, P.O. Box 7, Miki-cho Post Office, 3011-2, Ikenobe, Kagawa-ken, 761-0799, Japan.
Faculty of Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid, 22110, Jordan.
Sci Eng Ethics. 2018 Aug;24(4):1347-1365. doi: 10.1007/s11948-017-9921-3. Epub 2017 Aug 3.
Publishing has become, in several respects, more challenging in recent years. Academics are faced with evolving ethics that appear to be more stringent in a bid to reduce scientific fraud, the emergence of science watchdogs that are now scrutinizing the published literature with critical eyes to hold academics, editors and publishers more accountable, and a barrage of checks and balances that are required between when a paper is submitted and eventually accepted, to ensure quality control. Scientists are often under increasing pressure to produce papers in an increasingly stringent publishing environment. In such a climate, timing is everything, as is the efficiency of the process. Academics appreciate that rejections are part of the fabric of attempting to get a paper published, but they expect the reason to be clear, based on careful evaluation of their work, and not on superficial or unsubstantiated excuses. A desk rejection occurs when a paper gets rejected even before it has entered the peer review process. This paper examines the features of some desk rejections and offers some guidelines that would make desk rejections valid, fair and ethical. Academics who publish are under constant pressure to do so quickly, but effectively. They are dependent on the editors' good judgment and the publisher's procedures. Unfair, unsubstantiated, or tardy desk rejections disadvantage academics, and editors and publishers must be held accountable for wasting their time, resources, and patience.
近年来，出版在几个方面变得更加具有挑战性。学者们面临着不断发展的伦理规范，这些规范似乎更加严格，旨在减少科学欺诈行为；出现了科学监督机构，它们现在以批判的眼光仔细审查已发表的文献，以要求学者、编辑和出版商承担更多责任；在提交论文并最终被接受之间，需要进行一系列的检查和平衡，以确保质量控制。科学家们经常面临在日益严格的出版环境中发表论文的压力。在这种情况下，时间至关重要，流程的效率也是如此。学者们明白被拒绝是尝试发表论文的一部分，但他们希望拒绝的理由是明确的，是基于对他们工作的仔细评估，而不是基于表面的或没有根据的借口。当一篇论文甚至在进入同行评审程序之前就被拒绝时，就会出现退稿。本文探讨了一些退稿的特征，并提出了一些使退稿合理、公平和合乎道德的指导方针。发表论文的学者们一直面临着快速但有效地发表论文的压力。他们依赖于编辑的良好判断和出版商的程序。不公平、没有根据或拖延的退稿会使学者们处于不利地位，编辑和出版商必须对浪费他们的时间、资源和耐心负责。
