In 2023, 13 editorial teams quit their editorial roles. Fast-forward to 2024, 5 teams have already quit as of the time of writing this article in May. In stark contrast, according to Retraction Watch, there were only 3 such instances in 2018. In this article, we delve into why these academics resigned.

Background

• In January 2023, the Critical Public Health Journal’s editorial team resigned, citing an academically and financially unsustainable system caused by paper overproduction and reliance on free work from volunteer scholars.
• Also in January 2023, the Journal of Geometric Mechanics, since renamed to Communications in Analysis and Mechanics, saw its editorial board resign due to a lack of consultation, pressure to increase paper acceptance rates, and potential sacrifice of editorial standards for financial gain.
• In April 2023, the editorial team of the Kurdish Studies journal resigned after its acquisition due to financial difficulties, which led to a change in the review policy by the new owner.
• The same month, the editorial boards of NeuroImage and NeuroImage: Reports also resigned due to high article fees charged by the publisher, as did 25 editors of the MDPI title Publications because of the rapid expansion of editorial boards and a surge in special issues.
• Also in April 2023, the editors of Syntax resigned in response to the publisher’s unilateral change to the manuscript-handling process.
• In July 2023, the entire editorial board of The Journal Design Studies resigned due to the publisher’s push for more publications per year and a broader scope without the editors’ cooperation.
• In November 2023, both The Journal of International Students and Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems (AQC) faced mass resignations of their editorial teams due to an abrupt transfer of management, concerns over open-access publishing, and editorial disagreements with the publisher.
• In December 2023, the editorial team of Econometrics resigned due to disagreements on the journal’s development strategy.
• In January 2024, the entire editorial board of Theory and Society resigned after a new leadership was appointed and the publisher sought to extend the journal’s scope. The same month, ten editorial board members resigned from BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth in protest of the journal’s handling of data fabrication allegations.
• In February 2024, over thirty editors and advisors of The Journal of Economic Surveys resigned due to disagreements with publisher policies, which prioritized the quantity of papers over their quality.
• In March 2024, editors of Gender, Work & Organization (GWO) resigned, criticizing the recruitment process of the new editor-in-chief and expressing concerns about the journal’s future editorial policies.

Root Causes and Implications

We analyzed every single letter from these mass resignations and identified their commonalities. All of them occurred because the editors disagreed with the publication’s strategy in one way or another. It’s important to note that none of the letters mentioned the editors’ stipend or the benefits they received.

A growing disconnect is evident between what publishers perceive as the best course for their publications and what the editors believe. Often, a journal’s reputation is built on its initial editorial policies. When a publisher tries to alter these, be it through making the journal open-access, broadening the scope, or changing the publishing criteria, it can cause concern. Such changes, driven by the publisher’s desire for higher profits or a willingness to follow new trends like open access, may lead the original editors, to whom the journal owes its reputation, to resign.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the widespread resignations of editorial teams from various journals highlight the profound issues in academic publishing. They underscore the growing divide between the strategic goals of publishers and the academic principles upheld by editors. We will explore possible solutions to this problem in an upcoming blog post. 

We would love to hear your thoughts!

References

1. Sanderson, K. (2024). Journal editors are resigning en masse: What do these group exits achieve? https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00887-y
2. Retraction Watch. (2024). The Retraction Watch Mass Resignations List. Retraction Watch. https://retractionwatch.com/the-retraction-watch-mass-resignations-list/
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4. Green, J., McLaren, L., Colvin, C., Dew, K., Haines-Saah, R., Speed, E., … Bunton, R. (2023). Moving on in uncertain times: a goodbye. Critical Public Health, 33(5), 503–505. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2023.2248797
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12. resignation letter of 31 editors
13. letter to Frontiers
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16. Sociology journal’s entire editorial board resigns after Springer Nature appointed new leadership. (2024, January 22). Retraction Watch. https://retractionwatch.com/2024/01/22/sociology-journals-entire-editorial-board-resigns-after-springer-nature-appointed-new-leadership/
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18. Oransky, Ivan. “Editorial Board Members Resign from Obstetrics Journal to Protest Handling of Allegations.” Retraction Watch, 6 Mar. 2024, retractionwatch.com/2024/03/06/editorial-board-members-resign-from-obstetrics-journal-to-protest-handling-of-allegations/. Accessed 7 May 2024.
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20. Walkden, George. “Editors of Syntax Resign, Found New Journal.” Oaling, 9 Mar. 2024, oaling.wordpress.com/2024/03/09/editors-of-syntax-resign-found-new-journal/. Accessed 7 May 2024.