Peer Review

Peer Review Process

All submissions undergo a thorough peer-review process. The S&T Journal employs a double-blind review system, which keeps the authors' and reviewers' identities anonymous to ensure an objective evaluation of the paper.   The Peer Review process will take about two to three months from submission to a final decision. The editorial board's initial decision on whether the article will proceed to peer review will be made within 10 days of submission. 

Initial Editorial Screening

Initial screening of all submissions will be conducted by the editor-in-chief and managing editor to assess relevance to the journal’s aims and scope, overall quality, compliance with formatting guidelines, and plagiarism using similarity-detection software.

Assigning Associate Editor

The Editor-in-Chief assigns the manuscript to an Associate Editor who has expertise in the subject. The Associate Editor checks that the manuscript is properly anonymized and ready for peer review. They are responsible for managing the manuscript throughout the review process.

Selection and Invitation of Reviewers

The Associate Editor selects and invites two to three qualified experts to review the manuscript. These reviewers must have relevant expertise and no conflicts of interest with the authors or their institutions. Invitations include information about the manuscript’s abstract, the expected review timeline, and confidentiality requirements. Once reviewers accept the invitation, they gain access to the anonymized manuscript.

Conduct of Double-Blind Review

Selected reviewers evaluate the manuscript without knowing the authors’ identities. They are given 10 days to thoroughly assess the study’s originality, importance, theoretical basis, methodology, results, and clarity of writing using the S&T Journal’s Reviewer’s Guide.  They recommend one of the following decisions: accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject.

Editorial Decision and Feedback to Authors

Based on the reviewers’ assessments, the Associate Editor consolidates the feedback and makes an initial decision. When comments are contradictory, the editor-in-chief may intervene.  A third referee may be invited if the editor-in-chief cannot reach a decision.

The decision along with anonymized reviewer comments, is sent to the corresponding author.  The authors are given at most 10 days to address the comments and return the revised article to the editorial board.

Revision and Resubmission by Authors

Authors revise their manuscript based on reviewers’ comments and submit a revised version along with the Author’s Response/Action Form. The form addresses each point raised, explaining the changes made or providing a rationale for any suggestions not followed. The revised manuscript must remain anonymous.

For a paper to be published in a specific issue of the S&T Journal, it must be unanimously assessed as requiring at least minor revisions and generally recommended as ready for publication. Otherwise, a paper not yet ready for publication could be thoroughly revised for further refereeing and possible inclusion in the upcoming issue or next volume of the journal, or may be finally rejected.

Final Decision

Once the article revision is complete, the Associate Editor, in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief, makes the final decision.  The handling Associate Editor informs the authors of the decision of acceptance or rejection of the article for publication.  Notice of acceptance will include information on which issue the article will be slated for.

Publication of Accepted Articles

All articles accepted for publication and slated for a specific issue will be forwarded to the managing editor, who will oversee the proofreading, formatting, and layout, and upload to the webpage by the editorial support staff.