Guidelines for Editors

Supporting editors with clear processes to ensure fair, efficient, and high-quality publication.

Editor-in-Chief

The EIC is expected to participate in defining and adjusting the journal’s evolving mission and to understand and adapt to the changing needs of the readership as a contributing member of ConductScience in Data Analytics Journal Board.

As the EIC, you’re expected to:

Suggest additional board members if necessary

At ConductScience Academic Publishing House, we already have a board of Associate and Assistant Editors. To make the editing process more efficient, you can invite associate editors of your choice, if needed. If you choose to Invite Associate editor, contact your Assistant editor that will proceed the Invitation process.

Associate editors should be experts in the field, (typically Associate Professor level and above, with an established publication record in internationally recognized journals) and their expertise should reflect the scope of your section.

Reviewing proposals for research topics

All Research Topic proposals made to your specialty will be sent to you for review. As the editor in chief, you will be able to:

Final authority on acceptances and rejections

As Editor in chief you hold the ultimate authority over what gets accepted or rejected for publication. Your decisions shape the publication’s identity and reputation, impacting both authors and readers. This role demands responsibility, fairness, and transparent communication with editorial board and authors.

Associate Editor

The primary role of associate editors is to manage and oversee the peer-review process of submitted manuscripts. Associate editors also have a role in shaping the direction of their section.

As an Associate Editor, you’ll be expected to:

Recommending reviewers

Reviewers form an essential part of our editorial board and serve as a trusted network of experts invited by our exciting board members and editorial teams. When recommending potential reviewers, aim for diversity in gender balance; geographical spread; foci of research, within the scope of the specialty.

Reviewers are established researchers or experts in the field:

Nominating or co-editing a research topic

Associate editors contribute to the development of the section by nominating and co-editing a Research Topic – a collection of peer-reviewed articles around an influential research theme of their choice. By inviting top authors to submit to your topic(s) and overseeing the peer-review process of contributing manuscripts, you will build strong foundations for growth and set the high-quality standards expected for the section.

Peer-review process

When submitting a manuscript, authors may select an associate editor from the board whom they believe to be well-suited to edit their manuscript. This “preferred editor” will be invited to oversee the peer-review process.

When you receive an invitation to edit, ask yourself the following questions:

This is how Editor's profile looks like, when you log to https://research.conductscience.com/

To add a short bio, photo, credentials, and more, you should click the “Edit” tab at the top right.

My Assignments

In your profile, click the “My Assignments” tab to view papers assigned to you. The “Review” section displays papers where you’ve been invited as a reviewer, while the “Editor” section shows papers where you’ve been assigned as an editor.

Manuscript

When you open an assigned paper, you can review it by clicking the “Manuscript” tab. You’ll also have options to withdraw from the assignment, initiate a transfer, reject any outstanding peer reviewers, and provide final validation after the peer review process.

Reviewers

At the bottom of the paper, you can view reviewer comments, check which reviewers have accepted the invitation, and confirm if their reviews are complete. Reviewers can also be invited, and additional authors can be added.

Editors and Authors

You can also view the assigned editors and the paper’s authors.

Editors Chat

Each assigned paper will include an editor’s chat, facilitating easy communication among all assigned editors.

Recommended to publish

Once reviewers complete their evaluations, they can recommend the manuscript for publication, helping the editor make the final decision. If the manuscript requires minor or major revisions, the editor will confirm the recommended changes, and an automated email will be sent to the authors.

Editors can also filter their assignments in the “My Assignments” tab by selecting the option to show those with “Recommendations to Publish” from reviewers.

Final manuscript version

When authors submit a revised version, it will appear as Version 2 of the manuscript. Reviewers can then re-evaluate it, and editors can review it for final validation.

Assistant Editor

Assistant editors play an important role in supporting our associate editors and enhancing the efficiency of the peer review process.

As an Assistant Editor, you’ll be expected to:

Disseminating calls for articles and gathering high impact science

This includes:

Strategies for dissemination

You’ll be in charge of:

Peer review coordination

You’ll be involved in coordinating the peer-review process, which includes:

Inviting reviewers

By inviting reviewers, you’ll help Assistant Editors in the peer review process.

Criteria for a suitable reviewer

No co-publications with an author of the submitted manuscript in the last 5 years

Not currently working at the same lab/institution

If you cannot find suitable reviewers, you may invite the author to suggest reviewers. Please ask the author to provide an institutional email address for the potential reviewer, check the potential reviewer’s expertise and credentials yourself, and ensure that there are no competing interests between the potential reviewer and the authors.

Assisting Associate Editors

While you may not have full editing responsibilities, you can still provide assistance with proofreading manuscripts for grammar, spelling, and formatting errors. Additionally, you can help ensure consistency in style and citation formatting.

Quality Control: Help with preliminary quality checks to identify any formatting or technical issues in the manuscripts before they are forwarded to Associate Editors for in-depth evaluation.

Manuscript Screening: Conduct initial screenings of submitted manuscripts to ensure they meet the journal’s basic requirements and standards before they proceed to peer review.

Communication: Serve as a point of contact between authors, reviewers, and Associate Editors, facilitating clear and timely communication throughout the editorial process.