Editorial Quandaries During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Personal Exposé

This chapter summaries my editorial experiences as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Technology Transfer. I discuss two of the many dimensions associated with scholarly respect through the actions of an editor. These dimensions are an initial timely review of a submitted manuscript and, if warranted, a review by appropriate reviewers of the manuscript. I have noticed during COVID-19 that the pandemic has affected my ability to act in a timely manner on a submitted manuscript as well as on my ability to solicit publication advice from appropriate reviewers. Identifying appropriate reviewers after I had reached a decision that a submitted manuscript warranted peer review was not an issue during the intense COVID-19 time period but identifying appropriate reviewers who were in fact willing to accept my invitation to review a manuscript was indeed a major issue. And in fact, the difficulty I faced intensified as the pandemic raged on. And, finding appropriate reviewers who are willing to accept a reviewing assignment remains problematic.