Situation
Celia Sota, an editor of a sociological journal, receives a paper arguing the attack on Pearl Harbor was morally correct. The argument is not developed within a context of sociological literature, rather a philosophical one. Lacking a sociological context, Sota judges the paper to be outside the realm of knowledge published in the journal and rejects it without refereeing.
Questions
- Does Sota have the right to define the knowledge base of the journal and not review the submission?
- What are Sota’s responsibilities to the author?
Discussion
Journals are the purveyors of a discipline’s knowledge, with fairly well defined boundaries with respect to the nature of the knowledge. Editors are more than bureaucratic processors of reviews. They are the main guardians of their journals as well as gatekeepers of the discipline. Hence, submissions that exceed the boundaries of the discipline should not be reviewed, and the editor should return the submission, notifying the author that it will not be considered. Appropriate journals should be recommended.
