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. 2024 Dec 12;272(1):20.
doi: 10.1007/s00415-024-12780-9.

Behind the scenes: exploring neurological journal editors' work habits, decisions, and potential sources of conflict of interest

Elisabetta Maida #  1 , Gianmarco Abbadessa #  1   2 , Francesco Di Lorenzo  3 , Raffaele Palladino  4   5 , Marcello Moccia  6   7 , Francesco Iodice  8 , Alessandro Bombaci  9   10 , Roberta Balestrino  10   11 , Marinella Clerico  12 , Giuseppina Miele  1 , Carlo Alberto Artusi  13   14 , Claudia Ledda  13   14 , Monica Margoni  11   15   16 , Sandy Maria Cartella  17 , Federico Emanuele Pozzi  18   19   20 , Bruna Nucera  21   22 , Maria Triassi  4 , Nicola De Stefano  23 , Letizia Leocani  10   24 , Simona Bonavita  1 , Alessandro Padovani  25   26 , Luigi Lavorgna  27 ; “Digital Neurology, Artificial Intelligence” Study Group of the Italian Society of Neurology (SIN), in collaboration with the Italian Section of young Neurologists (SIgN)
Affiliations

Behind the scenes: exploring neurological journal editors' work habits, decisions, and potential sources of conflict of interest

Elisabetta Maida et al. J Neurol. .

Abstract

Background and objectives: Editors of scientific journals play a key role in the health-related research process. Our study aims to characterize the demographics, work habits, decision-making processes, and ethical challenges faced by editors of neurological journals and to evaluate associations between editor or journal characteristics and editorial decisions, as well as sources of conflict of interest.

Methods: Cross-sectional study involving editors from neurological journals that fell above the 50th percentile in the Scimago rankings. Editors were invited to complete a 16-item anonymous online survey. Data on demographics, editorial processes, decision-making, and ethical issues were collected and analysed.

Results: 64 editors completed the survey (35.94% were aged 55-65 years, 68.75% had over 7 years of experience); journals' impact factors(IF) ranged from 1 to 10 (mean 3.412 ± 0.260). When reviewers were blinded to authors, editors relied more on reviewers' decisions (p = < 0.007). Editors with more years of experience relied less on reviewers' decisions (p = 0.009). Higher IF journals were associated with more frequent conflicts of interest between authors (p = 0.019) and reviewers (p = 0.033). Younger editors faced more ethical dilemmas related to scientific conduct and plagiarism (p = 0.008 and p = 0.016). Younger editors and those working for journals with higher IF were more likely to face ethical dilemmas related to editorial decisions (p = 0.016 and p = 0.042).

Discussion: The study highlights relevant aspects of the editorial process in neurological journals, emphasizing the influence of blinding procedures and the inconsistent handling of decision-making and ethical challenges. Addressing these issues through collaboration and standardized guidelines can promote the integrity of the process, ensuring high-quality and trustworthy scientific research.

Keywords: Conflict of interest; Editor; Editorial process; Ethics; Neurology.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Ethical approval: The Ethical Committee of the University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" approved the study (protocol number 0014460/i).

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