IJCRM IJCRM International Journal of Current Research in Multidisciplinary
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For authors

The double-blind peer review process

Reviewers do not see who wrote the paper, and authors do not see who reviewed it. This is what happens between a submission arriving and a decision going out.

What double blind means here

Every submission is assessed by researchers working in the same field. Under double-blind review the reviewer is not told who the authors are and the authors are not told who the reviewers are, so neither the reputation of an institution nor a personal connection can weigh on the assessment.

The steps

  1. Submission The paper arrives and is checked against the author guidelines for scope, length and format. Receipt is acknowledged within 24 hours.
  2. Assignment An editor identifies a reviewer with relevant expertise and invites them. Review begins once the reviewer accepts.
  3. Assessment The reviewer reads the paper and returns written comments and a recommendation to the editor. The minimum time allowed for this is 48 hours.
  4. Decision The editor decides: accept, accept subject to revision, or reject. The decision rests with the editor, not with the reviewer, whose role is to advise. Authors are notified within 1 to 2 days.
  5. Publication Accepted papers are published within 72 hours of the publication charge being confirmed, at a permanent address that will not change.

Conflicts of interest

A reviewer who has any conflict of interest with a manuscript must tell the editor rather than proceed. A conflict includes a relationship with an author as a colleague, a collaborator, a co-worker, a family member or a personal friend, and it equally includes a person the reviewer has reason to be hostile towards. Where a conflict is declared, the manuscript is reassigned.

What reviewers are asked to judge

  • Originality and scope

    Whether the work is original and within the journal's scope.

  • Method and conclusions

    Whether the method supports the conclusions drawn from it.

  • Credit to prior work

    Whether prior work is credited accurately and adequately.

  • Clarity

    Whether the paper is clear enough for a reader outside the immediate speciality.

Appeals

An author who believes a decision rests on a factual misreading may write to editor@ijcrm.com setting out the specific point. Appeals are considered once per manuscript.

Integrity

Reviewers and editors are bound by the journal's publication ethics policy, and every submission is screened under the plagiarism policy before it reaches a reviewer.