Information for Editors
Zetline Editorial Governance, Roles & Responsibilities
Editorial Team
Back to topThe editorial team is central to the academic quality, integrity, and development of every Zetline journal. Editors provide scholarly leadership, oversee the peer-review process, support authors and reviewers, and help ensure that published research meets the journal's academic, ethical, and editorial standards.
Zetline brings together editors with appropriate subject expertise and academic or professional experience to guide manuscripts through a fair, transparent, and rigorous editorial process.
Depending on the journal's scope and requirements, the editorial structure may include an Editor-in-Chief, Senior Editors, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board Members. Each role has distinct responsibilities, while all editors share a commitment to scholarly integrity, confidentiality, fairness, and responsible editorial decision-making.
Editors serve the journal and its scholarly community. Editorial decisions should be based on the quality, relevance, originality, methodological soundness, and ethical standards of the submitted work rather than on personal, institutional, commercial, or other inappropriate considerations.
Visual Editorial Structure
The exact editorial structure may vary between journals according to their subject area, publication volume, and editorial requirements. Editors work collaboratively with the editorial office and reviewer community while maintaining clearly defined academic responsibilities.
Founding Editor-in-Chief
Back to topA Founding Editor-in-Chief provides academic leadership during the establishment of a new journal and helps define its scholarly identity, scope, editorial standards, and long-term direction.
The Founding Editor-in-Chief works closely with Zetline's publishing and editorial teams to establish an effective editorial structure and build a strong academic community around the journal.
This role is particularly important during the early development of a journal because decisions made during its establishment can influence its scope, editorial policies, reviewer network, author community, and future scholarly development.
Key Responsibilities
Establish the Journal's Scope
Define and refine the journal's subject scope, thematic priorities, target readership, and areas of scholarly interest.
Develop the Editorial Structure
Recommend suitable academic editors and Editorial Board Members whose expertise reflects the journal's scope and disciplinary coverage.
Establish Editorial Standards
Help establish appropriate standards for manuscript evaluation, peer review, publication ethics, conflicts of interest, and editorial decision-making.
Guide Journal Development
Work with the editorial office to establish sustainable strategies for attracting high-quality submissions and developing the journal's academic profile.
Represent the Journal
Serve as an academic representative of the journal within the relevant research community and encourage constructive engagement with researchers, institutions, and professional communities.
Promote Scholarly Quality
Support policies and practices that strengthen the quality, relevance, transparency, and integrity of the journal's published content.
Who Can Serve as a Founding Editor-in-Chief?
Candidates should demonstrate substantial scholarly expertise in the proposed journal's field and have an established record of research, publication, academic leadership, or professional contribution relevant to the journal. Candidates should also have sufficient availability to undertake editorial responsibilities and a clear understanding of responsible research and publication practices.
Editor-in-Chief
Back to topThe Editor-in-Chief is the senior academic leader of a journal and is responsible for guiding its scholarly direction, maintaining editorial standards, and overseeing the overall integrity of the publication process.
The Editor-in-Chief works with Senior Editors, Associate Editors, Editorial Board Members, reviewers, authors, and the editorial office to ensure that manuscripts are handled fairly, efficiently, and consistently.
While administrative and production functions may be supported by the editorial office, academic decisions remain the responsibility of the appropriate editorial authority.
Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief
Define Journal Scope and Direction
Establish and periodically review the journal's academic scope, priorities, and areas of development.
Maintain Scholarly Standards
Ensure that published articles meet appropriate standards of scientific or scholarly quality, methodological rigor, relevance, and ethical conduct.
Oversee Editorial Decisions
Supervise the manuscript evaluation process and make or oversee editorial decisions based on reviewer assessments, manuscript quality, journal scope, ethical considerations, and other relevant academic factors.
Develop the Editorial Board
Identify and recommend qualified scholars for editorial roles while maintaining appropriate disciplinary representation and diversity of expertise.
Support the Peer-Review Process
Ensure that manuscripts are evaluated through an appropriate and sufficiently rigorous peer-review process.
Address Editorial and Ethical Concerns
Provide appropriate oversight when concerns arise regarding conflicts of interest, plagiarism, duplicate publication, research integrity, authorship, data, or other publication-ethics matters.
Guide Journal Development
Work with the editorial team to strengthen the journal's academic reach, quality, visibility, and engagement with the scholarly community.
Maintain Editorial Independence
Ensure that editorial decisions are based on scholarly and ethical considerations and are not improperly influenced by commercial, personal, institutional, or other external interests.
