Editorial Policy and Rejection Rates in Emerging Journals

As an Editor-in-Chief of a small new academic journal, you should not establish rejection targets for your journal, particularly not in a way that links editorial decisions to such targets.

Here's why:

Editorial Decisions Should Be Based on Merit: Decisions to accept or reject a paper for publication should be based only on the paper's importance, originality, clarity, and its relevance to the journal's stated scope and remit. This fundamental principle ensures the scientific integrity and quality of the journal.

Explicit Guidance Against Linking Decisions to Targets: The sources explicitly state, "Do not link editorial decisions to internal targets". They also advise against asking editors to expedite decisions for metric purposes and not to disclose internal journal targets for publication or turnaround time externally. While consistent output and high quality are important for new journals, focusing solely on a rejection rate or number could compromise the quality-based decision-making process.

Focus on Quality for Development: For a small new journal aiming for development and potentially indexing in major databases, the focus should be on attracting papers of high quality. Editorial Board Members (EBMs) and Guest Editors (GEs) are crucial in attracting suitable expert authors and quality papers. The strategy should involve activities like inviting distinguished researchers and focusing on hot or highly cited topics to attract quality content, rather than meeting quantitative rejection goals.

Upholding Ethical Practices: A well-managed infrastructure is essential to a journal's success, and this includes establishing policies that adhere to ethical practices, such as those outlined in COPE's Core Practices. Basing editorial decisions on factors other than scientific merit, such as arbitrary rejection targets, could be seen as a violation of ethical publishing principles. Editors also have a responsibility for everything published and should take reasonable steps to ensure quality.

Instead of focusing on rejection targets, as an EiC of a small new journal, you should focus on:

• Defining and maintaining a clear scope for the journal.
• Ensuring submissions fit within that scope.
• Implementing and upholding rigorous peer review processes.
• Ensuring all involved (authors, reviewers, editors) adhere to ethical guidelines, including managing conflicts of interest.
• Attracting high-quality submissions through leveraging the Editorial Board's network and expertise, potentially through well-managed Special Issues.
• Ensuring decisions are made transparently and based solely on the scientific content and relevance of the manuscript.

Establishing and pursuing rejection targets would contradict the principles of basing editorial decisions purely on scientific merit and ethical considerations, which are crucial for building the reputation of a small new academic journal.