Review Policies
All research articles, review articles, systematic reviews, methodological papers and case studies are subject to double-anonymous peer review. The identities of authors are concealed from reviewers and the identities of reviewers are concealed from authors. Authors must submit an anonymised manuscript and a separate title page.
Initial editorial assessment
A submitted manuscript is first checked by the editorial office for completeness, authorship information, scope, formatting, ethical compliance, competing interests and similarity. A qualified editor then evaluates its scholarly relevance, originality and basic methodological quality. Manuscripts that are outside the journal’s scope, materially incomplete, unethical, duplicative or clearly below the required standard may be rejected without external review.
External review
Manuscripts that pass initial assessment are evaluated by at least two independent external reviewers with relevant subject expertise. Reviewers must not be part of the journal’s editorial team for the purpose of satisfying the minimum external-review requirement. Reviewers must disclose any competing interest and decline an assignment where impartial review is not possible.
Reviewer selection is based on subject expertise, publication history, methodological knowledge, independence and absence of relevant conflicts. Author-suggested reviewers may be considered, but the editor is not obliged to invite them and independently verifies their identity and suitability. Authors may identify opposed reviewers and provide reasons; the editor retains final discretion.
Review criteria
- originality and importance of the research question;
- fit with the journal’s aims and scope;
- appropriateness and transparency of the methods;
- validity of analysis, results and conclusions;
- engagement with relevant scholarship;
- ethical compliance and responsible research practice;
- availability and adequacy of supporting data or materials where applicable;
- clarity, organisation and reproducibility.
Editorial decisions
After considering the independent reviews and the manuscript, the handling editor recommends one of the following outcomes: accept, minor revision, major revision, reject and invite resubmission, or reject. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers. The Editor-in-Chief or an authorised senior editor makes the final decision. Acceptance is never guaranteed, and editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit rather than the author’s identity, nationality, institutional affiliation, beliefs, ability to pay or commercial considerations.
Editorial independence and submissions by editors
An editor or editorial board member who is an author, has a competing interest, or is otherwise connected to a manuscript will have no access to its review or decision process. Another independent editor will manage the manuscript, and at least two independent external reviewers will be used. The same safeguards apply to manuscripts submitted by employees of the publisher.
Special issues
Special-issue articles undergo the same initial checks, external peer review and acceptance standards as regular submissions. The Editor-in-Chief retains responsibility for all special-issue content. Guest editors are approved after their qualifications and conflicts are assessed and work under the oversight of the Editor-in-Chief or a designated board member. A submission authored by a guest editor is managed independently and guest-editor-authored papers may not exceed 25 percent of the special issue.
Review confidentiality
Manuscripts, supplementary files and review reports are confidential. Reviewers and editors may not share, use or retain unpublished material for personal advantage. They may not upload confidential manuscripts to generative AI systems or other external services that do not guarantee confidentiality. Review reports are not published unless the journal and all affected parties expressly agree.
Review timing
The journal aims to conduct review efficiently but does not guarantee a fixed decision or publication time. If substantial delay occurs, authors will be informed and may withdraw the manuscript without penalty before acceptance.
Publication history
The dates of receipt, revision, acceptance and publication will be displayed in the full text and article metadata. Any article type exempt from external peer review, such as an editorial clearly authored by the editors, will be labelled and will state the type of editorial review received.
Related policies: All Policies · Author Guidelines & Submission · Open Access · APC & Waivers
Contact: journals@gf-press.com
