Refereeing
Procedure and Policy
Refereeing Procedure and Policy for Journals Published by the
Algerian Material Research Society
1.0
- Introduction
2.0
- Procedure
3.0
- Policy
4.0
- Speed of Refereeing
5.0
- Suggestions of Alternative Referees
This
document summarises the procedure used for assessing Primary Articles
and Communications submitted to Algerian Journal of Advanced Materials.
The
referees' reports constitute recommendations to the appropriate
Editor, who is empowered to take final action on manuscripts submitted.
The Editor is responsible for all administrative and executive
actions, and is empowered to accept or reject papers. It is the
Editor's duty to see that, as far as possible, agreement is reached
between authors and referees; although the referees may need to be
consulted again concerning an author's reply to comments, further
refereeing will be avoided as far as possible.
2.1
Adjudication of disagreements
If
there is a notable discrepancy between the reports of the two referees,
or if the difference between authors and referees cannot be resolved
readily, a third referee may be appointed as adjudicator. In extreme
cases, differences may be reported to the appropriate Editorial Board
for resolution.
When
a paper is recommended for rejection, the Editor will inform the
authors. Authors have the right to appeal to the Editor if they regard
a decision to reject as unfair. The Editor may refer to the Editorial
Boards any papers which have been recommended for acceptance by the
referees, but about which the Editor is doubtful.
2.2
Anonymity
The
anonymity of referees is strictly preserved from the authors, and
reports should be couched in terms which do not disclose the identity
of the writer. A referee should never communicate directly with an
author, unless and until such action has been sanctioned by the
Society, through the Editor.
2.3
Confidentiality
A
referee should treat a paper received for assessment as confidential
material. If a referee needs to consult colleagues to help with the
review, the referee should inform them that the manuscript is
confidential, and inform the Editor. Information acquired by a referee
from such a paper is not available for disclosure or citation until
the paper is published.
The
primary criterion for acceptance of a contribution for publication is
that it must report high-quality new chemical science and make a
significant contribution to its field. Papers that do not contain new
experimental results may be considered for publication only if they
either reinterpret or summarise known facts or results in a manner
presenting an advance in materials science knowledge. Papers in
interdisciplinary areas are acceptable if the materials science
content is considered satisfactory.
Papers
reporting results regarded as routine or trivial are not acceptable in
the absence of other, desirable attributes.
Although
short papers are acceptable, the Society strongly discourages the
fragmentation of a substantial body of work into a number of short
publications; such fragmentation is likely to be grounds for rejection.
The
length of an article should be commensurate with its scientific
content; however, authors are allowed latitude (consistent with
reasonable brevity) in the form in which their work is presented.
Figures and flow-charts can often save space as well as clarify
complicated arguments. Certain length restrictions apply to some
Communications (see Section 9.0, Communications).
If
a paper as a whole is judged suitable for the Journal, minor
criticisms should not be unduly emphasised. It is the responsibility
of the Editor to ensure the use of reasonably brief phraseology, and
to assist the author to present his/her work in the most appropriate
format. However, referees should not hesitate to recommend rejection
of papers which appear incurably badly composed.
It
should be clearly understood that referees' reports are made in
confidence to the Editor, at whose discretion comments will be
transmitted to the author. To assist the Editor, referees are
requested to indicate which comments are designed only for
consideration, as distinct from those which, in the referee's view,
require specific action or an adequate answer before the paper is
accepted.
Referees
may ask for sight of supporting data not submitted for publication, or
for sight of a previous paper which has been submitted but not yet
published. Such requests must be made to the Editor, not directly to
the author.
See
also the AMRS's 'Ethical Guidelines for Publication in Journals and
Reviews'.
3.1
Use of Colour
The
use of colour and/or half-tones is permitted in cases where genuine
clarification results; referees may also be asked to advise on this [Electronic-only
journals have different guidelines concerning the use of colour (see
Section 10.0, Electronic-only journals)].
3.2
Titles and Summaries
Referees
should comment on titles and summaries with the following points in
mind.
Titles
of papers are used out of context by several organizations for current
awareness purposes. To enable such systems to serve chemical
scientists adequately, titles must be written around a sufficient
number of scientific words carefully chosen to cover the important
aspects of the paper.
Summaries
should preferably be self-contained, so that they can be understood
without reference to the main text.
The
AMRS is anxious to maintain and to reduce further if possible the
publication times now being achieved. In this connection, referees
should submit their reports with the minimum of delay and within the
specified time, or inform the Editor immediately if this is not
feasible. If possible, referees should supply their reports in
electronic format via the AJAM's website. In these
cases, there is no need for referees to send a printed version of
their report or to return the manuscript unless they are requested to
do so by the Editor.
The
Editor welcomes suggestions of alternative referees competent to deal
with particular subject areas. Such suggestions are particularly
helpful in cases where referees consider themselves ill-equipped (in
terms of specialist knowledge) to deal with a specific paper, and in
highly specialized or new areas of research where only a limited
number of experts may be available. If, in such a case, the
alternative and the original referee work in the same institution, the
manuscript may be passed on directly after informing the Editor.
mail-to : h_aourag@mail.univ-tlemcen.dz
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