Peer review process
The process of peer review must uphold principles of autonomy and therefore follow lines of democratic and unprejudiced evaluation in order to be objective. The submitted manuscripts are first evaluated by the editor-in-chief for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, political philosophy or any other personal circumstances of the authors. The editor-in-chief’s decision may be constrained by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism.
Evaluation of submitted papers: After a preliminary assessment, based on the established objectives of the journal, in the event of a positive evaluation, the editor-in-chief will send the paper to the journal editorial assistant responsible for the relevant field the paper covers. It is then sent to one or two reviewers belonging to the same field of competence for peer review. Within three days following receipt of the submitted paper, they will determine whether to accept the work or not. On the basis of the review, the decision on the acceptance of the submitted manuscript is taken. The possible decisions include acceptance, acceptance with revision or rejection. Articles that are rejected include those that are outside the aims and scope of the journal and do not measure up to scientific standards, are poorly structured or written in poor language. Should the decision to accept the paper only after revision be adopted, the author will subsequently revise the paper, which is then returned to the editorial assistant, who checks if the suggestions have been considered. If authors are encouraged to revise and resubmit a contribution, there is no guarantee that the revised submission will be accepted.
Additional evaluation factors: Additional evaluation factors include relevance (Is this paper relevant to the themes of this journal?), soundness (Is this paper technically sound and complete?), significance (Is the paper interesting for other researchers?), originality (Are the results or ideas novel and previously unknown?), readability (Is the paper well-organised and easy to understand?), language (Is the paper written in correct language and style?). The main additional factors considered are significance and originality.
Publication decisions: The final decision on publication is taken by the editor-in-chief, in collaboration with the other members of the editorial board, on the basis of the reviews received and any revisions made.
Evaluation of submitted papers: After a preliminary assessment, based on the established objectives of the journal, in the event of a positive evaluation, the editor-in-chief will send the paper to the journal editorial assistant responsible for the relevant field the paper covers. It is then sent to one or two reviewers belonging to the same field of competence for peer review. Within three days following receipt of the submitted paper, they will determine whether to accept the work or not. On the basis of the review, the decision on the acceptance of the submitted manuscript is taken. The possible decisions include acceptance, acceptance with revision or rejection. Articles that are rejected include those that are outside the aims and scope of the journal and do not measure up to scientific standards, are poorly structured or written in poor language. Should the decision to accept the paper only after revision be adopted, the author will subsequently revise the paper, which is then returned to the editorial assistant, who checks if the suggestions have been considered. If authors are encouraged to revise and resubmit a contribution, there is no guarantee that the revised submission will be accepted.
Additional evaluation factors: Additional evaluation factors include relevance (Is this paper relevant to the themes of this journal?), soundness (Is this paper technically sound and complete?), significance (Is the paper interesting for other researchers?), originality (Are the results or ideas novel and previously unknown?), readability (Is the paper well-organised and easy to understand?), language (Is the paper written in correct language and style?). The main additional factors considered are significance and originality.
Publication decisions: The final decision on publication is taken by the editor-in-chief, in collaboration with the other members of the editorial board, on the basis of the reviews received and any revisions made.