Third-Party Submissions & Submission Limits

Submissions must come from the authors

A manuscript must be submitted by one of its authors, who is the corresponding author. Submission by an agency, a consultant or another third party on behalf of the authors is not accepted, because the journal must be able to communicate with the authors and to be sure that all of them agree to the submission.

Writing and editing help

Authors may use professional language editing or writing help. The help must be stated in the Acknowledgements and in the cover letter. The person who helped is not listed as an author unless the authorship criteria are met.

Manipulation of the process

The journal rejects manuscripts where it suspects a paper mill, fabricated author identities or addresses, fake reviewer details, or other systematic manipulation of peer review or publication. The editors may apply this policy at any stage.

Submission limits

To keep the review process fair, the editorial office may limit the number of manuscripts from the same author or group that are considered at one time, normally to five within two years. Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that fit the scope are reviewed.