Upholding excellence, transparency, and trust in academic publishing
Editors play a crucial role in ensuring that scholarly publications maintain high academic standards and ethical integrity. They are responsible for supervising the editorial workflow and peer-review procedures while adhering to widely accepted principles of responsible publishing.
Editors are expected to maintain full independence when making editorial decisions. Acceptance, revision, or rejection of manuscripts must not be influenced by commercial interests, sponsors, or publishing management.
Maintaining editorial autonomy is vital for preserving confidence in academic publications and safeguarding the credibility of the research record.
Editors are responsible for:
Every editorial decision should be properly documented and supported by clear justification.
Editors supervise the peer-review process and must ensure the following:
Choosing reviewers who possess suitable subject expertise and professional experience to provide meaningful and reliable evaluations.
Protecting the confidentiality of manuscripts, reviewer identities, and all related communication throughout the review process.
Identifying potential conflicts of interest during reviewer selection and ensuring that evaluations remain impartial.
Reviewing the clarity, professionalism, and timeliness of reviewer feedback to maintain strong peer-review standards.
Editors must safeguard ethical standards in publishing and respond to concerns such as:
Identifying cases of plagiarism, repeated publication, or improper reuse of text through screening and investigation.
Examining suspected manipulation or falsification of research data and taking suitable corrective measures.
Resolving issues related to author contributions, inappropriate authorship listings, or omitted contributors.
Addressing situations where hidden conflicts may compromise the credibility of the research or the review process.
When ethical concerns arise, editors should follow established procedures, seek guidance from relevant committees when necessary, and ensure that appropriate actions are taken.
Editors must treat submitted manuscripts and editorial communications as confidential material. Information obtained during the review or editorial process must never be used for personal benefit.
This obligation of confidentiality continues even after the review process has been completed.
Editors should openly declare any potential conflicts related to a manuscript. If such conflicts exist, they must step aside from the decision-making process and allow another editor to manage the submission.
Editors are responsible for:
All editorial communication should remain professional, prompt, and properly recorded.
Editors support the continuous enhancement of journal standards by:
Evaluating editorial processes and review quality regularly to ensure consistent publication standards.
Contributing to the improvement and modernization of editorial policies and guidelines.
Suggesting enhancements to editorial workflows to improve efficiency, transparency, and research quality.
Ongoing quality improvement strengthens the reputation and reliability of the journal.
Editors are responsible for complying with the publisher's editorial policies and ethical expectations. Failure to meet these responsibilities may lead to a review of editorial duties or reassignment.
Editorial duties follow globally recognized publishing ethics frameworks such as those recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and similar organizations.
Applying these principles consistently helps maintain transparency, reliability, and integrity in scholarly publishing.
