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JOURNAL OF PROCESS CONTROL

A journal of IFAC, the International Federation of Automatic Control

Peer Review Policy for Journal of Process Control



The practice of peer review is to ensure that good science and engineering is published. It is an objective process at the heart of good scholarly publishing and is carried out on all reputable scientific journals. Our referees therefore play a vital role in maintaining the high standards of the Journal of Process Control and all manuscripts are peer reviewed following the procedure outlined below.

Special issues and/or conference proceedings may have different peer review procedures involving, for example, Guest Editors, conference organisers or scientific committees. Authors contributing to these projects may receive full details of the peer review process on request from the editorial office.

Initial manuscript evaluation
The Editor first evaluates all manuscripts. It is rare, but it is entirely feasible for an exceptional manuscript to be accepted at this stage. Those rejected at this stage are insufficiently original, have serious scientific flaws, have poor grammar or English language, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal. Those that meet the minimum criteria are passed on to at least two experts for review.

Authors of manuscripts rejected at this stage will be informed within three weeks of receipt.

Type of Peer Review
This journal employs single blind review, where the referee remains anonymous throughout the process.

How the referee is selected
Referees are matched to the paper according to their expertise. Our database is constantly being updated. We welcome suggestions for referees from the author though these recommendations may or may not be used.

Referee reports
Referees are asked to evaluate whether the manuscript:
• Is original
• Is methodologically sound
• Follows appropriate ethical guidelines
• Has results which are clearly presented and support the conclusions
• Correctly references previous relevant work

Referees are not expected to correct or copyedit manuscripts. Language correction is not part of the peer review process.

How long does the review process take?
Typically the manuscript will be reviewed within two months. Should the referees' reports contradict one another or a report is unnecessarily delayed a further expert opinion will be sought. Authors of paper requiring revision will be asked submit the revised paper within two months. If the revision requires additional review, this will usually be done by the original reviewers and should be completed within two months. Referees may request more than one revision of a manuscript.

Final report
A final decision to accept or reject the manuscript will be sent to the author along with any recommendations made by the referees, and may include verbatim comments by the referees.

Editor's Decision is final
Referees advise the editor, who is responsible for the final decision to accept or reject the article.

Becoming a Referee for the Journal of Process Control
If you are not currently a referee for the Journal of Process Control but would like to be added to the list of referees for this title, please contact the appropriate Regional Editor. The benefits of refereeing for the Journal of Process Control include the opportunity to see and evaluate the latest work in your research area at an early stage. You may also be able to cite your work for the Journal of Process Control as part of your professional development requirements for various Professional Societies and Organisations.

Journal of Process Control