{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T13:46:52Z","timestamp":1792072012083,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"Ubiquity Press, Ltd.","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1792022400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Perspect Med Educ"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Introduction: Journal editors-in-chief (EICs) play a central role in shaping scholarly publishing, yet little is known about how they understand and enact their roles. We explored how medical education journal EICs describe their roles in shaping the publication process.\nMethods: We conducted a qualitative study using thematic analysis of interviews with nine medical education journal EICs. The interviews were part of a broader investigation of publication timelines and explored editorial leadership and practices, including experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants\u2019 accounts also provided insight into the broader work of leading a journal, which became the focus of the present analysis.\nResults: Participants described their work not as a set of discrete tasks, but as five interrelated roles: knowledge developer, proactive communicator, steward of time and energy, nurturer, and orchestrator. These roles were enacted simultaneously and often in tension, reflecting the need to balance scholarly rigor, relational commitments, and system constraints. EICs described actively shaping knowledge, orchestrating complex communication networks, safeguarding finite reviewer and editorial resources, supporting authors and editorial teams, and maintaining workflow continuity. Much of this work was characterized as invisible labor occurring behind the scenes and not captured in formal metrics. Participants also highlighted a structural tension between nurturing authors and stewarding limited resources, underscoring the challenges of sustaining both inclusivity and efficiency within a resource-constrained system.\nDiscussion: This study offers a practice-informed framework for understanding EIC work as relational, strategic, and system-oriented. By making visible the often-invisible labor that underpins academic publishing, our findings challenge reductive conceptions of editorial work and highlight the need for training, support, and systemic changes to better align expectations for rigor, inclusivity, and sustainability.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.5334\/pme.3277","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T13:00:28Z","timestamp":1792069228000},"page":"1085-1094","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["\u201cIt\u2019s Like a Whole Set of Things That We Do\u201d: A Qualitative Study of the Roles of Journal Editors-in-Chief"],"prefix":"10.5334","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2997-6133","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lauren A.","family":"Maggio","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2661-7853","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anthony R.","family":"Artino Jr.","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0412-6562","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Joseph A.","family":"Costello","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7720-5667","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paolo C.","family":"Martin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8349-6432","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"TingLan","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1008-4397","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kirsten R.","family":"Brown","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"3285","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]},"reference":[{"issue":"2","key":"key20261015130021_B1","first-page":"331","article-title":"The prestige economy: journals, citations and academic publication","volume":"82","year":"2021","journal-title":"Higher Education"},{"issue":"1","key":"key20261015130021_B2","first-page":"3","article-title":"Reopening the black box of editorship: Who reviews journal editors?","volume":"43","year":"2019","journal-title":"Journal of Management Education"},{"issue":"44","key":"key20261015130021_B3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"13439","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1511912112","article-title":"Accelerating scientific publication in biology","volume":"112","year":"2015","journal-title":"Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A"},{"issue":"8","key":"key20261015130021_B4","article-title":"How long is too long in contemporary peer review? Perspectives from authors publishing in conservation biology journals","volume":"10","year":"2015","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"1","key":"key20261015130021_B5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"633","DOI":"10.1007\/s11192-017-2310-5","article-title":"Duration and quality of the peer review process: the author\u2019s perspective","volume":"113","year":"2017","journal-title":"Scientometrics"},{"issue":"1","key":"key20261015130021_B6","first-page":"507","article-title":"Time to Publication in Medical Education Journals: An Analysis of Publication Timelines During COVID-19 (2019\u20132022)","volume":"13","year":"2024","journal-title":"Perspect Med Educ"},{"issue":"5","key":"key20261015130021_B7","article-title":"Review and Publication Times and Reporting Across Journals on Health Policy","volume":"8","year":"2025","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"issue":"1\u20132","key":"key20261015130021_B8","first-page":"287","article-title":"How publication timelines effect the impact metrics: studying the influence of submission to first decision and submission to acceptance on impact factor and 5-year impact factor of journals","volume":"74","year":"2025","journal-title":"Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication"},{"issue":"2","key":"key20261015130021_B9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"280","DOI":"10.1080\/0142159X.2023.2249212","article-title":"Diversity, equity, and inclusion in medical education journals: An evaluation of editorial board composition","volume":"46","year":"2024","journal-title":"Med Teach"},{"issue":"4","key":"key20261015130021_B10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"565","DOI":"10.1016\/j.japh.2019.12.018","article-title":"Trends in gender composition on editorial boards in leading medicine, nursing, and pharmacy journals","volume":"60","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Am Pharm Assoc (2003)"},{"issue":"3","key":"key20261015130021_B11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"464","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000001860","article-title":"Making the First Cut: An Analysis of Academic Medicine Editors\u2019 Reasons for Not Sending Manuscripts Out for External Peer Review","volume":"93","year":"2018","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"6","key":"key20261015130021_B12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3599","DOI":"10.1002\/ece3.4993","article-title":"Gender differences in peer review outcomes and manuscript impact at six journals of ecology and evolution","volume":"9","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ecol