Editorial board policy

Scopus and Web of Science both assess editorial board composition directly, and a board that cannot be verified is one of the most common reasons an application fails. This policy sets out how ours are run.

Composition

Each journal has an editor-in-chief and an editorial board sized to the volume of submissions. Boards are expected to:

• Hold demonstrable expertise across the journal’s stated scope, evidenced by publication record.
• Be geographically and institutionally diverse, and not drawn predominantly from one institution or one country.
• Include members active in research, not only in administration.
• Reflect a reasonable balance in seniority and gender.

Publication of board details

Every board member is listed publicly on the journal’s site with:

• Full name.
• Institutional affiliation, department and country.
• Area of expertise.
• ORCID identifier where available.

This is deliberate. It lets anyone — an author, an assessor, a reader — verify independently that the board exists and that its members really hold the positions claimed.

Consent

Nobody is listed without their written agreement. Members confirm their appointment in writing, and may ask to be removed at any time, with removal made promptly and without argument.

Listing researchers without their knowledge is a defining feature of predatory publishing. If you find your name on one of our boards and did not agree to it, tell the publishing office and we will remove it immediately and investigate how it happened.

Appointment

Appointments are made by the editor-in-chief in consultation with the publisher, on publication record, subject expertise, peer review experience and standing in the field. Expressions of interest are welcome, but appointment is never automatic and is never available in exchange for a fee, a submission or a citation.

Terms and renewal

Board members serve a fixed term of at least, renewable. Activity is reviewed at the end of each term-reviews completed, manuscripts handled, contribution to policy. Members inactive across a full term are not reappointed, and the listing is updated accordingly.

The board list is reviewed at least annually and corrected as members join, leave or change institution. An out-of-date board page is treated as a defect, not a cosmetic matter.

Responsibilities

Board members are expected to review manuscripts within their expertise, handle submissions as section editors where asked, advise on scope and policy, help identify reviewers, promote the journal honestly, and declare conflicts. Detail is on For editors.

Editor-in-chief

The editor-in-chief holds final editorial authority, chairs the board, and is accountable for the journal’s adherence to the policies published on this site. Appointment and removal are matters for the publisher in consultation with the board, and an editor-in-chief will not be removed over a legitimate editorial decision. See [For editors](/for-editors) on editorial independence.

Conflicts and submissions from board members

The editor-in-chief holds final editorial authority, chairs the board, and is accountable for the journal’s adherence to the policies published on this site. Appointment and removal are matters for the publisher in consultation with the board, and an editor-in-chief will not be removed over a legitimate editorial decision. See for editor on editorial independence.

Board involvement in the journal’s own content

We monitor the share of articles authored by board members. A journal in which board members author a substantial proportion of the content is a warning sign to indexing bodies, and we treat a rising share as a problem to correct rather than a statistic to explain.