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1. Editorial Process, Peer-Review, and Production
2. General Duties of All Handling Editors
2.1 Decision on Publication of Articles
2.5 Declaration of Competing Interests
3.6 Early Career Editorial Board Member
4.1 Guest Editor Responsibilities
1. Editorial Process, Peer-Review, and Production
Articles submitted to Tech Science Press (TSP) journals are subject to a rigorous peer-review process. Single-blind review (the reviewers know the authors’ identities, but the authors do not know the reviewers’ identities) may be used according to the Journal’s editorial policies.
Reviewers and external editors require deep-link access to log in to the TSP Submission System for assigned tasks. Once a manuscript is submitted, the in-house Managing Editor coordinates the editorial workflow, including peer review, decision-making, potential revisions, acceptance or rejection, copyediting, proofreading, and final publication. Assigned editors, including Editorial Board Members, Associate Editors, and Guest Editors, handle the peer review of submitted articles.
Final acceptance or rejection decisions can be made by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriate Editorial Board member authorized by the Editor-in-Chief. Upon acceptance, the in-house Managing Editor oversees production, including copyediting, English editing, and preparation for publication on the Journal’s website. Journals are organized in yearly volumes with either monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or continuous publication schedules.
Learn more about TSP’s Peer-review Policy.
2. General Duties of All Handling Editors
2.1 Decision on the Publication of Articles
The editor is solely and independently responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always underwrite such decisions. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding issues such as libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making these decisions.
2.2 Fair Play
The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors. When nominating potential editorial board members, the editor shall take account of the need for appropriate, inclusive and diverse representation.
2.3 Journal Metrics
The editor must not attempt to influence the journal’s ranking by artificially increasing any journal metric. In particular, the editor shall not require that references to that (or any other) journal’s articles be included except for genuine scholarly reasons and authors should not be required to include references to the editor’s own articles or products and services in which the editor has an interest.
2.4 Confidentiality
The editor must protect the confidentiality of all material submitted to the journal and all communications with reviewers, unless otherwise agreed with the relevant authors and reviewers. In exceptional circumstances and in consultation with the publisher, the editor may share limited information with editors of other journals, institutions, and other organizations that investigate cases of research misconduct where deemed necessary to investigate suspected ethical breaches.
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
2.5 Declaration of Competing Interests
Any potential editorial conflicts of interest should be declared to the publisher in writing prior to the appointment of the editor (including Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, Guest Editors, or Editorial Board Members) and then updated if and when new conflicts arise. The publisher may publish such declarations in the journal.
The editor (including Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, Guest Editors, or Editorial Board Members) must not be involved in decisions about papers which s/he has written him/herself or have been written by family members or colleagues or which relate to products or services in which the editor has an interest. Further, any such submission must be subject to all of the journal’s usual procedures, peer review must be handled independently of the relevant author/editor and their research groups.
3. Editorial Board Structure
The editorial board typically consists of prominent scholars in the Journal’s field who are informed of their responsibilities upon appointment. The editorial board supports and advises on the Journal’s content and strategy, both proactively and through content review.
3.1 Editor-in-Chief
The Editor-in-Chief oversees the peer-review process and provides strategic recommendations for the Journal. This role may be shared with an appointed member, such as a Publisher representative, organization, or academic society.
3.2 Associate Editor-in-Chief
The Associate Editor-in-Chief collaborates with the Editor-in-Chief on the Journal’s overall academic planning and serves as an editorial escalation point.
3.3 Editor
Editors collaborate with the Editor-in-Chief on daily journal operations and share responsibilities in the peer-review process.
3.4 Associate Editor
Associate Editors support the Editor-in-Chief, managing assigned manuscripts and overseeing the peer review process.
3.5 Editorial Board Member
Editorial Board Members bring diverse perspectives and assist with the Journal’s outreach and credibility in the academic field.
3.6 Early Career Editorial Board Member
Early Career Editorial Board Members hold responsibilities equivalent to those of other Editorial Board Members and provide specialized advice to Editors on topics relevant to early career researchers. Each year, a limited number are selected and invited by the Editors. Candidates should be actively engaged in research fields pertinent to the Journal’s scope, within the first 10 years of receiving a doctoral degree, and experienced in academic writing, publishing in English, and peer review.
Learn more about Join as a Member of TSP Early Career Editorial Board.
4. Guest Editor
Guest editors play a vital role in curating high-quality contributions on a particular topic and driving the editorial review process for special issue publications.
Learn more about TSP’s Special Issue Policy.
4.1 Guest Editor Responsibilities
In general, the responsibilities of a guest editor include:
· Refining the topic and setting out the importance of the area on which the special issue will focus.
· Identifying papers and inviting potential authors for possible inclusion in the special issue with the help of the editorial team.
· Setting and following the timeframe in which the special issue should be produced (to include paper writing, reviewing and submission of final copy to the journal) to ensure timely submission and publication.
· Cooperating with the journal editor and any other guest editor(s) for the special issue with respect to the identification and invitation of authors to contribute to the special issue and responding to potential author queries with regard to this special issue.
· Using subject matter expertise to manage the initial check process, and recommend edits and revisions. The final decision on whether a paper will be accepted will be made by the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.
· Assisting with any further information requested by our editorial team to ensure completeness of the special issue.
· Promoting the special issue and helping with the marketing by indicating any special timing, associated events, funding support, partnerships or other links or relationships which could influence the content promotion of the issue.
4.2 Conflicts of Interest
The special issue may publish submissions from the guest editor(s); however, the proportion of published papers in a special issue where at least one author is a guest editor must not exceed 25% of the total content.
The guest editor(s) must carefully consider and declare any conflicts of interest when participating in the review, recommendation, decision-making process, and publication of a paper. All associations that interfere with, or could be potentially perceived as interfering with, the full and objective assessment, peer review, and decision-making process must be declared.
Especially, the guest editor(s) must not be involved in decisions regarding papers they have authored. Peer review of such submissions should be managed independently of the relevant guest editor(s) and their research groups.
Even if a guest editor believes that the existence of a conflict of interest, or several conflicts of interest, will not impact the peer review or decision-making process, the guest editor should remove him/herself from the process to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest and to protect the integrity of the peer review process. In the event of a conflict of interest, an alternative Editor will be assigned by the Editor-in-Chief.
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