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Peer review policy statement
Communist and Post-Communist Studies 40 (2007) IeIII www.elsevier.com/locate/postcomstud
Editorial
Peer review policy statement The practice of peer review is to ensure that good science is published. It is an objective process at the heart of good scholarly publishing and is carried out on all reputable scientific journals. Our referees therefore play a vital role in maintaining the high standards of Communist and Post-Communist Studies and all manuscripts are peer reviewed following the procedure outlined below. Special Issues (a whole issue of the journal on a theme topic) and Special Sections (a part of the journal on a theme topic) have different peer review procedures involving Guest Editors, whose responsibility it is to ensure that the manuscripts conform to the academic standards of the journal. Authors contributing to these projects will receive full details of the peer review process from the relevant Guest Editor(s). The Editors of the journal have final decision-making responsibility for Special Issues or Sections. The procedure Upon receipt of a manuscript, it is filed and the author receives two electronic letters: a letter of acknowledgement and a Statement of Intentions. The latter states that the author has not submitted his or her manuscript simultaneously to another journal and he or she has no plans for such submission before receiving the Editor’s decision on the manuscript’s status (acceptance/rejection). Also the author has to confirm that the manuscript is not part of a larger work already accepted elsewhere for publication. Only after the Editors receive a signed Statement of Intentions the initial evaluation process begins. Initial manuscript evaluation The Editors first evaluate all manuscripts. Those rejected at this stage are insufficiently original, have serious scientific flaws, have poor grammar or English language, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal. Authors of manuscripts rejected at this initial stage will be informed within 4e8 weeks after receipt of the 0967-067X/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Regents of the University of California. doi:10.1016/j.postcomstud.2006.12.001
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Editorial / Communist and Post-Communist Studies 40 (2007) IeIII
last Editor’s review. The manuscripts that meet the minimum criteria are passed on to at least two experts for review; these may include members of the Editorial Board.
Type of peer review This journal employs double blind reviewing, where both the referee and author remain anonymous throughout the process.
How the referee is selected Referees are matched to the paper according to their expertise. Our database is constantly being updated.
Referee reports Referees are asked to evaluate whether the manuscript: -
is original is methodologically sound follows appropriate ethical guidelines has results which are clearly presented and support the conclusions correctly references previous relevant work
Referees are not expected to correct or copy edit manuscripts. Language correction is not part of the peer review process.
How long does the review process take? Typically the manuscript will be reviewed within 4 months. Should the referees’ reports contradict one another or a report is unduly delayed a further expert opinion will be sought. Manuscripts revised by the authors are usually returned to the initial referees within 1 week. Referees may request more than one revision of a manuscript.
Final report A final decision to accept or reject the manuscript will be sent to the author along with any recommendations (in case of conditional acceptance) made by the referees, and may include verbatim comments by the referees. In case of rejection the journal does not provide the comments of the referees.
Editorial / Communist and Post-Communist Studies 40 (2007) IeIII
III
Editors’ decision is final Referees advise the Editors, who are responsible for the final decision to accept or reject the article.
Becoming a referee If you are not currently a referee for Communist and Post-Communist Studies but would like to be added to the list of referees for this title, please contact the editorial office. The benefits of refereeing for Communist and Post-Communist Studies include the opportunity to see and evaluate the latest work in your research area at an early stage. You may also be able to cite your work for Communist and Post-Communist Studies as part of your professional development requirements for various professional societies and organisations.
Editorial
Peer review policy statement The practice of peer review is to ensure that good science is published. It is an objective process at the heart of good scholarly publishing and is carried out on all reputable scientific journals. Our referees therefore play a vital role in maintaining the high standards of Communist and Post-Communist Studies and all manuscripts are peer reviewed following the procedure outlined below. Special Issues (a whole issue of the journal on a theme topic) and Special Sections (a part of the journal on a theme topic) have different peer review procedures involving Guest Editors, whose responsibility it is to ensure that the manuscripts conform to the academic standards of the journal. Authors contributing to these projects will receive full details of the peer review process from the relevant Guest Editor(s). The Editors of the journal have final decision-making responsibility for Special Issues or Sections. The procedure Upon receipt of a manuscript, it is filed and the author receives two electronic letters: a letter of acknowledgement and a Statement of Intentions. The latter states that the author has not submitted his or her manuscript simultaneously to another journal and he or she has no plans for such submission before receiving the Editor’s decision on the manuscript’s status (acceptance/rejection). Also the author has to confirm that the manuscript is not part of a larger work already accepted elsewhere for publication. Only after the Editors receive a signed Statement of Intentions the initial evaluation process begins. Initial manuscript evaluation The Editors first evaluate all manuscripts. Those rejected at this stage are insufficiently original, have serious scientific flaws, have poor grammar or English language, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal. Authors of manuscripts rejected at this initial stage will be informed within 4e8 weeks after receipt of the 0967-067X/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Regents of the University of California. doi:10.1016/j.postcomstud.2006.12.001
II
Editorial / Communist and Post-Communist Studies 40 (2007) IeIII
last Editor’s review. The manuscripts that meet the minimum criteria are passed on to at least two experts for review; these may include members of the Editorial Board.
Type of peer review This journal employs double blind reviewing, where both the referee and author remain anonymous throughout the process.
How the referee is selected Referees are matched to the paper according to their expertise. Our database is constantly being updated.
Referee reports Referees are asked to evaluate whether the manuscript: -
is original is methodologically sound follows appropriate ethical guidelines has results which are clearly presented and support the conclusions correctly references previous relevant work
Referees are not expected to correct or copy edit manuscripts. Language correction is not part of the peer review process.
How long does the review process take? Typically the manuscript will be reviewed within 4 months. Should the referees’ reports contradict one another or a report is unduly delayed a further expert opinion will be sought. Manuscripts revised by the authors are usually returned to the initial referees within 1 week. Referees may request more than one revision of a manuscript.
Final report A final decision to accept or reject the manuscript will be sent to the author along with any recommendations (in case of conditional acceptance) made by the referees, and may include verbatim comments by the referees. In case of rejection the journal does not provide the comments of the referees.
Editorial / Communist and Post-Communist Studies 40 (2007) IeIII
III
Editors’ decision is final Referees advise the Editors, who are responsible for the final decision to accept or reject the article.
Becoming a referee If you are not currently a referee for Communist and Post-Communist Studies but would like to be added to the list of referees for this title, please contact the editorial office. The benefits of refereeing for Communist and Post-Communist Studies include the opportunity to see and evaluate the latest work in your research area at an early stage. You may also be able to cite your work for Communist and Post-Communist Studies as part of your professional development requirements for various professional societies and organisations.