When Is Rejection Legitimate? Reframing Editorial Decision Quality in Academic Publishing

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Main Author: Alaali, Hasan mohamed Husain
Format: Recurso digital
Published: Zenodo 2026
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author Alaali, Hasan mohamed Husain
Alaali, Hasan mohamed Husain
author_facet Alaali, Hasan mohamed Husain
Alaali, Hasan mohamed Husain
contents <div class="flex flex-col text-sm pb-25"> <div class=""> <div class="text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)"> <div class="[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn"> <div class="flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow"> <div class="min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1"> <div class="flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden"> <div class="markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling"> <p>This paper examines an underexplored issue in scholarly publishing: the quality and legitimacy of editorial rejection decisions. While rejection is a necessary part of academic quality control, existing discussions often treat rejection as a binary outcome rather than a decision process that may vary in transparency, coherence, and procedural fairness.</p> <p>The study introduces the <strong>Editorial Decision Pathways Model (EDPM)</strong>, a conceptual framework that classifies rejection decisions into three categories: <strong>Legitimate Rejection (LR), Low Transparency Decision (LTD), and Governance Failure Decision (GFD)</strong>. Rather than focusing only on whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected, the framework evaluates how rejection decisions are reached, communicated, and structured.</p> <p>Five practical assessment dimensions are proposed: <strong>transparency, timeliness, typology recognition, procedural consistency, and constructive signal</strong>. Together, these dimensions offer a structured basis for evaluating editorial decision quality beyond publication outcomes alone.</p> <p>The paper contributes to debates on peer review governance, editorial accountability, research integrity, and trust in scholarly communication. It is relevant for journal editors, publishers, researchers, universities, and policy bodies seeking stronger legitimacy and clearer standards in academic publishing systems.</p> <p>This version is archived in Zenodo as Version 1.0 and serves as a permanent open-access scholarly record.</p> <div class="flex flex-col text-sm pb-25"> <div class=""> <div class="text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)"> <div class="[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn"> <div class="flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow"> <div class="min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1"> <div class="flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden"> <div class="markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling"> <p><strong>Hasan Mohamed Husain Alaali</strong><br>AIA, CPA, IPA Fellow Member<br>Founder of DFAS, AFMF, ASES & PostObjective Governance</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mt-3 w-full empty:hidden"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>
format Recurso digital
id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_19654755
institution Zenodo
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publishDate 2026
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle When Is Rejection Legitimate? Reframing Editorial Decision Quality in Academic Publishing
Alaali, Hasan mohamed Husain
Alaali, Hasan mohamed Husain
Editorial rejection
Research governance
Academic gatekeeping
Peer review ethics
Journal governance
Decision quality
Editorial transparency
Publishing ethics
Scholarly communication
Procedural justice
Research integrity
Editorial accountability
Academic publishing
Peer review governance
Desk rejection
<div class="flex flex-col text-sm pb-25"> <div class=""> <div class="text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)"> <div class="[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn"> <div class="flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow"> <div class="min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1"> <div class="flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden"> <div class="markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling"> <p>This paper examines an underexplored issue in scholarly publishing: the quality and legitimacy of editorial rejection decisions. While rejection is a necessary part of academic quality control, existing discussions often treat rejection as a binary outcome rather than a decision process that may vary in transparency, coherence, and procedural fairness.</p> <p>The study introduces the <strong>Editorial Decision Pathways Model (EDPM)</strong>, a conceptual framework that classifies rejection decisions into three categories: <strong>Legitimate Rejection (LR), Low Transparency Decision (LTD), and Governance Failure Decision (GFD)</strong>. Rather than focusing only on whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected, the framework evaluates how rejection decisions are reached, communicated, and structured.</p> <p>Five practical assessment dimensions are proposed: <strong>transparency, timeliness, typology recognition, procedural consistency, and constructive signal</strong>. Together, these dimensions offer a structured basis for evaluating editorial decision quality beyond publication outcomes alone.</p> <p>The paper contributes to debates on peer review governance, editorial accountability, research integrity, and trust in scholarly communication. It is relevant for journal editors, publishers, researchers, universities, and policy bodies seeking stronger legitimacy and clearer standards in academic publishing systems.</p> <p>This version is archived in Zenodo as Version 1.0 and serves as a permanent open-access scholarly record.</p> <div class="flex flex-col text-sm pb-25"> <div class=""> <div class="text-base my-auto mx-auto pb-10 [--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-xs,calc(var(--spacing)*4))] @w-sm/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-sm,calc(var(--spacing)*6))] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-margin:var(--thread-content-margin-lg,calc(var(--spacing)*16))] px-(--thread-content-margin)"> <div class="[--thread-content-max-width:40rem] @w-lg/main:[--thread-content-max-width:48rem] mx-auto max-w-(--thread-content-max-width) flex-1 group/turn-messages focus-visible:outline-hidden relative flex w-full min-w-0 flex-col agent-turn"> <div class="flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow"> <div class="min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&]:mt-1"> <div class="flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden"> <div class="markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling"> <p><strong>Hasan Mohamed Husain Alaali</strong><br>AIA, CPA, IPA Fellow Member<br>Founder of DFAS, AFMF, ASES & PostObjective Governance</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mt-3 w-full empty:hidden"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div>
title When Is Rejection Legitimate? Reframing Editorial Decision Quality in Academic Publishing
topic Editorial rejection
Research governance
Academic gatekeeping
Peer review ethics
Journal governance
Decision quality
Editorial transparency
Publishing ethics
Scholarly communication
Procedural justice
Research integrity
Editorial accountability
Academic publishing
Peer review governance
Desk rejection
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19654755