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Editorial decisions
Decisions are based on feedback and assessment from members of the Journal editorial team and expert reviewers.
Our average time from submission to first decision for a reviewed paper is 42 days.
Time from acceptance to 'Earlyview' publication is 42 days.
Types of Decisions
Immediate Reject after pre-review screening
The aim of pre-review is to identify papers that have the potential to make novel, interesting and significant contributions of direct relevance to environmental management. We aim to aid authors by identifying papers that do not have the potential we are looking for, and by returning these papers as quickly as possible so that the publication process will not be delayed.Rejecting papers at pre-review that are unlikely to make it through the peer review process ultimately saves everyone time and reduces the burden on our referee community and editorial system.
After submission, all papers undergo a pre-review assessment by members of the editorial team based on the following criteria:
1. Does the paper fall within the broad remit of Journal of Applied Ecology in having an explicitly applied focus with clear application to the management of natural systems?
2. Does the paper contain sufficient ecological science for the Journal of Applied Ecology?
3. Is the scope of the paper broad rather than narrow with the potential to make a substantial advance in the development of applied ecology, and/or does it provide novel methodological insight?
4. Is the subject area covered by the paper topical and novel, and hence potentially of interest to a wide readership?
5. Are the design, methodology, data quality and analysis of a standard appropriate for peer review by the Journal?
6. Does the paper conform to Journal standards with respect to length, format and language?
About 40% of papers submitted to the journal will be rejected without review because they fail on one or more of these criteria. In some cases, authors will be invited to resubmit their paper once the problems have been addressed.
If a paper is not rejected at the pre-review stage it goes forward for peer-review. Typically, each paper is reviewed by two independent referees and an assessment is made by one of the journal’s associate editors. The final decision is taken by one of the senior editors based on the information gained through the peer review process.
Reject
Following peer review, the paper is judged not to be acceptable for publication in Journal of Applied Ecology and resubmission is not possible.
Resubmit
The submitted version of the paper is not acceptable and requires major revision but there is clear potential in the work and the journal is prepared to consider a new version. Authors are offered the opportunity to resubmit their paper as a new submission. Concerns will remain regarding the suitability of the paper for publication until the editors are convinced by the authors that their paper fits the scope and standards of the journal. The resubmitted manuscript will be returned to the original associate editor if at all possible. Resubmissions should be returned within 4 months of receiving our decision letter.
Revision
The paper requires changes before a final decision can be made. Authors are asked to modify their manuscript in light of comments received from referees and editors, and to submit a new version for consideration within 3 weeks of receiving the decision letter. A point-by-point explanation of how comments have been addressed must be supplied with the revised version of the paper. Revisions may undergo further peer review and papers may undergo more than one round of revision. If the authors do not revise their papers to the satisfaction of the editors the paper can still be declined from publication in the journal.
Provisional accept
The paper is acceptable for publication, subject to conditions that need to be addressed in producing a final version of the manuscript. These may include sub-editing changes and minor amendment to ensure the paper fully matches our criteria. At this stage we will request an exclusive licence to publish, supplementary material, colour artwork, and a lay summary for promotional purposes.
Final accept
After final checking in the editorial office, acceptance is confirmed and the paper is forwarded to the publishers for publication. Authors can track their papers through the different stages of final production via the publisher’s author services.
Appeals
If the authors of a paper disagree with some aspect of the assessment of their manuscript, they should write to the journal outlining their reasons for appealing the editors' decision. The editorial team will consider the appeal, reply to the authors and take any appropriate action. Note, however, that each submission is considered very carefully at the first assessment and decisions to reject a manuscript are not taken lightly.
