01

The decision

After the review, the handling editor weighs the manuscript, the reviews, the answers of the authors, the ethical requirements, and the policies of the journal. The possible decisions are:

—  Accept

—  Minor revisions

—  Major revisions

—  Resubmit for review

—  Decline

Reviewers advise. The editor is not bound to follow a recommendation if the whole of the evidence points elsewhere. If the reviews differ sharply, a third reviewer may be invited, or another editor consulted, and the Editor-in-Chief then makes a reasoned final decision.

02

Revision

—  Minor revisions: 1 week. Major revisions: 3 weeks. One extension of up to 1 week may be requested.

—  Authors send the revised manuscript with a point-by-point response to each comment, and mark the changes.

—  Major revisions go back to the original reviewers, who have 10 days to re-review. Revision normally takes two rounds, but further rounds may be held.

03

Acceptance

A manuscript is accepted only when the editor has confirmed that the review, the ethics requirements, authorship, the disclosures, and the similarity check are complete. After acceptance, the manuscript goes to production and is published online with a DOI.

04

Timetable and records

The time limits are in the Peer Review Policy. Decision letters and the history of revisions are kept in the journal record.

05

If you disagree

See Editorial Appeals.

06

Related

Peer Review Policy  ·  Editorial Appeals  ·  Author Fees

07

Sources

This policy is based on the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):