FAQs for research supervisors

My student needs to employ the services of a professional editor. What should I do?

You should familiarise yourself with the guidelines ‘The editing of research theses by professional editors’, for guidance on what you and your student can expect when having the thesis professionally edited. You can direct your student to the web site of the editing society in your state to identify a suitable professional editor. Alternatively, your educational institution may hold a list of approved professional editors from which the student can make their selection. You may wish to guide the student in the selection of the editor, ensuring that the one recruited has appropriate professional experience. You should also familiarise yourself with the publication, Australian Standards for Editing Practice (ASEP). This will inform you about the range of services that professional editors provide (see also).

What are the Australian Standards for Editing Practice (ASEP)?

The ASEP were devised by the Standards Working Group of the Council of Australian Societies of Editors (CASE), forerunner of the Institute of Professional Editors, the national peak body for Australian editors; approved by the members of all Australian societies of editors; ratified by CASE; and published in 2001. The standards were developed for editors to use as a basis for judging the comprehensiveness of their own knowledge and skills when promoting themselves and the editing profession generally.

What services will a professional editor provide?

A professional editor may only provide the student with copyediting and/or proofreading services. Copyediting services include editing to achieve the following: clarity of expression; accuracy of grammar, spelling and punctuation; appropriate use of style and tone; appropriate use of technical, specialised or foreign material; appropriate, accurate and consistent use of illustrations, diagrams, and the like. Proofreading services include checking the document to ensure that all document elements are complete and consistent. This includes verifying and correcting, as necessary, the following: the integrity of all parts of the publication; consistency in use of style, terminology, etc.; grammar, punctuation and spelling; referencing (the correct format for some old references may differ from standard modern formats); illustrations and tables; and format and layout. See the ASEP for full details of what is involved in copyediting (Standard D) and proofreading (Standard E)

What services will a professional editor not provide?

A professional editor should not advise on or make corrections to the substance or structure of the thesis, though they may draw any such problems to the student’s attention. It is assumed that, as supervisor, you will have covered matters of substance and structure with the student.

What are my responsibilities as a supervisor whose student is working with a professional editor?

Having gone through the steps outlined in 1. above, you should check with the student that a suitable and satisfactory arrangement has been established with the editor to ensure that the editing process proceeds responsibly and efficiently. You should check that the student has provided the editor with any style guide, manual, or other guidelines to which the thesis is required to conform. Whether the student’s thesis is being edited in hard copy or electronically (check whether your institution stipulates the format in which editing should be done), you should remind the student that they are responsible for reviewing each change or correction suggested by the editor before accepting it. The editor cannot take final responsibility for the integrity of the thesis. Editors are advised to return electronically edited material to students as PDFs, so that the author is required to consider and make each suggested change to their own working copy.

Should the professional editor be acknowledged in the prefatory matter of the thesis?

Yes. The acknowledgement could take the following form: ‘Professional editor, [editor’s name], provided copyediting and proofreading services, according to the guidelines laid out in the university-endorsed national guidelines, ‘The editing of research theses by professional editors’.