Structural Concrete

Wiley: Why has Structural Concrete introduced Short Project Notes?

Luc Taerwe: We started this initiative to support the fib mission to act as a “bridge between research and practice”. We know that a lot of our readers, and fib members, are practicing engineers, and not all of them are writing (or reading) full scientific research articles as part of their work. We wanted to create a forum for them to share short notes about important and innovative work, and preliminary research from current projects, so that it can reach the wide, global audience that Structural Concrete enjoys.

Wiley: What types of papers can be submitted as a Short Project Note?

Luc Taerwe: As Editor in Chief I’m looking for descriptions of current projects – recently completed or under construction – and what I really want to see are the innovative aspects of design or execution. Submissions are limited to two printed pages, including images, so you will need to be concise, and really focus on what is novel.

As these Notes are intended to give our readers a quick overview, there will be no abstract or conclusion section, and no references. If you have a particularly good image you can also propose it for the cover of the issue in which it appears in print – this is a great way to raise the profile of your project to fib members globally. 

Wiley: How can I submit my Short Project Note to Structural Concrete?

Luc Taerwe: Full instructions about how to prepare your Short Project Note for submission are available in our guidelines for authors here: www.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/suco/shortprojectnotes

Once your manuscript is ready, it should be submitted online at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/suco. Follow the step-by-step instructions and indicate clearly that you want your submission to be considered as a Short Project Note.

Wiley: How will Short Project Notes be reviewed?

Luc Taerwe: I assign submissions to a member of the Advisory Editorial Board, and they review the suitability of the proposal for publication and suggest any necessary revisions. It is worth noting that our publisher, Wiley, offers English language editing services to help you polish your proposal prior to submission if English is not your native language – this can speed up the review process because the reviewer can focus on the technical content of your Note.

Wiley: If my Short Project Note is accepted, how quickly will it be published?

Luc Taerwe: Once any necessary revisions have been made, I send finally accepted manuscripts to Wiley for production. You are then able to track progress of your paper through to online publication – this is typically within 5 weeks of acceptance. Structural Concrete issues are published six times a year, so it can take a little longer for your Short Project Note to appear in print. But as soon as the article is online you can share links to it with your colleagues, so they can read and cite it!