REVIEWER GUIDELINES

Background


AOSIS publishes research-based works that are peer reviewed. This guarantees the quality of our publications, and we therefore regularly appeal to the scholarly community to assist in this process. 

 

The manuscript selection and commercial publishing process operate independently, to prevent undue commercial influence over the manuscript selection process. The Chief Editor, Editorial Board, and reviewers are responsible for selection, peer review and editorial matters, while the publisher decides on all commercial and publishing matters (production and layout, dissemination and marketing).

 

Policy introduction


AOSIS supports peer review, since it allows research to be evaluated and commented upon by independent experts who work within the same academic field as the authors. It also helps to improve manuscripts and allows the editor to assess a work’s suitability for publication.

 

Process


The peer review of scholarly books is conducted by a Chief Editor (for scholarly books) supported by international Domain Editorial Boards (DEBs) and expert review panels, that ensures (1) all book proposals are first reviewed and approved by the relevant DEB, which also nominates suitable reviewers, and (2) all manuscripts are reviewed by a peer review panel. Each peer review panel consists of a coordinating reviewer, and two additional reviewers, who are both experts in the main coverage area of the manuscript. Local and international reviewers are used to ensure a balanced review. The names of the Editorial Board, the scholarly justification report and a peer review declaration are published as part of the book. 

 

Reviewer Invitation


Reviewer invitations are emailed from the Chief Editor. The invitation will include the manuscript synopsis to help you decide whether to accept the invitation.

 

Accept or Decline


The manuscript will only be available to download once you accept the invitation to review. Please indicate whether you accept the invitation by clicking on the applicable button and emailing the Chief Editor.

 

Due Date


Please complete the review by the specified due date. Contact us if you need to extend the deadline.

 

Submitting the review


The entire review process is conducted on the book website. Contact us if you are having trouble accessing the manuscript or entering your comments.

 

General policies


Read our policies relating to reviewers to learn more about: (1) the criteria for publication, (2) the review panels, (3) the review process, (4) timing and (5) writing the review.

 

Competing interest


You should not review a manuscript if you have a potential competing interest. Please declare such conflicts within the review process. Read our policy on competing interests. Reviewers must declare any conflict of interest with manuscripts submitted to them for review; this process is managed accordingly by the Chief Editor. The review process is electronically managed through an online manuscript management system, and archived for future reference and possible audit. The entire publishing process is coordinated by AOSIS.

 

Formatting your review feedback


Ensure your review feedback is formatted correctly to ensure the integrity of the review: (1) in Microsoft Word, remove hidden data and personal information by inspecting your document, (2) with PDFs in Adobe Reader, remove all personal information within the document properties.