Appeal Process
- Authors can challenge an editor's decision to reject their work. A member of the Editorial Board will receive the paper and all pertinent materials, including the names of the referees, in the event of a formal appeal. The Board member has the option of reviewing the case using the current documentation or consulting more experts. The board member will give the editor an advising opinion, which will be forwarded together with the member's name to the authors and/or referees.
- Authors are free to suggest Board members they believe should do the review but the editor has the choice to follow their recommendations.
- If there is no suitable Board member available, the editor may appoint an appropriate scientist to consider a paper under appeal as an ad hoc Board member.
- The author of a rejected manuscript should introduce their request to the journal's editor, who will, if necessary, forward the whole file to the editor in chief. A request for additional scientific evaluation cannot be the basis of such an appeal; rather, it must focus on the fairness of the procedures used. The following inquiries must be addressed in this review: Were our procedures correctly followed, and was the paper given a fair hearing? The Editor in Chief's opinion represents the final level of review.
