Title: The relationship between the number of editorial board members and the scientific output of universities in the chemistry field,
Abstract: Editorial board members, who are considered the gatekeepers of scientific
journals, play an important role in academia, and may directly or indirectly
affect the scientific output of a university. In this article, we used the
quantile regression method among a sample of 1,387 university in chemistry to
characterize the correlation between the number of editorial board members and
the scientific output of their universities. Furthermore, we used time-series
data and the Granger causality test to explore the causal relationship between
the number of editorial board members and the number of articles of some top
universities. Our results suggest that the number of editorial board members is
positively and significantly related to the scientific output (as measured by
the number of articles, total number of citations, citations per paper, and h
index) of their universities. However, the Granger causality test results
suggest that the causal relationship between the number of editorial board
members and the number of articles of some top universities is not obvious.
Combining these findings with the results of qualitative interviews with
editorial board members, we discuss the causal relationship between the number
of editorial board members and the scientific output of their universities.