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Journal Editors: Gatekeepers or Custodians?

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Abstract

Journals editors are often seen as gatekeepers in the writing for publication process. Some, however, see reviewers as the key arbiters. In our view, however, the situation is more complex than this. We see editors as mediating between reviewers, authors and the disciplinary community in terms of its expectations for papers in their scholarly journals. This may be in terms of the author’s choice of topic and/or methodology, as well as the contribution that the article makes to the research area. In this chapter, we draw on our own experience to discuss how these issues are considered by editors of academic journals and make suggestions for how novice writers can consider these matters as they submit their work for scholarly publication. We also discuss the challenges junior scholars face in dealing with these matters.

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Starfield, S., Paltridge, B. (2019). Journal Editors: Gatekeepers or Custodians?. In: Habibie, P., Hyland, K. (eds) Novice Writers and Scholarly Publication. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95333-5_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95333-5_14

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

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