The editorial workflow is an integral part of maintaining the standards and integrity for any well-known journal. The editorial process at ICPK follows that of top-notch academic publications, ensuring that every piece of research published by us is of extremely high quality. Let’s walk through the detailed steps of our editorial workflow, inspired by leading journals such as Nature, Science, and The Lancet, for a complete understanding of our rigorous process.
Table of Content
Introduction
Submission
Initial Screening
Editorial Assessment
Peer Review
Decision
Revisions
Copyediting
Proofing
Publication
Introduction
The editorial workflow of a journal is a complex process intended to maintain the quality and integrity of the research published. It involves a number of well-planned steps, each serving to refine the manuscript to the standards of the journal1. This will be important to any researcher who wants to publish his or her work, as it shows what actually happens behind the scenes once a manuscript has been submitted. This article explains in detail the steps followed in ICPK’s editorial workflow, from submission to publication, outlining the major roles and processes involved.
1. Submission
The journey begins at manuscript submission via our sleek, online submission system. Authors would do well to have a few pieces of information ready to go: title, abstract, keywords, and references. To make life easier, we’ve created formatting and document guidelines. These set up the manuscript with everything it needs to advance and seamlessly flow into the subsequent stages of the editorial process.
2. Initial Screening
First, a submitted manuscript will be processed by the editorial office, where initial screening is conducted. This is mainly to ensure that the submission is complete and follows our guidelines. We check for formatting, adherence to ethical standards, and relevance to the journal scope. Manuscripts meeting such criteria would proceed to the next step of editorial assessment, while others are returned to authors for necessary adjustments with detailed feedback.
3. Editorial Evaluation
The chief editor or associate editors conduct an editorial assessment of the manuscript during this stage, to decide whether it is suitable for peer review. This is primarily based on originality, importance, and relevance to the journal’s scope. The editors may also take into consideration the probable impact of the manuscript on the field and what value addition it would be to the literature. The promising manuscripts undergo peer reviewing, whereas others are either rejected or returned to authors for major revisions.
4. Peer Review
Peer reviewing is considered one of the critical components in the academic publishing process. Only quality research should be published. ICPK uses the double-blind peer review system where reviewers and authors are anonymous to each other. This system ensures that the integrity and fairness of peer review are maintained. These expert reviewers will be selected based on the expertise and experience related to the subject matter of manuscript1. They evaluate the manuscript methodology, data analysis, and results, stating conclusions, with constructive criticism and recommendations.
Reviewers advise the acceptance, rejection, or revision of the manuscript. Reviewers’ comments are very helpful to the authors to comprehend how they can improve their work and eliminate deficiencies. A process like this guarantees the quality and reliability of research published.
5. Decision
The editor will decide based on the reviewers’ responses. The possible decisions include three options: acceptance, rejection, or revisions. Accepted manuscripts are those that meet the standards of the journal and do not require any modification. Rejected manuscripts are those that are not up to the minimum criteria and are returned to the authors with detailed remarks. In cases of manuscripts requiring revision, authors are allowed to revise and resubmit their manuscript in consideration of the comments made by the reviewers.
6. Revisions
Revision is a very significant stage that polishes the manuscript for the raised issues in view of the peer review process. It is expected of authors to take note of the reviewers’ comments with care and make changes to their works accordingly. This can be re-structuring in the manuscript, improving arguments, or adding more data and analysis. Authors are also called to provide a point-by-point response to the reviewers, by explaining how they dealt with every comment. All these steps may be reiterated multiple times until the manuscript finally meets the journal’s requirements and is ready to be printed.
7. Copyediting
Once a manuscript has been accepted, it goes to the copyediting stage where there are checks for clarity, accuracy, and consistency. During this stage, the editors look out for grammatical errors, formatting, as well as adherence to style guides. The editors copy editors check to ensure that references are properly cited and that there is no factual inaccuracy. In short, this helps in presenting the research effectively, in a very lucid and professional way that many people can read through.
8. Proofing
At this stage, authors go through the final proofs of the manuscript before publication. This is the last stage where authors can identify errors and make small corrections. Authors will be given a proof copy to which they can mark all the changes. This rigorous review ensures that the manuscript, when published, is polished and free from errors.
9. Publication
The last step in the editorial workflow is the publication of the manuscript. Accepted and proofread manuscripts are prepared for publication in the journal. A DOI is assigned as the manuscripts are made available online and in print. ICPK strives to have timely publications to ensure worthy research reaches the academic community in no time. Once an article has been published, it remains in the journal’s repository and can be read by researchers and readers globally.
Conclusion
The editorial workflow of ICPK is a quite strict and meticulous process for keeping the highest standards in academic publishing. Each step in the process, from submitting the manuscript to its publication, is well-monitored to guarantee the quality, reliability, and impact of the research published. This helps the authors go through the publication process with confidence, knowing full well that their work will be assessed and refined to meet the highest standards. Our goal at ICPK is to inspire knowledge and promote innovation, and this has been reflected in our editorial process.