Evol"},{"issue":"1","key":"key20261015130021_B13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104","DOI":"10.1080\/14703297.2021.2004909","article-title":"Editing a higher education journal: Gatekeeping or development?","volume":"59","year":"2022","journal-title":"Innovations in Education and Teaching International"},{"issue":"1","key":"key20261015130021_B14","article-title":"Core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals: consensus statement","volume":"15","year":"2017","journal-title":"BMC Med"},{"key":"key20261015130021_B15","first-page":"253","volume-title":"Novice Writers and Scholarly Publication: Authors, Mentors, Gatekeepers","year":"2018"},{"key":"key20261015130021_B16","unstructured":"AMEE. Applications open: Editor-in-Chief Medical Teacher. AMEE website. Published May 6, 2024. Accessed April 9, 2026. https:\/\/amee.org\/news\/articles\/editor-in-chief-medical-teacher\/"},{"issue":"3","key":"key20261015130021_B17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"386","DOI":"10.1080\/10511253.2012.759244","article-title":"Exploring the Black Box of Journal Manuscript Review: A Survey of Social Science Journal Editors","volume":"24","year":"2013","journal-title":"Journal of Criminal Justice Education"},{"key":"key20261015130021_B18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mustaine EE, Tewksbury R. A Survey of Social Science Journal Editors for Behind-the-Scenes Data on the Publication Process. Journal of Scholarly Publishing. 2016;47(3):231\u2013249. https:\/\/muse.jhu.edu\/article\/613574","DOI":"10.3138\/jsp.47.3.231"},{"issue":"11","key":"key20261015130021_B19","article-title":"Journal editors\u2019 perspectives on the roles and tasks of peer reviewers in biomedical journals: a qualitative study","volume":"9","year":"2019","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"issue":"11","key":"key20261015130021_B20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1306","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000005826","article-title":"\u201cMaking Space for More People, More Perspectives, and More Ideas\u201d: How Medical Education Journal Editors View Their Role in Capacity Building","volume":"99","year":"2024","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"4","key":"key20261015130021_B21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"377","DOI":"10.1002\/jnr.24340","article-title":"Improving transparency and scientific rigor in academic publishing","volume":"97","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Neurosci Res"},{"issue":"7","key":"key20261015130021_B22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"618","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2021.9377","article-title":"Equity and the JAMA Network","volume":"326","year":"2021","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"issue":"8","key":"key20261015130021_B23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"846","DOI":"10.1080\/0142159X.2020.1755030","article-title":"Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131","volume":"42","year":"2020","journal-title":"Med Teach"},{"key":"key20261015130021_B24","article-title":"Reflexive thematic analysis","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"4","key":"key20261015130021_B25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"387","DOI":"10.1111\/medu.14677","article-title":"Delineating the field of medical education: Bibliometric research approach(es)","volume":"56","year":"2022","journal-title":"Med Educ"},{"issue":"5","key":"key20261015130021_B26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"607","DOI":"10.4300\/JGME-D-21-00752.1","article-title":"Beyond the guise of saturation: rigor and qualitative interview data","volume":"13","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Grad Med Educ"},{"issue":"13","key":"key20261015130021_B27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1753","DOI":"10.1177\/1049732315617444","article-title":"Sample size in qualitative interview studies: Guided by information power","volume":"26","year":"2016","journal-title":"Qual Health Res"},{"issue":"4","key":"key20261015130021_B28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"589","DOI":"10.1080\/2159676X.2019.1628806","article-title":"Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis","volume":"11","year":"2019","journal-title":"Qual Res Sport Exerc Health"},{"issue":"2","key":"key20261015130021_B29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1191\/1478088706qp063oa","article-title":"Using thematic analysis in psychology","volume":"3","year":"2006","journal-title":"Qual Res Psychol"},{"issue":"2","key":"key20261015130021_B30","first-page":"153","article-title":"From gatekeepers to facilitators: Understanding the role of the journal editor","volume":"77","year":"2014","journal-title":"College English"},{"key":"key20261015130021_B31","volume-title":"Invisible Labor: Hidden Work in the Contemporary World","year":"2016"},{"issue":"3","key":"key20261015130021_B32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"717","DOI":"10.1007\/s10459-024-10350-2","article-title":"Where have all the reviewers gone?","volume":"29","year":"2024","journal-title":"Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract"},{"key":"key20261015130021_B33","article-title":"The challenge of reviewers\u2019 scarcity in academic journals: payment as a viable solution","volume":"22","year":"2024","journal-title":"Einstein (Sao Paulo)"},{"key":"key20261015130021_B34","unstructured":"Springer Nature. Editor courses. Accessed April 9, 2026. https:\/\/www.springernature.com\/gp\/editors\/editor-courses"},{"key":"key20261015130021_B35","unstructured":"Council of Science Editors. Short courses. Accessed April 9, 2026. https:\/\/www.councilscienceeditors.org\/short-courses"},{"issue":"12","key":"key20261015130021_B36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1406","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000005303","article-title":"Editors as Gatekeepers: One Medical Education Journal\u2019s Efforts to Resist Racism in Scholarly Publishing","volume":"98","year":"2023","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"issue":"2","key":"key20261015130021_B37","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"439","DOI":"10.1007\/s40670-023-01961-2","article-title":"The Inside Scoop: What We Learnt About Getting into Academic Publishing During Our Editorial Internship","volume":"34","year":"2023","journal-title":"Med Sci Educ"}],"container-title":["Perspectives on Medical Education"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/3277\/files\/6ad0ce3e878ed.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/3277\/files\/6ad0ce5d44f2d.xml","content-type":"text\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/3277\/files\/6ad0ce76e6bfd.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/3277\/files\/6ad0ce3e878ed.pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]],"date-time":"2026-10-15T13:03:08Z","timestamp":1792069388000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pmejournal.org\/articles\/10.5334\/pme.3277"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]},"references-count":37,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,20]]}},"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5334\/pme.3277","relation":{},"ISSN":["2212-277X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2212-277X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,15]]}}}