1. Review Process
Initial Review: After a manuscript is successfully submitted and passes the academic misconduct screening, the editorial department first examines whether the manuscript complies with the journal's requirements in terms of format and scope, and determines whether it should be sent for peer review.
Peer Review: Manuscripts that pass the initial review are sent to two independent experts in the relevant research fields for peer review. The reviewers primarily evaluate the manuscript's scientific merit, originality, methodological rigor, and overall quality. The journal adopts a double-blind peer review process, in which the identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed to ensure objectivity and fairness.
Final Review by the Editor-in-Chief: Based on the comments from the two reviewers, the Editor-in-Chief determines whether the manuscript should be accepted, rejected, or revised. For manuscripts requiring revision, authors must revise the manuscript in accordance with the reviewers' comments and provide a point-by-point response to the comments. The revised manuscript should then be resubmitted for further evaluation.
Acceptance Decision: The Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editor-in-Chief determines if the revisions meet the required standards and then makes the final decision on acceptance.
2. Review of Internally Submitted Manuscripts
Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial board members, or peer reviewers of the journal are also subject to the above review process. The review of such manuscripts is conducted independently of the submitting editor/editorial board member/reviewer and their research group. In addition, editors, editorial board members, and reviewers are strictly prohibited from participating in the review or editorial processing of manuscripts authored by themselves, their family members, colleagues, or any other authors with whom they have a conflict of interest.
3. Review of Special Issue Manuscripts
The above review procedures also apply to special issue manuscripts. All such submissions undergo the same review process as regular manuscripts, and the final decision on acceptance is made by the Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editor-in-Chief.
For certain special issues, the editorial department may invite recognized experts in the relevant research fields to serve as Guest Editors. Their responsibilities primarily include assisting the editorial department in soliciting submissions, organizing the review of manuscripts, etc. The work of Guest Editors is conducted under the supervision of the editorial department and the Editor-in-Chief, to ensure the fairness and integrity of the review process.
4. Handling of Academic Misconduct
The journal accepts only original manuscripts that have not been formally published elsewhere. Any form of academic misconduct, such as plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, and multiple submissions of the same manuscript, is strictly prohibited.
If academic misconduct is identified prior to publication, the manuscript will be rejected. If misconduct is discovered after publication, the editorial department will initiate a retraction, issue a formal retraction notice, notify the authors and their affiliated institutions, and request relevant databases to remove the online version of the article in order to prevent further dissemination.
5. Author Appeals
Authors who disagree with the review results may submit an appeal. The appeal must provide detailed responses to each review comment and be sent to the editorial department via email. Upon receipt, the editorial department will review the appeal in a timely manner and inform the authors of the outcome. Please note that only one appeal is normally permitted per manuscript.
