After the files pass the technical and formatting requirements, the manuscript is assigned to a Section Editor or a member of the Editorial Board. The editor reviews the manuscript and returns the manuscript along with the editorial comments. The editorial process gives the editors the authority to reject any manuscript if it does not meet the scientific publishing standards or is out of scope of the journal.
Peer review
Based on the comments of the editor the manuscript is sent for external double-blind peer review. The manuscript is usually sent to two to four expert peer reviewers. The peer review process followed by the journal is double-blind. In this process the peer reviewer's identities are kept confidential and not revealed to the authors. In the same manner the author's identities are not revealed to the peer reviewers. This ensures a fair and unbiased review of every manuscript.
Second editorial review
After the peer reviewers return the manuscript with their comments, the manuscript with reviewers’ comments is sent to the editor. The editor reviews the manuscript and the comments and recommends suitability of the manuscript for publication in the journal. Based on the editor's comments the first decision on acceptance, minor revision, major revision or rejection of the manuscript is taken.
Manuscript revision
The authors are promptly informed of the editorial decision for the manuscript. The editor's and reviewers’ comments are also sent to the authors with the decision email. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors are sent instructions about how to respond to the editorial and reviewer comments and make changes in the manuscript. At this stage, based on the comments, the manuscript may need changes to text, figures, tables etc.
Author appeal against decision
If the authors feel that they are not satisfied with the editorial decision about publication of the manuscript, authors may appeal the decision. The instructions for the appeal procedure are given on Ethics & Policy page. The average submission to first decision time is about six weeks.
Third editorial review
After author's response to editor's and reviewer's comments are received, the manuscript is reviewed by the assigned editor and if required the manuscript is again sent to the reviewers for their comments. After the editor has reviewed the manuscript and the responses, final decision about publication of the manuscript is taken. The authors are promptly informed of the decision.
Page proof
After acceptance of the manuscript, it may be edited for grammar, punctuation, style and accuracy. An edited, pre-print proof of the manuscript with all figures, table and charts included, is sent to the corresponding author for approval. The proof is sent as a PDF file. The authors are also sent a proof corrections form, which the authors can use to submit any changes required in the manuscript. Please note that at this stage it will not be possible to make any significant changes to the text or add or delete figures. The proof need to be returned to the Editorial Office within three days (72 hours).
Manuscript publication
After the corrected proof are received by the Editorial Office, the final version of the manuscript is prepared for publication. During preparation for publication, HTML, PDF, XML and other formats of the manuscript are prepared. After receiving page proof, the average time to publication is approximately four weeks. All manuscripts are published in multiple formats.
