The publication process begins once documents required by the journal are submitted (Title page, Manuscript, Figures, Supplementary files, etc). Good journals often use portals like ‘ScholarOne’ for submission and to keep authors informed.
The first level of screening usually verifies that the submission is complete and correctly formatted, including required files, author information, ethics statements, disclosures, and reference/style compliance. Many journals also run a plagiarism check. If a paper fails, it is returned for correction.
An editor checks whether the paper fits the journal’s scope and basic quality standards; unsuitable papers are rejected quickly, especially in high impact-factor journals. Reaching this stage can take as less as a few days or as high as a month.
Depending on manuscript topic and methods, the editor invites two or more experts to evaluate the manuscript for originality, methods, clarity, and significance. Peer-reviewers are given (on average) a month to submit their decision, and comments.
Editors invite experts, who can decline (1-2 weeks). If they decline, editors mail other experts. These experts can also request extra weeks in reviewing. Hence, this is the most time-consuming steps (2-4 months for psychology journals).
Depending on what all peer-reviewers have stated, the editor reaches a decision on the manuscript: accept, request minor revisions, request major revisions, or reject the paper.
Even if a rejection comes after peer-review, it is important to consider peer-reviewers’ comments as they can help improve manuscript quality.
In case of revisions, journals usually provide a month’s time, although some journals give 15-20 days for minor revision. Authors respond to reviewer comments, revise the paper, and often submit a detailed response-to-reviewer letter.
After acceptance, the paper moves to copyediting, typesetting, and proofing. Authors are asked to carefully read the manuscript and author details for any last changes to errors and spelling. This is the final opportunity to make changes.
At the publication stage, many journals post an article as Online First, so it becomes immediately available to read before it is assigned to a volume or issue. In this stage, the article is already citable with a DOI. When the issue is finalized, the same article is placed into that issue (the DOI remains the same)
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