AFTE Peer Review Process

AFTE Peer Review Process – August 2009

The AFTE Peer Review Process starts with the submission of an article to the Editor. After recording when the article was received, author’s name and title of the submission, the Editor assigns the article to a member of the Editorial Review Panel. An email is sent to both the author and the reviewer informing both of the assignment and how the two can contact each other.

Once in the reviewer’s hands, the article is reviewed for grammatical and technical correctness. Only major revisions are addressed with the author. Minor revisions include corrections to grammar or spelling and rewording for clarity.

If a reviewer accepts a manuscript with only minor revisions, it is returned to the Editor. The manuscript is then assigned to one of the Assistant Editors for a secondary review of grammar and technical content.

If the manuscript is approved by the Assistant Editor, it is returned to the Editor for formatting and publication.

Once the article has been electronically formatted, it is assembled in a journal with other approved articles. The assembled journal undergoes one last review by all three Assistant Editors and the Editor. Final corrections are made by the Editor and the journal is sent to the printer.

In most cases, if major revisions are required, the reviewer will contact the author and the two will attempt to rectify the problem. If the problem cannot be resolved between the two, the Editor is contacted and other members of the Editorial Review Panel may be contacted for suggestions on how to proceed. If the problem is resolved the article moves to an Assistant Editor for secondary review. If the problem cannot be resolved, the Editor informs the author via email that his/her submission has been rejected and if he/she would like to revise the article and resubmit, the article will be received as a new submission and will be subject to the same process. In most cases, the author will be supplied with a copy of the Editorial Panel’s critiques.

Upon secondary review by an Assistant Editor, if a major problem has been overlooked by the assigned reviewer during the preliminary review, the reviewer is notified and, in most cases, the author is contacted to try to resolve the problem. If the problem is resolved the article is returned to the Editor for formatting. If the problem cannot be resolved, the Assistant Editor informs the Editor and other members of the Editorial Review Panel may be contacted for suggestions on how to proceed. If the problem cannot be resolved, the Editor informs the author via email that his/her submission has been rejected and if he/she would like to revise the article and resubmit, the article will be received as a new submission and will be subject to the same process. In most cases, the author will be supplied with a copy of the Editorial Panel’s critiques.

In some cases, at either level of review, a manuscript may be deemed as needing too much revision of technical content and may be rejected. In these cases, there is no an attempt to resolve the problem with the author. The article is simply rejected and the author is sent an email. The author is informed that if he/she would like to revise the article and resubmit, the article will be received as a new submission and will be subject to the same process. In most cases, the author will be supplied with a copy of the Editorial Panel’s critiques.