A scientific editor is a person who edits scientific papers, presentations, articles, and essays. An astronomer who wants to publish a paper about the sun, for example, might hire a scientific editor to help her make sure the paper is in good shape before submitting it to scientific journals or other similar venues. The reason for this is that, while the astronomer may be a gifted scientist, she may not be as skilled at writing a paper. The scientific editor would take the paper, or at least the basic framework of the material to be presented in the paper, and turn it into a well-written document that meets community standards.
People who work with scientific texts should have a scientific background in addition to being skilled writers and editors. Using the previous example, the scientific editor working on the paper about the sun should have a basic understanding of astronomy, which will aid her in ensuring that the information presented in the paper is presented in a clear manner. Although an editor does not need to be as knowledgeable as the researcher, a solid understanding of the type of science being presented in a paper is essential.
Due to the importance of this knowledge, it is common for a scientific editor to focus on projects in a single field of science. A scientific editor, for example, might specialize in texts relating to marine biology, medicine, or botany. Medical writing is a common type of scientific writing because the field of medicine receives so much research each year. Medical writers play an important role in synthesizing this research into reports and presentations.
When it comes to writing a paper or article, a scientific editor may actually do the majority of the work. The scientific editor will work with the researcher to organize the research, findings, and any additional information into a cohesive form. This type of scientific ghost writing is particularly common in the medical community, where writers will occasionally completely ghost write papers and articles for experts in the field. A medical writer, for example, might be asked to attend a conference on behalf of a doctor and write an article or report based on the information presented.