A Survey of Social Science Journal Editors for Behind-the-Scenes Data on the Publication Process

Conducting and publishing research is at the heart of the academic social scientist’s job. Understanding the publication process is critical for any scholar looking for a successful career. The current study draws on survey data from 117 editors of social science journals to identify how editors experience their jobs, how manuscript reviews are processed, and what aspects of editors, journals, and manuscripts are most important to editors’ publication decisions. Results suggest that editors relied on their editorial boards and associate editors to do reviews and give advice, that the greatest challenge editors faced in dealing with manuscripts was slow reviewers, and that rarely did editors face allegations of plagiarism or have to deal with inappropriate reviews they did not want to send to the author(s). Quality of writing and strength of findings are the most influential factors in journals’ acceptance rates.