On 9/12/06, David Gerard dgerard@gmail.com wrote:
Let's assume we have a list of criteria pretty close to the above. How many editor-hours does it take to get an article up to that standard? (Assume you're a clueful editor who can both research and write well, and think you can at least give your own article a usable initial assessment on this checklist.)
As a low-water mark (and based entirely on my limited personal experience), I would guess ~50 editor-hours could suffice for an article where:
(a) The sources are comprehensive, well-known in advance, and available before starting. (b) The topic is a narrow one. (c) The material is generally uncontroversial. (d) Most importantly: there is only one editor working on the article.
When criterion (c) -- and consequently criterion (d) -- is violated, I suspect that the editor time involved will increase dramatically.