Ethics for Editors

Editors serve as guardians of integrity within the publishing process. Their role is not only technical but profoundly ethical, shaping the trust that readers, authors, and reviewers place in the journal. To carry out this work with honor, editors must follow principles that ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in every decision.

Impartiality

Editors must approach each submission without prejudice. Decisions should be based on scholarly merit and relevance to the field, not on personal opinion, institutional affiliation, nationality, gender, or other unrelated factors. By maintaining impartiality, editors affirm that science is a universal endeavor open to all voices.

Integrity of Decisions

Every decision made by an editor should be transparent, consistent, and defensible. Acceptances, revisions, or rejections must be grounded in reasoned analysis and guided by the feedback of expert reviewers. Editors should never allow personal relationships, competing interests, or external pressures to influence their judgment.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must declare and manage their own potential conflicts of interest. If an editor has a personal, financial, or professional connection to a submitted work, they should recuse themselves and delegate responsibility to another editor. Transparency in this area protects both the editor’s integrity and the journal’s credibility.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts are entrusted to editors with the expectation of confidentiality. Editors must ensure that details of submissions remain private, accessible only to those directly involved in the review and decision-making process. Unpublished research must never be used for personal gain or disclosed without consent.

Respect for Authors and Reviewers

Editors must treat both authors and reviewers with respect. Communication should be professional, constructive, and timely. Critique should guide, not discourage. Editors foster a culture where feedback is valued and all participants in the process feel their contributions are acknowledged.

Handling Misconduct

When ethical concerns arise—such as suspected plagiarism, falsification, or unethical research practices—editors must act decisively yet fairly. Allegations should be investigated following established procedures, with sensitivity to both due process and the seriousness of the issue. The aim is not punishment but the protection of the scholarly record.

Commitment to Transparency

Editors should model transparency by explaining editorial policies clearly and applying them consistently. Any changes to policies or procedures should be communicated openly. Transparency builds trust with authors and readers, reinforcing the credibility of editorial decisions.

Continuous Ethical Awareness

Ethics in publishing evolve alongside the research landscape. Editors must remain attentive to new challenges, such as those arising from open data, AI tools, or new forms of authorship. Staying engaged with international bodies like COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) strengthens awareness and provides guidance in complex cases.

Conclusion

Ethics for editors are not rules to be followed mechanically but values to be lived with conviction. By acting impartially, managing conflicts of interest, protecting confidentiality, respecting contributors, and handling misconduct with fairness, editors ensure that the journal remains a place of trust. Their decisions ripple outward, influencing not only authors and readers but the very credibility of science itself.