1. Editor-in-Chief/Co-editor-in-chief:

• Strategic Direction: The EIC guides the overall strategic direction of the journal. They participate in defining and adjusting the journal’s evolving mission and adapt to the changing needs of the readership.
• Editorial Policy: The EIC implements and applies the editorial policies of the journal. They have final responsibility for the journal’s content3.
• Editorial Board Management: The EIC is responsible for building an effective editorial board. They recruit members for any open position immediately. The editors for each journal serve staggered terms, independent of the editor-in-chief’s term.
• Manuscript Review Process: The EIC has broad oversight of the review process. They ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the author’s work during the peer review process.
• Publication Decisions: The EIC makes final decisions on the acceptability of manuscripts for publication. They take into account the Associate Editor’s and/or Review Board member’s recommendation.
• Journal Promotion: The EIC represents and actively promotes the journal amongst colleagues and at conferences in order to generate submissions to the journal.
• Quality Assurance: The EIC is responsible for the technical content, quality, and timeliness of the journal issues.
• Communication: The EIC ensures appropriate and timely communication is provided to authors.

2. Associate Editor:

• Editorial Decision Making: Associate Editors support the Editor-in-Chief in making well-informed decisions on each submitted article manuscript. They provide recommendations on the acceptance or rejection of articles.
• Manuscript Assessment: They are responsible for assessing the scope and quality of submitted manuscripts. They ensure that the manuscript falls within the journal’s scope and objectives.
• Peer Review Process: Associate Editors are involved in the peer review process. They work with the Managing Editor to ensure that manuscripts move through review and revision as efficiently as possible. They liaise with the journal Editor and the Managing Editor to identify suitable reviewers, obtain reviews, and make recommendations based on these reviews.
• Journal Management: Associate Editors help maintain and develop the journal’s profile and reputation. They ensure that the journal’s aims, scope, and content respond to any changes of direction in the field of study to incorporate newly emerging work.

3. Handling Editor:

• Manuscript Assessment: Handling Editors assess if the manuscript meets the submission guidelines of the journal, including formatting, length, and content requirements. They also ensure that all necessary sections such as abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion are included.
• Peer Review Process: Handling Editors manage the peer review process for individual manuscripts. This involves inviting reviewers, assessing their feedback, and making recommendations based on this feedback.
• Coordinating Editorial Activities: Handling Editors coordinate editorial activities, especially correspondence with authors and other editors. They also monitor the progress of the peer review process.
• Journal Management: Handling Editors are involved in managing staffing and scheduling for the journal. They also monitor the journal’s website.

4. Review Editor (Peer Reviewer):

• Review Editors are experts in their field who review submitted manuscripts.
• They provide detailed feedback and recommendations on the suitability of the manuscript for publication.
• They ensure the scientific validity and quality of the research presented in the manuscript.

The manuscript review process:

Manuscript Submission: The author is responsible for this step. They must ensure that their manuscript meets the submission guidelines of the journal, including formatting, length, and content requirements. They also need to include all necessary sections such as abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion.

Manuscript Assessment: The Handling Editor checks if the manuscript meets the submission guidelines of the journal, including formatting, length, and content requirements. They also ensure that all necessary sections such as abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion are included.

Initial Screening: The Editor-in-Chief/ Co-editor-in-chief conducts the initial screening and then assigns the manuscript to an associate editor to assess whether the manuscript meets the basic criteria for the journal, such as relevance to the journal’s scope, quality of writing, and originality of research. They also check for compliance with ethical guidelines.

Peer review: Manuscripts that meet initial criteria are assigned to multiple experts in the field for a thorough evaluation. JAPS Publications typically employs a double-blind review process, where both the reviewers and the authors remain anonymous to each other to prevent bias. Reviewers are selected based on their expertise, reputation, and previous experience in the manuscript’s subject area.

Review Reports: The peer reviewers are responsible for evaluating the manuscript and providing a detailed report with their feedback and recommendations. They assess the scientific validity, significance, and originality of the research. They also check the appropriateness of the methodology, the accuracy of the data analysis, and the clarity of the writing.

Editorial Decision: The associate editor considers the reviewers’ feedback and makes a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief. They may recommend acceptance, minor or major revisions, or rejection. The Editor-in-Chief then makes the final decision on the manuscript.

Revision: If the manuscript requires revisions, the author is responsible for addressing the reviewers’ comments and resubmitting the manuscript. They need to provide a detailed response to each comment, explaining how they have addressed it in the revised manuscript.

Acceptance or Rejection: The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision to accept or reject the manuscript based on the feedback from the Associate Editor and the peer reviewers. They communicate this decision to the author along with any additional feedback or instructions.

Production: Once a manuscript is accepted, the production team takes over. They are responsible for copyediting, typesetting, and proofreading the manuscript before it is published. They also coordinate with the author to address any final corrections or clarifications.