Review Process

All articles received by the editorial team are subject to a two-step review process, consisting of an internal assessment conducted by the journal’s editors, and an outside academic review based on the modern open peer review model –- assuring a transparent evaluation by specialists in the field. Based on the review, the editorial team makes the decision whether to publish the paper, send it back to be corrected, or reject it.

The reviewers are selected according to the recommendations Good practice in academic review procedures, published by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education in 2011: each paper is assigned a reviewer (or reviewers) with appropriate skill and knowledge in the relevant field; the reviewer and the author are not related by familial or work relationships; there is no conflict of interest between the author and the reviewer.

A MULTI-STAGE EVALUATION PROCESS
  • An initial formal and substantive assessment done by the editor-in-chief or their deputy -– based on this, the paper is then sent to outside review or rejected. The rejection can be due to: the paper’s low substantive value, a theme not suited to the journal’s profile, unethical conduct (e.g. plagiarism), or not adjusting the text to the basic requirements as described in the “Information for Authors” tab. After the initial acceptance, an agreement with the author is signed (PDF).
  • An outside evaluation by at least one reviewer in the open peer review model -– the identities of the reviewers and authors are public, and the review’s content is subject to public control (the editorial team makes it available on request).
  • Response to the author with the outcome of the assessment. In case of necessary adjustments, the corrected version is evaluated once more.
  • The final decision about publishing the paper in the journal is made by the editor-in-chief.