Peer-Review Process

JRE maintains a rigorous and externally peer-reviewed process to ensure the quality and integrity of published articles. The peer-review process involves evaluation by independent external experts in the field and follows a double-blind approach, ensuring confidentiality and impartiality.

JRE's peer-review process can be broadly summarised into the following 6 steps:

1.     Submission of Paper

Authors submit their articles through the Journal's online system, adhering to the submission guidelines provided.

2.     Editorial Assessment

The Editor-in-Chief (EIC) evaluates the submission's adherence to the Journal's Author Guidelines, focusing on research relevance, originality, and structure. The quality of the articles is not evaluated at this stage. The editorial assessment is typically completed within two working days of submission.

3.     EIC Assigns a Deputy EIC (aka Handling Editor)

If the EIC approves the submission, it is assigned to a Deputy EIC (Handling Editor) who oversees the external peer-review process.

4.     Invitation to Reviewers

The Handling Editor invites external experts in the field to conduct the peer review. The review process follows a double-blind approach, ensuring the anonymity of both reviewers and authors throughout the evaluation

5.     Review Process

Upon receiving acceptance from the nominated external reviewers, the review process begins. This process typically takes up to six weeks. The reviewers provide their feedback, including recommendations to accept, reject, or request revisions (identified as either major or minor).

6.     Handling the Reviews

The Handling Editor considers all external reviews and recommendations before making a decision on the article.

Reviewer verdict

Handling Editor's Actions

Accept

1-    Sends the author an acceptance notification

2-    Sends the paper to production, including copyediting. This stage may take up to 2 weeks.

Decline

Sends the author notification of rejection that includes constructive feedback

Request Revision (minor or major)

Sends the authors an email by including constructive comments from the reviewers to help the author improve the article before resubmission. Upon receipt of revision from authors, the revised paper will be evaluated by the handling editor again to ensure all comments have been taken on board and are addressed. If handling editor positively appraises the revise version, the paper will be sent to production including copyediting.

 

Editors and Editorial Board Members as Authors 

Editors and Editorial Board Members are welcome to submit their work to JRE, but they are not involved in editorial and review decisions regarding their own scholarly work. JRE has established procedures to ensure the fairness and transparency of the process. These include:

  • Submissions from editors or editorial board members are not given any priority over other submissions.
  • Editor status or Editorial Board Member status has no bearing on editorial and review considerations.
  • When an Editor or Editorial Board Member is a contributing author on a submission, they are entirely excluded from the submission's editorial review. They will have no access to confidential information on the review process, and no input into the publication decision.
  • Accepted articles authored by Editors or Editorial Board Members will include a statement to explain the process used to make the editorial decision.

Special Issues, Guest Editors, and Reviewers

Guest Editors Appointments, Roles, and Affiliations:

Guest Editors are selected based on their expertise, knowledge, and significant contributions to the specific field related to the special issue. They will come from reputable institutions and possess extensive research experience in the subject matter of the special issue. These Guest Editors are responsible for coordinating the entire process, from soliciting submissions to managing the peer review and publication process. They work closely with the journal's Editorial Board to ensure the quality and relevance of the published papers.

Peer Review Process for Special Issues:

The peer review process for Special Issues is conducted with the same level of rigor and impartiality as regular journal submissions.

All manuscripts submitted to Special Issues undergo a rigorous peer review process to ensure the highest standard of scholarly work. After the initial submission, the Guest Editors will conduct an initial review to check for alignment with the theme and scope of the Special Issue. Manuscripts that pass this initial screening will be sent for external peer review.

The peer review process typically involves independent reviewers who are experts in the field. Reviewers provide valuable feedback and assessments of the manuscript's quality, originality, methodology, and significance. Based on the reviewers' comments, the Guest Editors make a decision on the acceptance, revision, or rejection of the manuscript.

Peer Review Process for Special Issues Dedicated to Conferences:

The peer review process for special issues dedicated to conferences is conducted with the same level of rigor and impartiality as regular journal submissions. This ensures that the evaluation of manuscripts aligns closely with the theme and objectives of the special issue. The reviewers' expertise in the conference topic enables them to assess the submissions in a manner that aligns with the goals and discussions of the conference.

By involving external Guest Editors and expert reviewers from the scientific council of the conference, we aim to uphold the high standards of our journal and ensure that special issues dedicated to conferences showcase cutting-edge research presented at these events.

Reviewer Recognition

JRE recognises and values the significant investment of time and expertise by peer reviewers to ensure that published papers are of the highest quality.

JRE provides reviewers with recognition in a number of ways:

  • Inclusion in an annual list of reviewers, published on the JRE website
  • A certificate to confirm the reviewer's contribution (upon request)
  • Connect with editors and raise your profile as an expert in your field
  • Reviewers are welcome to add their review history for JRE on their Publons profile to provide official recognition of their peer review contributions. Read more here.

What is Publons?
Publons is a free online platform that helps you record, verify, and showcase your contributions while ensuring that reviewer anonymity is maintained according to JRE policies.