Ethics III : The ethics of editing
Robert M. Davison · Information Systems Journal · 2024
The editors of academic journals, and by editor I am referring to all people who serve in editorial roles, whether Editor in Chief, Senior or Associate Editor, have a duty of care for multiple stakeholders (Tarafdar & Davison, 2021).However, in enacting that duty, while they may refer to the ethical standards established for the specific journal and the professional society to which they belong, they will also be strongly influenced by their own, individual ethical sense.Ethics, in my view, are rarely absolute: what is appropriate in one context may not be appropriate in another, and so some nuanced reflection about the correct action to take is often warranted.However, more significant conflicts can arise between the various normative and personal influences and when this happens, editors may find themselves in a tricky situation that even mature reflection cannot easily address.Eckhardt and Breidbach (2024) offer a set of perspectives about ethical issues that editors may face.In this editorial, I offer a complementary set of thoughts that explore some more ethical issues that editors may encounter, and the consequences of these issues for different stakeholders.I recognise that ethics is, in its very nature, a complex topic.Any action taken by an editor might be seen as gross negligence by some yet only as a minor misdemeanour by others.Thus, in writing this editorial I have been mindful not to employ too many of my own values in evaluating these issues.I prefer to leave that to the readers.What I have done is to select examples, all of which are real (some disguised to preserve the modesty of the people involved) that cover a number of different situations.