Publishing Process
Manuscripts submissions are received and internally organised.
Received manuscripts are submitted to Turnitin for a similarity check.
Manuscripts are desk read by an Editor-in-Chief.
Manuscripts that pass the desk read are assigned to a Managing Editor and advanced to content verification.
- Manuscripts may be rejected on submission when manuscripts are outside the scope of the journal, have severe issues with language, are insufficiently original, or are factually or scientifically flawed.
Manuscripts that pass content verification are sent into the double-blind peer review process.
After peer review, all manuscripts are returned to authors.
- For manuscripts that are rejected, the process ends.
- For manuscripts that are rejected but offered the opportunity to resubmit, the process for the current issue has ended, but authors are welcome to consult the corresponding Editor-in-Chief for continued support in the revamping of their article.
- Revisions of accepted manuscripts are due back to the Managing Editor by the agreed upon date.
After accepted manuscripts are amended by the author, the Managing Editor conducts a second round of content verification. Author must approve or amend edits.
- In the case of major revisions, amended manuscripts may be reverted back to the original reviewers for a second opinion on the same article or a new reviewer may be invited.
Next is language editing. Author must approve or amend.
Next is technical editing. Author must approve or amend.
Next is the print file. Author must approve or request changes.
- Changes to the formatting of the print file are always attempted but may not be feasible based on the function of the necessary upload template.
Once the article is live on the website, it is considered published. Though minor edits are allowed until the official issue published date of either June 30th or December 31st.
Peer Review Information
The peer review process helps ensure the highest possible standard for published material.
The Journal on Baltic Security uses a pre-publication double blind peer review that keeps both the author(s) and the reviewer(s) anonymous.
All manuscripts sent to peer review receive a minimum of two reviews from experts in their field.
- If a review does not meet the content and/or ethical standards required by the Journal on Baltic Security, the Managing Editor should refer it to the Editors-in-Chief. The review can be discarded at the discretion of the Editors-in-Chief.
- In the rare instance that two expert reviewers cannot be sourced in a timely manner, or in a scenario where one of the returned expert peer reviews is of poor quality, one of the Editors-in-Chief will conduct a named peer review to supplement the blind peer reviews.
Peer Review Outcomes
There are five potential outcomes of the peer review process:
- Accepted outright
- Accepted with minor revisions
- Acceptance with major revisions
- Rejected with the option to resubmit
- Rejected outright
If the two reviews present drastically differing opinions, the Managing Editor and an Editor-in-Chief will assess the reasons of dissenting reviews. Reviewers will be asked for clarifications to their reasoning. If the issue cannot be resolved in this manner, the Managing Editor can ask for supplementary reviews.
All interaction between the reviewer and the author(s) is facilitated by the Managing Editor. Peer reviews are never published.
Interested in Becoming a Peer Reviewer?
Peer reviewing is critical to maintaining the highest academic standards. If you are interested in more experience in the publishing world and bolstering your academic CV, we would love to hear from you!
Please contact us at journal@baltdefcol.org with a short introduction of yourself and your areas of interest.