WitanWeb FAQ
General.
Author information.
- How do I make a submission?
- How do I indicate I intend to submit before I have the paper (manuscript) ready?
- Can I modify the paper after I have submitted?
Referee information.
- How do I become a referee?
- How do I know if I have been assigned papers to referee?
- How do I make my review?
Recommenders information.
- What are the responsibilities of a recommender.
- How do I become a recommender?
- Can a recommender be a referee and/or an author as well?
How do I know if I have been assigned as a recommender for any submissions?
Chair information.
- What are the responsibilities of a chair.
- How do I become a chair?
- Can a chair be a referee and/or an author and/or a recommender?
- How do I assign submissions to recommenders?
- How do I record the decision made regarding the submissions?
- How do I notify the authors about the decision regarding their submission?
Administrator information.
- What are the responsibilities of the administrator?
- How do I make someone a referee/recommender/chair?
General.
What is WitanWeb?
WitanWeb is a system designed to allow for the on-line submission, refereeing and decision making of proposals. The proposals could be papers submitted to a refereed publication, grant proposals, award nominations, etc.
What is the overall decision making process according to WitanWeb?
WitanWeb can be configured for many different types of refereeing processes. The general activities of WitanWeb are the following:
- Authors prepare and input a submission to the system.
- A chair assigns each submission to a recommender.
- The recommender assigns the submission to referees.
- Referees provide referee reports on each submission.
- Based on the referee reports, the recommender makes a recommendation on how to deal with the submission.
- The chair makes a final decision about the paper and notifies the authors.
All of the WitanWeb functionality is accessed through the "Main Menu". This is the screen presented to you after you have logged in to the system. WitanWeb is a very dynamic system, so this screen (and all others available to you) will vary depending on the the role you have in the event (an author, referee, recommender, a chair or an administrator of the system), depending on the tasks you have been assigned and on the state of the event at the given point in time.
Author information.
How do I make a submission?
- There is a button on your main menu page for creating a new submission. Click this button.
- Fill out the form describing your submission. Submit this form.
- The next page will allow you to upload a file for the submission. Select the file for upload and submit it. It is not necessary to upload a file at this time, and you can return to this form later to upload the file.
On your main menu you have a list of all the submissions you have made.
How do I indicate I intend to submit before I have the paper (manuscript) ready?
Follow the instructions for making a submission. Create the record for the submission with all the information that you can provide, but don't upload your paper (manuscript). The paper can be uploaded when it is ready. Make sure that the paper is submitted before specified deadline.
Can I modify the paper after I have submitted?
Yes. WitanWeb allows for papers (manuscripts) to be modified after the original submission. There are three possibilities:
- New submissions and updates are allowed
- Only updates are allowed
- Neither new submissions nor updates are allowed
It is up to the organizers of the event managed by WitanWeb to enable above permissions, as per published dates, so make sure that you know the deadlines.
All your submissions appear on your main menu. From here you can view, edit, and delete them.
Referee information.
How do I become a referee?
The conference administrator can make you a referee.
How do I know if I have been assigned papers to referee?
If you have been assigned papers to referee, this information together with the list of papers you are assigned, will appear on your main menu.
How do I make my review?
From the provided list, select the submission you want to work with. You can then:
- Review the information as provided by the author(s) of the submission.
- Download and read the submission.
- Submit your report. The questions asked of the reviewers on the report are customized by the event organizers, but form used for the reviews is easy to follow.
- Review the reports that you have submitted.
WitanWeb allows for the reviews to be modified after the original submission, so that they do not have to be completed at once.
The organizers of the event can:
- Allow new submissions and updating of existing reviews.
- Close new submissions and updates of the reviews.
so make sure that you know the deadlines for the reviews.
Recommenders information.
What are the responsibilities of a recommender.
A recommender (usually a Program Committee member) is responsible for:
- Assigning referees to submissions.
- Based on the referee reports, making a recommendation as to how to handle the submission.
How do I become a recommender?
After registering with the system, the administrator can make you a recommender.
Can a recommender be a referee and/or an author as well?
Yes. However an author cannot be a referee or recommender for their own submission.
How do I know if I have been assigned as a recommender for any submissions?
If you have been assigned as recommender for any submissions, the list of submissions will appear on your main menu.
Chair information.
What are the responsibilities of a chair.
A chair is responsible for:
- Assigning submissions to recommenders.
- Based on the recommendations, making a final decision as to how to handle the submission.
- Notifying the authors of the submission.
- Determining whether submissions are open or closed.
- Tracking the process to verify that referee reports and recommendations are being submitted.
How do I become a chair?
After registering with the system, the administrator can make you a chair.
Can a chair be a referee and/or an author and/or a recommender?
Yes.
How do I assign submissions to recommenders?
If you are a chair, there will be an option on your main menu to assign submissions to recommenders.
How do I record the decision made regarding the submissions?
The best way to do this is to use the submission set feature. Submission sets are ways to collect groups of papers. If the decision to be made is to accept or reject papers, then create two submission sets, one called Accepted and the other called Rejected. As a decision is made for each submission, it can be moved to the appropriate submission set.
How do I notify the authors about the decision regarding their submission?
From the main menu, you can select an option to notify authors. You will be given the option of selecting a submission set. Only authors in this submission set will be notified. You can, for example, choose just Accepted papers, or just Rejected papers.
Administrator information.
What are the responsibilities of the administrator?
An administrator is responsible for assigning people to different roles in the system. This includes:
- Making referees.
- Making recommenders.
- Making chairs.
How do I make someone a referee/recommender/chair?
This is done using committees.
