Editor-Amstat Online
Position Description

[Original: Fall 1998; Draft Revision: Fall 2001 (fri 7 sep 1pm CDT; minor changes fri 14 sep 1pm CDT)]

BACKGROUND

The vision of Amstat Online (www.amstat.org), the Web site of the American Statistical Association, is to be the nation's leading site for advancing the statistics profession, providing resources to statisticians and users of statistics, and improving statistics education.

Its goals are to

  1. Serve the evolving online professional needs of ASA members.
  2. Support and promote the statistical profession by providing relevant information about statistical sciences to students, teachers, the media, and the general public.
  3. Serve as "Statistics Central" for the United States, the primary information gateway to statistical science for statisticians and other practitioners of statistics.
In support of these goals, ASA appoints a "Web Editor", officially Editor of Amstat Online (AO Editor), a volunteer member of the community of statistics professionals who exercises editorial control over specified portions of the Web site. The purpose of this document is to elaborate on the duties and authority of the AO Editor.

STRUCTURE

Overall authority for the Web site resides with the ASA Director of Programs (DP) who serves under the ASA Executive Director. Although day to day details of Web development and maintenance are delegated to the ASA WebMaster, the DP coordinates the Web activities of ASA staff and contracted vendors, and consults with the policy-making bodies through the chair of the ASA Electronic Communications (EC) Committee and the ASA Board to establish implementation priorities for the Web site. The DP is the primary staff contact for the AO Editor.

The AO Editor is appointed by the ASA Board for a four year term following a search conducted by the EC Committee. That committee appoints an editor search committee including one or more members of the EC Committee supplemented by at least one member named by the Committee on Publications. The AO Editor position parallels that of the editors of ASA journals. In particular, the AO Editor is included in all listings of ASA editors and participates in meetings of the editors.

The AO Editor appoints and oversees Associate Editors (AOAEs) for the same term and delegates to them editorial responsibilities for specific areas of the Web site. Like the Editor, the AOAEs are expected to be volunteer professional statisticians. The AO Editor together with the AOAEs comprise the AO Editorial Board.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The AO Editor coordinates Web duties and responsibilities with the DP. The DP manages the production aspects of ASA programs, including membership, continuing education, and meetings. The AO Editor oversees the intellectual content of the Web site, such as Committee, Section and Chapter Web pages, and careers information. Journals, proceedings, and newly evolving forms of online publication require close collaboration between AO Editor and the ASA Publications Manager who serves under the DP.

The AO Editor has oversight of all Web publication of ASA material, including design specifications, style, intellectual integrity, and process of presentation of information content. However, the technical details are typically developed and maintained by ASA staff, and may in part be dictated by other ASA considerations. Thus, the AO Editor must work closely with the ASA staff, separating issues of intellectual content, use policy, and technical implementation. This requires regular teleconferences with and visits to ASA staff, and development of written Web policies and guidelines.

There is too much for one person to do. Therefore, the AO Editor should delegate technical implementation to appropriate ASA staff, and editorial oversight where possible to the AO Editorial Board. The AOAEs should in turn delegate editorial oversight for specific tasks and/or areas (such as a particular Section or Chapter) to duly appointed Assistant Editors.

The AO Editorial Board and the ASA technical staff will over time uncover emerging technology that could serve broader purposes for Amstat Online. The AO Editor can guide their incorporation into ongoing activities, working with the DP to ensure continuing maintenance and integrity.

ASA Areas of Activity Pertaining to Amstat Online

The following broad areas cut across AO Editorial oversight and ASA DP management:

Areas managed by ASA Director of Programs

The DP manages these areas, with day-to-day operations delegated to specific ASA staff. The AO Editor has generic oversight of look and feel, and process flow. The DP and AO Editor should coordinate major changes involving use of the Internet for these areas, including enhanced Web pages, E-mail lists, bulletin boards, etc.

Areas overseen by Amstat Online Editor

AO Editor oversees the following areas, which are identified by the primary AO Associate Editor position. AOAEs are expected to collaborate on areas of overlap. Details of content and implementation may involve specific ASA staff.

Collaboration on Publications

The broad area of Web publications will require an especially close collaboration among the AO Editor, ASA Publications Manager (through the ASA DP), and individual journal Editors. Additional considerations involving the Council of Sections (and the AOAE for Sections) arise for electronic publication of JSM proceedings. Although the AO Editor has overall authority for the Web look and feel of publications, some elements are managed by ASA staff or vendors (e.g. journals tables of contents, abstracts, individual article download, review process).

The AO Editor and the AOAE for Books, working with the ASA Publications Manager, may develop a Web-based scholarly review system for books, software, bibliographic searches, etc. The AO Editorial Board should work with ASA Publications Manager to envision a long-term stable, extensible Web system for Supplementary Data associated with scholarly publications.

Site Navigation and Maintenance

AO Editor and ASA WebMaster work together to improve site navigation and to develop implementation of procedures to monitor changes to web pages. The WebMaster handles daily activity, while the AO Editor considers longer range implications. Site navigation includes the following: It is understood that the development of Web pages for Amstat Online is distributed across a growing collection of ASA staff and members. These individuals have varying degrees of experience, training and responsibility, including: Maintenance requires coordination between ASA Staff and AO Editorial Board. ASA WebMaster is responsible for developing protocols for periodic page review and ongoing documentation of content changes. ASA staff have further copy-editing concerns about accuracy of content and sensitivity to politically charged issues.

Policies and Guidelines

The AO Editor has oversight authority to develop policies and guidelines for Web activities. However, these must be coordinated with the ASA PD, and policies may require the attention of the ASA Board or the ASA EC.

Approved policies generally involve sensitive material that may have legal or political implications. They are generally aimed at ASA members and the general public. The developed policies to date are:

Guidelines are intended to provide advice on wise use of scarce resources, namely people's time and ASA's money. They attempt to answer frequently asked questions about Web development or implementation issues. These are meant for both ASA staff and members.

REQUIREMENTS

The Web Editor should be an established member of the community of professional statisticians with broad knowledge of the profession. The editor should be sufficiently conversant with modern information technology to know what is possible and should have the vision to see how technology can be employed in the service of ASA members.

BUDGET

As with other editors, the ASA will negotiate with the AO Editor a budget that depends on the Editor's local circumstances. The budget might include office expenses, editorial assistance, travel and equipment.