IntechOpen Limited

The Peer Review Process at IntechOpen

Edited Volumes At IntechOpen, the book catalog (topics) is first developed by IntechOpen’s Senior Content Specialists - STM (Internal Staff). Afterward, Commissioning Editors (Internal Staff) contact recognized experts in their respective fields and invite them to become Academic Editors (External Editors) for each planned book. Once the Academic Editor (External Editor) has been appointed after being carefully selected by the Commissioning Editor (Internal Staff) and the concept for the book is finalized (working title, scope, topics, keywords), the book is open for submissions. Book chapter manuscripts are submitted as contributions to edited volumes. At this stage the manuscript submission and processing are supported by a Manuscript Tracking System and the handling of the publishing process is managed by Publishing Process Managers (Internal Handling Editor), whose responsibilities include monitoring and facilitating all publishing activities for Authors, Academic Editors, Co-Editors, reviewers and production specialists. Publishing Process Managers (Internal Handling Editors) ensure a simple and efficient process throughout every step of the publishing journey, from chapter submission to its publication. Publishing Process Managers (Internal Handling Editors) do not interfere with Academic Editors’ (External Editors’) decision-making processes and the review process is carried out independently.

Book chapter manuscripts go through a two-step review process: chapter proposal review and full chapter review.

Prior to submitting a full chapter, Prospective Authors are first asked to submit a chapter proposal in the form of an abstract which is then assessed by the Academic Editor (External Editor) for its suitability in terms of the overall scope and direction of the book.

Chapter proposals should contain a tentative title, keywords, a short topic description of the proposed chapter (100 - 150 words), and the names of all contributing authors and their corresponding affiliations. At this point, the submitted chapter proposal will be either rejected (not scientifically sound or out of scope) or deemed suitable for inclusion by the Academic Editor (External Editor). If a chapter proposal is deemed suitable by the Academic Editor (External Editor), the Authors are informed by the Publishing Process Managers (Internal Handling Editor) to submit a fully drafted manuscript.

Once the full chapter manuscript is submitted, it is automatically subjected to a plagiarism check via Ithenticate and AI detection tools, prior to being passed to the Academic Editor (External Editor) who performs the peer review.

The peer review outcomes can be: accept, revision required (minor or major), and reject. All decisions are carried out by the Academic Editor(s) (External Editor) independently. The publisher does not influence the decisions carried out by the Academic Editors, be that rejection or the acceptance of the manuscripts.

During the review process, the Academic Editor(s) (External Editor) can suggest rounds of revision and authors work on improving their chapters. Resubmitted manuscripts are also automatically subjected to a plagiarism check via Ithenticate and AI detection tools prior to being submitted to the Academic Editor (External Editor) for another round of review.

Once the peer review has been completed, the Academic Editor (External Editor) communicates (via Manuscript Tracking System) their decision to the Publishing Process Manager (Internal Handling Editor), who then informs the Authors of their decision.

Should the Academic Editor (External Editor) wish to contribute a chapter, the double anonymised peer review process is arranged by the Publishing Process Manager (Internal Handling Editor). The reviewers are carefully selected and checked against any connection with the Academic Editor, to avoid professional or personal conflict of interest. The invitations are coordinated by the Publishing Process Manager (Internal Handling Editor) and the external reviewer performs the review autonomously. The result is a fully peer-reviewed book.

In case the Academic Editor (External Editor) considers that the content of the book needs an introduction in a form of a chapter that would cohesively recapitulate the subject of the book, they can submit an introductory chapter. Introductory chapters are written by the Academic Editors and are equivalent to editorial articles in journals. They serve as an introductory editorial to the Edited Volume and are not peer reviewed.

The peer review process, at any stage, must be kept confidential by the Academic Editor. They should not disclose any information about the manuscript to anyone outside the peer review process.

All chapters that successfully pass the peer review process and are accepted for publication are published individually via Online First ahead of the book publication. Once all chapters selected for inclusion in the book publication have gone through the copyediting, typesetting, proofing (and potentially appearing as Online First - if finished before the finalisation of the entire publication), the book is ready to be published as a whole.

The Chapter Processing Charge (CPC) is applied only to those chapters that are accepted following the peer review process and does not influence the editorial decisions.

The independently appointed Academic Editor (External Editor) manages the peer review and decision-making process and warrants the quality of the review. The Publishing Process Manager (Internal Handling Editor) is responsible for the coordination of the publishing process and is not involved in the (peer review) decision process. IntechOpen’s Author Acquisition Managers, supported by the Senior Content Specialists - STM (Internal Staff), following the concept development of the book performed by the Academic Editor (External Editor), are in charge of author acquisition. As a result, author acquisition and manuscript review are completely independent and unassociated. This distinction between Internal Staff/Internal Handling Editor and External Editor roles ensures a fully robust and objective peer review process.

IntechOpen Book Series Edited Volumes that are part of the IntechOpen Book Series go through the identical process described above. The only exception to this policy are the Annual Volumes. Annual Volumes are part of the series and cover the latest developments and research trends pertaining to a series’ subject. They are continuously open for submissions, without a closing deadline. The Academic Editors (External Editors) of such titles retain their autonomy throughout all publishing process steps and decision-making. The only difference is that the authors are not required to submit their proposal before proceeding to the full chapter submission.

Monographs Monographs (long form and short form Compacts) are subjected to a single blind peer review to ensure ethical and publishing standards compliance. This is a two-steps process:

• The proposal and the full manuscript, in case of a favourable review outcome for the proposal, are submitted to a plagiarism and AI detection tools by the Publishing Process Manager (Internal Handling Editor), prior to peer review.
• The Publishing Process Manager (Internal Handling Editor) selects independent external reviewers for monographs who volunteer their time and expertise to review the proposal and the final manuscript under a single blind peer review. Please note that the Chapter Processing Charge is payable only after the manuscript has been accepted by the Internal Handling Editor following the peer review results.

Additional information about peer review at IntechOpen is available at https://www.intechopen.com/peer-reviewing.