Should journal scope be part of the decision?

Summary

I think a journal's scope should not be a consideration in reviews. I therefore suggest removal of that point from "How to form your decision".

Page / Location

Part III of the guide in the section ""How to form your decision".

Proposed Content

I propose removing the third bullet point "Even an excellent paper may not fit a journal’s scope. In that case, make sure your review encourages resubmission elsewhere."

Reason / Context

If a handling editor sends out a paper for review, it has passed screening by multiple members of the editorial team. The goal of this screening is to weed out papers that stand a slim chance of being published. Journal fit is one key consideration in this process.

I may doubt that a manuscript fits the scope of a journal, but what studies fill the pages of a journal is up to the editorial team. As a reviewer, I trust that a journal with a robust editorial process does not send out papers for review that they consider a bad fit to the journal's scope. In fact, I would not review for a journal that previously rejected a paper for bad fit after I have performed an in-depth review. This is a waste of everyones time.

Checklist

• Grammar and tone reviewed
• Internal links correct
• Approved by content owner