Étiquette : editorial boards

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The role of editorial boards in shaping scholarly communication: A large-scale mapping of their composition and structure

Authors : Evangelina Becerra-Rodero, José Luis Ortega

Editorial boards play a central role in shaping scholarly communication by influencing what research is published and how disciplinary boundaries are defined. Despite their importance, large-scale, systematic evidence on their composition and structure remains limited.

This study provides a comprehensive descriptive analysis of editorial boards across major scholarly publishers, with the aim of characterizing their organizational structure and the distribution of editorial positions. Using a corpus of over 810,000 editorial positions across more than 10,000 journals from 15 publishers, we examine board size and its relationship to journal output, develop a harmonized nine-class ontology of editorial roles, and analyze gender representation, institutional sectors, and geographic distribution.

We also benchmark coverage against the Open Editors dataset, a previously released resource on editorial board composition. The results reveal stratified editorial structures dominated by operational roles, a positive association between board size and journal throughput, and a strong concentration of editors in academic institutions.

Women represent approximately one-third of identified editors, and editorial presence is concentrated in the United States and Western Europe. This study provides large-scale descriptive evidence on editorial board organization and establishes an empirical baseline for future research on editorial governance, diversity, and the distribution of influence in scholarly publishing.

URL : The role of editorial boards in shaping scholarly communication: A large-scale mapping of their composition and structure

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1002%2Fasi.70108

Catégories
EN

Prevention of Endogamy in the Editorial Boards of University Journals

Authors : Maryna Nazarovets, Serhii Nazarovets

Editorial endogamy, the over-representation of scholars affiliated with a journal’s host institution on its editorial board, is a widespread phenomenon in university journals (UJs). This practice is often shaped by institutional traditions, resource limitations, internal loyalty, promotion incentives, and opaque selection practices.

While some degree of institutional representation is inevitable, excessive editorial endogamy raises concerns about peer review integrity, international visibility, and negatively impacts the credibility and inclusivity of scholarly publishing. This review explores the systemic drivers of editorial endogamy, focusing on institutional governance structures, national research policies, and academic evaluation frameworks that influence editorial board composition in UJs.

Additionally, we review best practices to mitigate negative effects, including increasing editorial transparency, diversifying peer review processes, and strengthening regulatory oversight. Strategies such as rotational editorial leadership, transparent peer review policies, structured regulatory interventions, and cross-institutional collaborations are recommended to balance institutional autonomy with international publishing standards.

The implementation of these measures has the potential to enhance the credibility, inclusivity, and global impact of UJs while preserving their role in supporting local and disciplinary research communities.

Recognizing the constraints faced by many UJs, we propose flexible and scalable solutions to enhance editorial integrity while considering the operational realities of university-based publishing. Effectively addressing editorial endogamy requires coordinated action among universities, journal editors, and policymakers.

URL : s10805-025-09Prevention of Endogamy in the Editorial Boards of University Journals687-z

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-025-09687-z

Catégories
EN

Editors publishing in their own journals: A systematic review of prevalence and a discussion of normative aspects

Authors : Gert Helgesson, Igor Radun, Jenni Radun, Gustav Nilsonne

Journal editors are the main gatekeepers in scientific publishing. Yet there is a concern that they may receive preferential treatment when submitting manuscripts to their own journals. The prevalence of such self-publishing is not known, nor the consequences for reliability and trustworthiness of published research.

This study aimed to systematically review the literature on the prevalence of editors publishing in their own journals and to conduct a normative ethical analysis of this practice. A systematic review was performed using the following databases: Medline, PsycInfo, Scopus and Web of Science.

Articles that provided primary data about editors publishing in own journals were included. We identified 15 studies meeting inclusion criteria. There was large variability of self-publishing across fields, journals and editors, ranging from those who never published in their own journal to those publishing extensively in their own journal.

Many studies suffered from serious methodological limitations. Nevertheless, our results show that there are settings where levels of self-publication are very high. We recommend that editors-in-chief and associate editors who have considerable power in journals refrain from publishing research articles in their own journals. Journals should have clear processes in place about the treatment of articles submitted by editorial board members.

URL : Editors publishing in their own journals: A systematic review of prevalence and a discussion of normative aspects

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1449