Manuscript Process
Journal Administrator
Upon submission of your manuscript, the journal administrator will review for any identifying information, format concerns, and general journal requirements. Next, if all is in line, the journal administrator will enter your manuscript into the system and forward to the managing editor.
Managing Editor
The managing editor will review the manuscript in much the same way as the journal administrator, assuring that the manuscript conforms to the "Guide to Authors." If there are issues or concerns, the managing editor will contact the author. Next, the managing editor will test the manuscript for copyright infringement. If it passes this test, the managing editor will assign an associate editor as the main editor for the manuscript.
Associate Editor
The associate editor will now review the content of the manuscript and determine the appropriate reviewers. Next, the associate editor will send requests to no less than 2 reviewers. Once reviewers have agreed to review the manuscript, the status of the manuscript will change to "Out for Review."
Reviewers
Reviewers are blinded to the author’s information. Authors are also blinded to the reviewer information. Reviewers are hand selected as experts in one or more areas of the manuscripts content. The reviewer has 21 days to review the manuscript and in certain cases, longer. Once the manuscript is reviewed, the review board member will upload their review in to the manuscript system.
Once all reviews are in, the associate editor will determine the appropriate decision. An email will be generated and sent to the author. In this email, links will be provided to allow the author to review comments made by each reviewer if any. The author has 60 days to return the revised manuscript. Failure to return the manuscript within 60 days may lead to rejection of the manuscript and removal of the manuscript record.
Re-Submission
If changes are required, you will be instructed to address concerns and resubmit. Upon re-submission, this process starts from the beginning.
Copyedit
Once the associate editor is satisfied with the overall manuscript, the status changes to provisionally accepted and you will be sent a provisional acceptance letter.
The manuscript is now sent to the first of two copyeditors (also 2nd and 3rd level review). Copyeditors look at the manuscript with fresh eyes. They have not seen the manuscript until this point. Once the first copyeditor reviews the manuscript for copyright, references, and legal concerns, he/she will change the status to "copy edit complete, publication pending," then send to the second copy editor. Second level copy editing involves grammar, punctuation and general readability as well as additional checks for legal concerns, etc. Should any concerns arise at either level, the manuscript will be held and the copyeditor will contact the author. Keep in mind, it is possible for a manuscript to be rejected during the two level review. Not until the board approves the manuscript will it be published.
Once the copyeditors have completed their review and are satisfied that the manuscript is ready for publication, they will change the status to copy edit complete, publication pending. It is important to note that either copyeditor may hold a manuscript until they are satisfied all issues raised have been addressed by the author.
Formatting
The manuscript will now be formatted for the journal. Following format, the author will be contacted to review the manuscript. Any required corrections will be made at this point and the author will be asked for approval.
Final Board Approval
Once the journal is formatted and ready for publication, the board will vote on the content. Should any concerns arise, the author will be contacted. Typically at this point, publication is assured.
