In a recent in-service-training, Scholarship in Extension 2.0 Virtual Workshop, the Central District Regional Specialized Agents (RSAs) and Associate District Extension Director (DED) reviewed program development implementation and evaluation, as well as the need for a “diversified scholarship portfolio” (Adams, et al, 2005). In this series, Scholarly Nuggets, the team will be providing bi-monthly tips and resources to support scholarly works.

Electronic Data Information Source

The Electronic Data Information Source database (EDIS), developed in the 1990’s is one professional outlet to support Extension programs and enhance scholarship in Extension. There’s a short video on the history of EDIS here.[1] EDIS has come a long way!

Getting Started with EDIS

The first supporting resource is the EDIS Handbook.[2] The handbook is broken into three parts: EDIS Works, EDIS Service, and The EDIS System. In part one, the handbook provides in detail the steps to follow when developing an educational piece for EDIS. It shares the different types of publications appropriate for EDIS such as supporting fact sheets for Extension programs or management guides, series-based publications.¹,[3] Part two covers the idea of repackaging content, copyright, and the EDIS sunset review process. Part three describes the differences in the EDIS journal site and the EDIS website commonly used for clientele. This section provides screenshots along with step-by-step instructions for submitting your scholarly work in the EDIS journal platform, Florida OJ.

Partner with a Specialist

The EDIS Handbook: Guidelines and Resources for State Faculty states, “county faculty may author publications in collaboration with UF/IFAS academic faculty.”[2] Once you have selected your scholarly work topic for an EDIS publication, consider what state specialist(s) and/or academic faculty might be most valuable to collaborate and support the content. Begin your search for state-level support within your statewide priority work group and then expand your search if needed. Reach out to the state specialists and/or academic faculty to determine interest and availability.

Helpful Tips to Collaborate

In the article, Collaborating Writing Extension Publications for the Public, Duke provides a seven-step writing process when writing as a collaborator. The seven steps include 1: Select a Topic, Define Roles, and Create an Outline; 2. Gather information; 3. Organize/Sort/Conduct First-Round Editing; 4. Edit; 5. Select Images; 6. Conduct a Final Review; and 7. Submit.[4] For more details, visit the original publication link found in the reference list.

Ready to Write

If you are ready to begin writing, check out the EDIS publication, Guidelines for Effective Professional and Academic Writing.[5] It highlights best practices when writing scholarly work and provides a proofreading list of questions which could be used as a checklist in the writing process.

Quick Links for EDIS

• EDIS Homepage – Scroll to the bottom of the page for additional resources like Accessibility, the EDIS Blog, and information for EDIS authors.
• EDIS Handbook: Guidelines and Resources for State Faculty by Diana Hagan, MLS, Information Management Specialist, IFAS Communications
• FL OJ Login: https://journals.flvc.org/edis/login?source=%2Fedis
• Writing Support: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/entity/topic/writing
• EDIS Blog https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/edis/
• EDIS template: A Primer by Amanda Quintos, EDIS editor with UF/IFAS Communications

Need additional support? Contact edis@ifas.ufl.edu.

References

[1] UF/IFAS Extension. (2021, May 7). A Short History of EDIS. YouTube. https://youtu.be/txnkNO2559E

[2] Hagan, D. (2020, March). EDIS Handbook: Guidelines and Resources for State Faculty. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/resources/author-handbook

[3] Monroe, M., Hagan, D. Mukhtar, S., Obreza, T., Gutter, M., Main, M., Jones, P. (2018, March 3) Developing Extension Publications for EDIS. https://pdec.ifas.ufl.edu/new_faculty/DevelopingEDIS.pdf

[4] Duke, A. M. (2020, October). Collaboratively Writing Extension Publications for the Public. Journal of Extension, 58(5). Retrieved from https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/joe/vol58/iss5/9

[5] Easterly, R.G., Myers, B. E., Lutz, A. E., Place, N.T. (2019, March 7) Guidelines for Effective Professional and Academic Writing. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/WC063

The author of this blog article is Wendy Lynch. She is the Regional Specialized Agent in Family and Consumer Sciences and Food Systems in UF/IFAS Extension Central District. 

Wendy W. Lynch, M.S.
Regional Specialized Extension Agent III
Family & Consumer Sciences / Food Systems
UF/IFAS Extension Central District
Email: wendyw74@ufl.edu
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