Expected Qualifications
An Editor-in-Chief should normally demonstrate:
- Substantial expertise in the journal's subject area.
- An established record of scholarly or professional contribution.
- Experience with research, academic publishing, or scholarly communication.
- Strong understanding of peer review and publication ethics.
- Effective academic leadership and communication skills.
- Sufficient availability to undertake editorial responsibilities.
- Commitment to fairness, confidentiality, transparency, and editorial independence.
Senior Editor
Back to topSenior Editors provide academic leadership within defined subject areas of a journal. They work with the Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors, Editorial Board Members, reviewers, and the editorial office to support consistent and timely manuscript handling. Senior Editors may be responsible for manuscripts within their areas of expertise and may contribute to the development of the journal's academic direction.
Responsibilities
Subject-Area Leadership
Provide academic oversight for manuscripts and topics within assigned areas of expertise.
Manuscript Assessment
Evaluate submitted manuscripts at appropriate stages and determine whether they are suitable for further peer review or require additional editorial consideration.
Reviewer Oversight
Help identify suitable reviewers and assess the relevance and quality of reviewer feedback.
Editorial Recommendations
Provide reasoned recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief or other designated editorial authority regarding manuscript decisions.
Journal Development
Identify emerging research areas and contribute ideas for developing the journal's scope and scholarly reach.
Academic Engagement & Quality
Build constructive relationships with researchers and support consistent application of editorial, peer-review, and publication-ethics standards.
Expected Qualifications
Senior Editors should demonstrate substantial expertise in a relevant area of the journal and a strong record of academic, research, clinical, technical, or professional contribution. Previous editorial or peer-review experience is valuable, together with the ability to make careful, independent, and timely editorial assessments.
Editorial Board Member
Back to topEditorial Board Members form an important academic advisory community around the journal. They contribute subject expertise, support peer review, advise on journal development, and help maintain the academic relevance and quality of the publication. Editorial Board Members may also contribute to the development of special issues, thematic collections, emerging research areas, and other scholarly initiatives undertaken by the journal.
Responsibilities
Advise on Journal Scope
Provide informed recommendations regarding the journal's scope, emerging areas of research, and disciplinary developments.
Support Peer Review
Review manuscripts within their areas of expertise when invited and when they are able to provide an objective assessment.
Support Editorial Decisions
Provide expert advice on manuscripts or editorial matters when requested by the Editor-in-Chief or appropriate editor.
Promote Research Integrity
Raise relevant concerns regarding plagiarism, duplicate publication, research ethics, conflicts of interest, or other matters affecting the integrity of scholarly publishing.
Identify Emerging Research Areas
Help the journal remain responsive to important developments, methods, technologies, and research questions within its field.
Support Special Issues
Where appropriate, propose or contribute to special issues and thematic collections that align with the journal's scope.
Expected Qualifications
Editorial Board Members should have demonstrated expertise relevant to the journal and an established record of research, professional practice, academic contribution, or scholarly publication. Relevant experience in peer review, editorial activities, research leadership, or academic service may also be considered.
Associate Editor
Back to topAssociate Editors support the Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editors in managing manuscripts through the peer-review and editorial process. They play a practical academic role in coordinating reviewers, evaluating reports, and preparing recommendations for editorial decisions. Associate Editors should ensure that manuscripts assigned to them are handled efficiently, fairly, and according to the journal's editorial and ethical policies.
Responsibilities
Reviewer Selection & Coordination
Identify appropriate reviewers, send invitations, monitor review progress, and communicate when clarification or additional time is required.
Assess Reviewer Reports & Recommend Decisions
Evaluate report substance, assess manuscript methodology and ethics, and prepare a reasoned recommendation for the Editor-in-Chief.
Editorial Responsibilities
Back to topSubmit Your Application
Zetline welcomes expressions of interest from qualified scholars and professionals who wish to contribute to the development and academic governance of our journals.
Review the Roles
Identify the role corresponding to your expertise.
Prepare Information
Prepare current CV and publication profile.
Submit Application
Complete the editorial application form.
Editorial Evaluation
Reviewed based on journal scope and qualifications.
Submit Your Application
If you are interested in the role, please submit your application by following the procedures outlined below.
Here are the procedures:
If you don't have an English CV, you can download the provided CV template for reference.
If you haven't registered yet, please create an account by visiting: register
After registering, log in using your username and password: login
Select a role you are interested in under the "Join" section to submit your application.