Editors’ roles and responsibilities

Academic Editors at Hindawi assess the scope and quality of each submitted manuscript and make a recommendation based on feedback from peer reviewers. Editorial Boards are collectively responsible for ensuring that the journal publishes high-quality research that falls within its scope and objectives.

Handling manuscripts

One of an Academic Editor’s most important tasks is to decide whether or not a manuscript should be published in one of our journals. This guide explains the steps involved in the decision-making process and offers help for new Editors. ​​​​​

Publication ethics

Hindawi consults Editors when ethical issues arise with published articles. Hindawi’s journals are members of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and we recommend that you read their guidelines and other resources. We have a comprehensive list of Hindawi’s publication ethics policies on our dedicated ethics page.

For questions or to report research integrity issues, contact publication.ethics@hindawi.com.

Approving Special Issues

Special Issues are one-off issues of a journal, which focus on a specific topic or contemporary theme. Special Issues are proposed and managed by a team of Guest Editors from outside the Editorial Board. Editorial Board members are also encouraged to submit Special Issue proposals.

Publishing Editors at Hindawi perform essential due diligence on all Special Issue proposals. Our team ensures that key information is present and verified, as well as assessing the likelihood of receiving sufficient submissions in response to the Call for Papers.

Editorial Board members are best placed to make a decision on whether the topic of a Special Issue is a good fit for the journal. Therefore, we contact Editors for advice on a Special Issue proposal.

Providing feedback

We ask Editors to provide feedback on a journal’s direction or performance. We use this feedback to improve all aspects of our operations.

Our Publishing Editors serve as the point of contact for our Editors. These Hindawi employees are publishing professionals who also have a research background. They provide subject-specific support to our Editors and also work to promote the journals in their areas of expertise.

    Promoting the journal

    We hope that our Editors will be keen to share their hard work with colleagues, collaborators, and other connections. The most successful journals are those that are supported and promoted by their Editorial Boards.

    We encourage Editors to discuss their journals among their colleagues, add them to their online profiles, and promote them at conferences.

      Appointing editors

      The size of the Editorial Board is determined by many factors. These include the number of submissions a journal receives, the average amount of time a manuscript takes to be processed, and the time commitment of individual board members. In the event that a board member retires, or if our analysis suggests that a larger board is required, Hindawi will handle the recruitment of new Editors.

      In order to be invited to become an Academic Editor, an individual must have a track record of publishing well-received papers within the journal’s scope. Hindawi assesses any potential candidates before issuing an invitation.

        Article of the Year Award: Impactful research contributions of 2022, as selected by our Chief Editors. Discover the winning articles.