submissions The EDIS Author Handbook offers guidance on making revisions and criteria for adding or removing authors. The publication department’s review editor will approve the change and send for peer review and unit and program leader approval as required.