Peer-review and Selection of Manuscripts
Peer-review is an integral and important part of the scientific publishing process at the Riga Technical University Liepaja Academy. An internationally recognised peer-review process is applied to the Journal "Scriptus Manet". The peer-review process is carried out in accordance with COPE (Committee of Publication Ethics) guidelines (available at: Ethical guidelines for peer reviewers).
Manuscripts submitted to the Journal are reviewed to ensure scientific publishing standards, promote quality research in the social sciences and humanities, and offer authors constructive feedback on articles they have submitted. Manuscripts are sent out for reviewing electronically and all correspondence is by e-mail.
The articles published in the Journal "Scriptus Manet" are double-blind peer-reviewed: authors are anonymous to reviewers and vice versa. Reviewers possess expertise in the relevant field, and are not affiliated with the Journal's editorial team. The Journal endeavours that the topics covered in the submitted manuscript correspond to the scientific specialization of at least one reviewer. The peer-reviewers are asked to give their opinion on the quality and suitability of the manuscript and to judge its originality and importance. The Journal provides constructive feedback to authors.
The reviewers are invited to take the following aspects into account during their evaluation:
- Does the research have clear aims and tasks/research questions that fit within the Journal’s thematic area?
- Does the research contribute to the development of social sciences and humanities?
- Is the methodology (including ethical considerations, if necessary) reasonable, clear, and appropriate?
- Does the text have a clear layout and logical argumentation?
- Is there adequate discussion and conclusions?
- Are there appropriate references to the literature and bibliography?
- Is the research presented in a way that is appropriate for The Journal’s target audience?
The reviewers can choose one of three options when evaluating any article:
- Accept the manuscript for publication (i.e., no corrections are needed).
- Revise the manuscript and resubmit (resulting in final acceptance, rejection, or manuscript re-review).
- Rejection of manuscript (i.e., manuscript not sufficiently revised for publication).
The editor considers the reviewer’s comments and recommendations in making the decision. However, the final responsibility for accepting or rejecting a manuscript rest with the editor. Furthermore, the editor may not accept the article prior to peer-review if it is considered inappropriate for The Journal’s subject area, or if it is not sufficiently prepared for publication. The editor will not accept multiple publications by the same author or reprints from other scientific journals. In order to ensure timely publication, reviewers are given three weeks to review a manuscript, and the prospective author(s) no more than six weeks to complete the article.
