Editorial Review & Publication
Authors must submit manuscripts to Applis Journals in electronic form. An initial cursory review by the EIC will validate that the paper content is appropriate both in scope and quality. If the paper is deemed inappropriate, it will be rejected without review. Otherwise, the EIC will decide to process the paper directly or assign it to one of the associate editors.
The assigned editor performs an initial review of the submission, and may decide to desk reject it or put it through the review process. The grounds for a submission being desk rejected at this stage include, but are not limited to, simultaneous double submission, submission of substantially the same version of a previously published paper, the subject of the paper being outside the coverage scope of respective journal, the paper obviously lacking in breadth, substance, quality or completeness.
If the Editor decides to put the submission through the regular review process, he/she may retain reviewers for expert opinions and detailed useful comments for the authors. The number of reviewers may range between 2 or 4, with the Editor optionally serving as a reviewer. In all but the most unusual cases, 3 external reviewers will be contacted.
The Editor makes an editorial decision on the submission, using reviewers’ comments and recommendations as input (only as input). If the reviews are not clear or detailed enough, or the reviews diverge substantially, the Editor may communicate with the reviewers and seek additional verbal comments, and use them as additional input. The Editor may send the authors some or all of the reviewers’ comments and may withhold certain comments from the authors at his/her discretion.
The editorial decision may be one of the following
• Reject,
• Request for a minor revision,
• Request for a major revision,
• Conditional accept, and
• Unconditional accept.
In all cases of acceptance, the editor will seek input from the Editor-in-Chief.
If the author disagrees with the reject decision, he/she should communicate with the Editor and make his/her case and/or seek clarification. If the author wishes to appeal the decision, he/she should request the Editor to seek arbitration by the EIC. The EIC will review all materials and make a judgment on the merits of the appeal. The decision by the Editor-in-Chief is final.