Appealing Editorial Decisions
Authors have the right to appeal editorial decisions or reviewer reports during the peer-review process. To submit an appeal, please contact the editorial office of the specific journal handling your manuscript.
Valid Grounds for Appeal
Appeals are most successful when they present new information or address concerns raised in the initial decision. Here are some examples of valid grounds for appeal:
- New factual evidence:This could include data or research that strengthens your manuscript's arguments.
- Revisions:Did you revise your manuscript to address reviewer comments but they weren't incorporated? You can appeal this.
- Additional material:Do you have new data or results that further support your research? Include them in your appeal.
- Conflicts of interest:If you identify a potential conflict of interest with a reviewer, raise this in your appeal.
- Concerns about biased peer review:If you believe a reviewer's qualifications or potential conflicts led to a biased review, you can appeal this.
Appeal Process
The editor will carefully review your appeal and any additional materials you provide. They may consider seeking further feedback from additional reviewers before making a final decision.
Final Decision
The editor's decision following an appeal is final. Simply disagreeing with the initial decision won't be enough to overturn it.
Complaints Regarding Editorial Process or Ethics
For complaints regarding the editorial process or publication ethics, please submit them to the journal's editorial office.
- If the Editor is Involved: If your complaint directly concerns the editor, you can escalate it to the publisher at contact@afacpublisher.com.
- Publication Ethics Complaints: The editor will handle complaints related to publication ethics, following the guidelines set forth by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).
We are committed to open communication and strive to ensure a fair and ethical review process.
Improvements made
- Removed unnecessary sentence about editors allowing appeals.
- Rephrased the section on valid grounds for appeal for clarity.
- Streamlined the appeal process explanation.
- Clarified the finality of the editor's decision.
- Improved the flow and conciseness of the text.
