Peer-Review process and guidelines

Blind-review procedure

Publication in this journal follow the "double blind review" procedure in the evaluation process which involves concealing the identity of the evaluator from the author and vice versa throughout the entire review process. The process can be outlined as follows:

  1. Manuscripts are submitted online through the Journal's platform or sent by e-mail to the editor-in-chief of the Journal. All manuscripts are subject to an initial evaluation by the editor-in-chief in order to ensure that they comply with the purposes of the Journal and follow strictly the conditions outlined in the author's guide. The editor-in-chief also ensures that the manuscript is clean of information regarding the identity of the author.
  2. Each manuscript is assigned to the two reviewers. The evaluators have 30 days to submit their evaluation reports. To make a decision regarding the publication of an article, at least two favorable evaluation reports are required.
  3. When the two reports are received by the editorial office, the editor-in-chief will take a decision on the publication manuscript. If the recommendations of the two reviews differ, he will consult with other authorities from the editorial board regarding the publication of the manuscript. They can also refer to a third evaluator.
  4. The authors are informed about the results of the evaluations. In case the manuscript was accepted for publication, the authors will review the text of the study in accordance with the eventual recommendations from the reviewers. If necessary, they will indicate in detail the manner in which the critical remarks were addressed in the new version of the manuscript.
  5. The corrected version is sent via the Journal's web platform (eventually by e-mail) to the editorial office. The editor-in-chief will decide whether the revision corresponds to the recommendations and criticisms made by the evaluators. In case of major revisions, the article will be sent back to the initial evaluators before reaching a final decision.
  6. If the manuscript has been accepted, it enters the production process.

Contributor guideline for preparing a manuscript suitable for blind-review

Authors need to ensure that the submitted documents are prepared in a proper manner for the blind-review. Please take special care of the following:

  • Should you need to provide personal details beyond the fields on the submission for, please include that in a separate document.
  • The core text of the submission should avoid any direct reference to the author by which he or she can be identified. E.g., references to the authors previous publications need to be formulated in an impersonal way. Instead of "as we have shown previously", use the formula "it has been shown previously", and concealing the reference as [Anonymous, 2016]. You may also add: "bibliographical details are omitted due to blind-review procedure".
  • Do not provide references to funding organisations or sources in the submitted first version of the manuscript.
  • Remove any personal markers from the submitted Microsoft Word document. Go to File > Options, Check for issues > Inspect document > Inspect, and remove all data from Document properties and personal information.