Our philosophy on peer review
EJULL tries hard to process papers as thoroughly, fairly, and rapidly as possible.
All received manuscripts go through a double-blind peer review process. In this process the reviewers do not know who the authors of the article are. And the authors do not know who the reviewers are either. This double-blind, anonymous review gives to papers a fairer chance and avoids the risk of bias decisions, for example due to knowing the seniority, gender, or nationality of a paper’s author.
However, even if papers are anonymized when received (i.e., names, emails and institutions are removed from the headings), the reviewers may not be able to avoid guessing the identity of the authors in some cases. The body of the text will not be edited by the Editorial team to anonymise the document.
Why is peer review important?
Peer reviewers’ comments and recommendations are an essential guide to inform the editor’s decision on a manuscript. Peer review ensures that manuscripts receive unbiased critique and expert feedback, allowing authors to improve their manuscript and therefore high-quality scientific research and reviews to be published. It also helps the readers to trust the scientific integrity of the article and to make informed decisions where peer reviewer comments are available.
The Peer Reviewer
Peer reviewers are given deadlines and requested to respect them to avoid unnecessarily delaying the process.
Peer reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest (seeking advice from the publisher if they are unsure) and possess sufficient knowledge in the field to perform a thorough assessment of the manuscript. Conflict of interest include financial and non-financial competing interests.
Peer reviewers must keep any information regarding the identity of the authors, the content of the manuscript and their decision confidential.
Peer review comments should be objective and constructive without being of a hostile or derogatory nature.
Why can a paper be rejected?
Papers that are not relevant to the topic(s) of the Call or papers which quality does not reach the level expected in eucen in journals might be excluded from publication. Quality is connected to the content of the paper and the interest that the paper might have for the readers. However, quality can also be connected to the English style used or the way the paper has been structured and presented.
Rejection of papers is never the decision of one person – the Editorial Board listens to the advice from external peer reviewers always and, if necessary, internally discusses how to proceed with doubtful papers.
eucen Studies 