Peer Review Policy and Editorial Procedures
The Blockchain and Cryptocurrency journal is a refereed journal. All research articles in this journal undergo rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and referring by 3-4 anonymous international, outside referees. The review process usually takes one month. The Editor reserves the right to request the author to make any necessary technical changes in the papers, or reject the paper submitted. A copy of the edited paper along with the first proofs will be sent to the author for proofreading. They should be corrected and returned to the Editor within a few weeks. Once the final version of the paper has been accepted, authors are requested not to make further changes to the text. Author will receive a copy of the issue of the journal containing their article in pdf format.
Editorial Procedures and Quality Control
Initial Checks
All submitted manuscripts received by the Editorial Office will be checked by a Managing Editor to determine whether it is properly prepared, is on topic of journal's scope and whether the manuscript follows the ethical policies of the journal. Manuscripts that do not fit the journals ethical policy and is out of topic will be rejected before peer-review. Manuscripts that are not properly prepared will be returned to the authors for revision and resubmission. After these checks, the Managing Editor will consult the journals’ Editor-in-Chief, Editors or Guest Editor (in the case of special journal issues) to determine whether the manuscript is scientifically sound. No judgment on the significance or potential impact of the work will be made at this stage. Reject decisions at this stage will be verified by the Editor-in-Chief.
Peer-Review
Once a manuscript passes the initial checks, it will be assigned to at least three or four independent experts for peer-review. A single-blind review is applied, where authors' identities are known to reviewers. Peer review comments are confidential and will only be disclosed with the express agreement of the reviewer. In the case of regular submissions, in-house assistant editors will invite experts, including recommendations by an academic editor. These experts include Editorial Board members and Guest Editors of the journal. In the case of a special issue, the Guest Editor will advise in the selection of reviewers. Potential reviewers suggested by the authors may also be considered. Reviewers should not have published with any of the co-authors during the past five years and should not currently work or collaborate with one of the institutes of the co-authors of the submitted manuscript.
Editorial Decision and Revision
During the peer review process, the reviewers must check the following:
Scope: Is the paper appropriate for the scope of this conference ?
Novelty: Is this original material distinct from previous publications ?
Validity: Is the study well designed and executed ?
Data: Are the data reported, analyzed, and interpreted correctly ?
Clarity: Are the ideas expressed clearly, concisely, and logically ?
Compliance: Are all ethical and publication requirements met ?
Advancement: Is this a significant contribution to the field ?
Based on the comments and advice of the peer-reviewers, an external editor – usually the Editor-in-Chief or a Guest Editor – will make a decision to accept, reject, or to ask authors to revise the manuscript. For Minor Revisions the authors will have a few weeks to resubmit their revised manuscript. For Major Revisions the authors will have one month to resubmit their revised manuscript. However, authors should contact the editorial office if extended revision time is anticipated.
Author Appeals
Authors may appeal a rejection by sending an e-mail to the Editorial Office of the journal. The appeal must provide a detailed justification, including point-by-point responses to the reviewers' and/or Editor's comments. The Managing Editor of the journal will forward the manuscript and relating information (including the identities of the referees) to an Editorial Board member who was not involved in the initial decision-making process. If no appropriate Editorial Board member is available, the editor will identify a suitable external scientist. The Editorial Board member will be asked to give an advisory recommendation on the manuscript and may recommend acceptance, further peer-review, or uphold the original rejection decision. A reject decision at this stage will be final and cannot be revoked. In the case of a special issue, the Managing Editor of the journal will forward the manuscript and relating information (including the identities of the referees) to the Editor-in-Chief who will be asked to give an advisory recommendation on the manuscript and may recommend acceptance, further peer-review, or uphold the original rejection decision. A reject decision at this stage will be final and cannot be revoked.
Production and Publication
Once accepted, the manuscript will undergo professional copy-editing, proofreading by the authors, final corrections, pagination, and, publication on the IFSA Publishing web site.
