Peer Review Policy

The peer review process is to ensure that only good articles are published. Our reviewers are given the important task to maintain good quality of the articles published in the Journal of Special Needs Education and all manuscripts are peer reviewed following the procedure outlined below.

Preliminary Evaluation

The Editors first evaluate all manuscripts. Those rejected at this stage are insufficiently original, have serious scientific flaws, have poor grammar or English language, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal. Those that meet the minimum criteria are passed on to experts for review. Authors of manuscripts rejected at this stage will be informed within 2 weeks of receipt.

Reviewer Selection

Reviewers are matched to the paper according to their expertise. Our reviewer database contains reviewer contact details together with their subject areas of interest, and this is constantly being updated.

Reviewer reports

Reviewers are asked to evaluate the manuscript anonymously by ensuring the article is original with proper references and indication of appropriate review, methods as well as reporting of results. 

Final report

A final decision to accept or reject the manuscript will be sent to the author along with any recommendations made by the reviewers, and may include verbatim comments by the reviewers.

Duration of Peer Review Process

Typically the manuscript will be reviewed within 3-8 weeks. Should the reviewers’ reports contradict one another or a report is unnecessarily delayed a further expert opinion will be sought. Revised manuscripts are usually returned to the Editors within 3 to 4 weeks and the Editors may request further advice from the reviewers at this time. The Editors may request more than one revision of a manuscript.

Editor’s Decision is final

Reviewers advise the Editors, who are responsible for the final decision to accept or reject the article.