- Overview of the peer-review process ⟩
- Responsibilities of reviewers ⟩
- Responsibilities of the journal and its editors ⟩
Overview of the peer-review process
This journal operates a single-anonymized review process (the names of the reviewers are hidden from the author). All contributions will be initially assessed by an editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of one independent expert reviewer to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The editors are responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The editors' decisions are final. Editors are not involved in decisions about papers which they have written themselves. Details of the peer-review process follow.
Responsibilities of reviewers
Objectivity
Judgments should be objective and well considered. Reviewers should have no conflict of interest with any participant.
Confidentiality
Reviewers must retain confidentiality with respect to the reviewed article. Reviewers' identities are not disclosed to authors or third parties.
Advising
Reviewers should be alert for additional resources or information that could be brought to the author's attention for improvement of the article.
Responsibilities of the journal and its editors
1. Upon submission, an author suggests a member of the Editorial Board to be the article's handling editor.
2. The paper is assigned by the managing editor to a member of the Editorial Board. The assignee becomes the handling editor of the paper. A paper may be reassigned (for example, if the first assignee does not wish to handle it).
3. The managing editor can reject a paper that seems unlikely to meet the journal's standards, without assigning it to a handling editor.
4. The handling editor can quickly recommend to the full Editorial Board rejection of a paper that seems unlikely to meet the journal's standards. Experts may optionally be consulted for a general opinion on whether the standards are likely to be met. A paper that is not rejected at that stage is then sent out for one or more referee reports. The handling editor may elect to serve as a referee if the paper falls within the appropriate area of specialization.
5. The handling editor may at any time request that the author(s) submit a revision (for example, to take into account a referee's comments). This does not imply that the paper will be accepted if the revision is made.
6. The handling editor makes a recommendation to the full Editorial Board with justification explaining the reasoning and the standards which are being used.
7. A recommendation to accept or reject is followed by a voting and discussion period; all editors can participate.
8. To be accepted, an article must receive positive votes from at least two Editorial Board members other than the handling editor. As a rule, if any negative votes remain at the end of the voting period, the article will be rejected. The final decision rests with the handling editor.
9. The handling editor accepts after board discussion and waiting period.
