Peer review and editorial policy

The journal follows the Springer Nature Peer Review Policy, Process and Guidance, Springer Nature Journal Editors' Code of Conduct, Springer Nature Editorial Policies, and COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer-reviewers.

Before a peer review, articles are checked for compliance with formal criteria and the submission guidelines. Each manuscript is assigned to at least one peer reviewer. The journal follows a single-blind reviewing procedure. The average period from submission to the first decision is 40 days. The approximate rejection rate is 12%. The final decision on the acceptance of a manuscript for publication is made by the meeting of Editorial Board members.

If editorial board members submit manuscripts to the journal, they do not participate in the decision-making process on their submissions. The Editor-in-Chief does not submit manuscripts to the journal.

Special issues published in the journal follow the same procedures as all other issues. If not stated otherwise, special issues are prepared by the members of the editorial board without guest editors.