Your Editorial Team
A guide to the tasks and responsibilities of the Editor and the Editorial Team.
Editorial roles and responsibilities
Our journals and their respective Editorial Teams should align with the following broad definitions and the appropriate application of these editorial roles and responsibilities to ensure that our processes are correct, clear, and transparent.
What is the role of the Editor-in-Chief?
(Also known as: Editor, Co-Editor)
The Editor-in-Chief is accountable for a journal, its content and editorial processes: they are tasked with ensuring that all material considered for publication and accepted and published is authentic, coherent, and credible, as well as of the right quality standard and suitable for the title’s aims and scope. The Editor-in-Chief’s subject matter expertise should align with the journal’s remit.
The Editor-in-Chief has a responsibility to the authors, the publisher, and the research community; they are the ultimate custodian of the journal’s academic outputs and its contribution to the body of knowledge. This is a considerable responsibility and there are numerous associated tasks that they are expected to carry out to ensure high-quality, rigorous processes. It is only through their role actively working on the journal and within the submission system that they can stand by the content and ascertain its validity as publishable work.
The Editor-in-Chief has a high level of access to the submission system and is required to be actively engaged in the handling of content; they are ultimately responsible for overseeing the decision-making and review processes for all submissions.
- Overseeing or managing initial manuscript screening to process/reject submissions.
- Managing the journal’s peer review process, including sourcing and assigning reviewers and interpreting reviews OR overseeing this process as they pass submissions onto trusted handling editors (Associate Editors) to complete the peer review process.
- Making final decisions on each paper accepted for publication; this must be reflected within the journal’s submission system.
- Actively assessing the content that is published in their publication to ensure that it meets the author guidelines, journal’s scope, and adheres to ethical standards and industry best practice.
- Determining and implementing the strategic direction of the journal in coordination with the publisher, defining its scope and editorial team and promoting it via appropriate channels.
- Soliciting content and nurturing a community of practice to ensure that the journal grows and develops.
- Offering timely support to authors during the submission process as required.
- Meeting the content and peer review objectives agreed with the publisher in accordance with specified deadlines, along with maintaining and developing the quality of the material published.
- Helping to assess and resolve allegations of ethical misconduct in line with the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics and Emerald’s Publishing Ethics policies.
- Appointing and managing the editorial boards.
Additional editors
As the journal grows and develops, there may be need to recruit additional editorial staff.
- A Regional Editor can help the journal penetrate a new geographic area or ensure that it is represented in locations where the field is experiencing growth.
- An Associate Editor can help strengthen coverage of specialised subject areas.
Both roles can help enhance the reputation and visibility of the journal; they can also bring new networks and skills to the team.
What is the role of the Associate Editor?
(Also known as: Senior Editors, Regional Editors, Section Editors)
Depending on the size of a journal and the number of submissions it receives, the Editor-in-Chief might be assisted in their editorial duties by one or more Associate Editors. The Associate Editor is a system-based role and is part of the journal’s active Editorial Team. Their responsibilities focus on managing assigned submissions in accordance with the journal’s requirements, industry best practice, and the publisher’s policies.
- Managing the peer review process for assigned submissions.
- Making recommendations to the journal’s Editor-in-Chief, who is still responsible for the final decision-making.
- Helping to ensure the publication of suitable quality content based on their subject matter expertise in relation to the journal.
- Acting as a journal ambassador and promoting the title at relevant events and encouraging submissions.
What is the role of the Editorial Assistant?
(Also known as: Assistant Editor, Desk Editor, Editorial Office, Managing Editor)
The Editorial Assistant role acts as the first point of contact for submissions to a journal via the submission system, as well as for author and reviewer queries. Where this role is performed by a separate individual to a journal’s Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Assistant is responsible for managing submissions through the initial processing/reject stage, prior to peer review. They are tasked with ensuring that only valid submissions worthy of consideration and that align with the journal’s author guidelines and the publisher’s policies and requirements proceed through to peer review with the Editor-in-Chief/Associate Editors. This is a system-based role; Editorial Assistants are, however, not directly involved in the review process or with any decision-making on submissions under peer review. The responsibilities of the Editorial Assistant focus on providing administrative assistance to the Editorial Team.
What is the role of the Editorial Advisory Board?
(Also known as: Editorial Board)
The Editorial Advisory Board advises on a journal’s strategy and collaborates with the Editor-in-Chief to ensure its effective management. Their responsibilities may include promotional work at conferences and on an institutional level, as well as commissioning content on topical subjects, assessing papers nominated for awards, and advising on journal strategy. Members of the Editorial Advisory Board are not involved in the day-to-day tasks of running the journal or editorial decisions, although they may be called on to review articles, in line with their expertise. Obtaining experience as an Editorial Advisory Board member can be a pathway to other journal editorial roles.
Building an Editorial Advisory Board
The Editorial Advisory Board will affect the journal’s reputation, so it is a key area for growth and investment. Here are some points with regard to candidate selection and that can help with the development of a successful Editorial Advisory Board:
- Membership should reflect the journal’s focus and market. If the journal wishes to encourage papers from a particular geographic region, appointing an Editorial Advisory Board member there will help.
- Ideally, the representatives should be appointed from key research institutes or companies in the journal’s field. It also helps to have a good mix of well-established academics, professionals, and early career researchers, as well as a diverse balance of genders, nationalities, cultures, age groups, and to ensure that board members’ expertise aligns with and matches the subject areas covered by the journal.
- The journal’s goals and strategies should be clearly communicated to members in a timely manner to ensure that they are up to date with developments so that Editorial Advisory Board can in turn support their implementation and promotion; this can be facilitated by regular board meetings.
- Regularly review the board members and their responsibilities; each member should be given a key area(s) of focus.
What is the role of the Editorial Review Board?
(Also known as: Early Career Researcher Review Board)
The Editorial Review Board comprises a group of potential reviewers who supplement a journal’s existing reviewer pool of external referees, contributing to its peer review process through the standard double-anonymous process. This role requires active use of the journal’s submission system for the purposes of reviewing manuscripts. Members of the Editorial Review Board are, however, not part of the active Editorial Team who are responsible for the day-to-day operation of a journal and the handling and processing of submissions. Obtaining experience as an Editorial Review Board member can be a pathway to other journal editorial roles and is particularly suited to early career researchers.
Benefits of becoming an Emerald Editorial Advisory Board or Editorial Review Board member
Our Editorial Advisory Board and Editorial Review Board members will receive:
- Complimentary access to the journal.
- 35% discount on books in the Emerald Bookstore.
- Their name listed on the journal’s website.
- A potential pathway to other journal editorial roles.
- The opportunity to network with colleagues and peers and influence the journal’s future development.
- Early access to new research.
What is the role of the Guest Editor?
The Guest Editor role functions in a similar manner to that of the Associate Editor; it is a temporary position and Guest Editors are responsible for coordinating content on a specific topic of relevance to the journal to be published as a special issue.
The lead Guest Editor role alone on a special issue is system-based; co-Guest Editors will not have system access. Where a journal’s workflow requires Guest Editors to make a recommendation on a submitted manuscript, all final decisions on special issue submissions will be made by the Editor-in-Chief.
More information about this role and the value of special issues can be found in our run a successful journal section, as well as in our guide to support Guest Editors.
Responsibilities include:
- Managing the peer review process for the assigned submissions to their special issue.
- Managing the special issue in accordance with the journal’s requirements, industry best practice, and the publisher’s policies.
