Deficient editorial practices, perceived quality, and expedient scholarly publishing in a developing nation

Area of Science:

• Scholarly publishing
• Research integrity
• Academic journals

Background:

• Growing concerns regarding the quality, integrity, and accessibility of research from developing countries.
• This study investigates scholarly publishing standards in Libya by examining editorial practices and editors' perspectives.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the current state of scholarly publishing in Libya.
• To understand the perspectives of editors-in-chief regarding their journals' practices and performance.
• To identify challenges and shortcomings in Libyan academic publishing.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was distributed to editors-in-chief of Libyan academic journals (January-February 2022).
• Data collected included editorial practices, satisfaction with manuscripts, review processes, and journal performance.
• Journal websites were evaluated for quality, and citation data from Google Scholar were analyzed.

Main Results:

• 48 editors-in-chief completed the survey; 92% were affiliated with the journal's owning institution.
• A high percentage of editors expressed satisfaction with peer-review quality (83%), manuscript novelty (69%), and overall journal performance (96%).
• Despite editor satisfaction, only one journal was indexed in Web of Science/Scopus, and 17% were indexed in Google Scholar, with website quality issues noted.

Conclusions:

• A significant discrepancy exists between editors' self-reported satisfaction and objective quality metrics, indicating a systemic issue in Libyan scholarly publishing.
• The findings suggest potential for similar publishing practices in other developing countries.
• An institutional action plan is recommended to enforce high standards and improve research quality in developing nations.