Papers submitted for publication are entered into a double-anonymous peer review system and generally read by expert reviewers (known as referees). Peer review is designed to assess the validity, quality and the originality of articles for publication. Its ultimate purpose is to maintain the integrity of science by excluding invalid or poor-quality articles.
To see the duties of referees, please refer to the section 'Duties of Referees' within the Code of conduct of RicercAzione.
An expert in the article’s research field can become a referee and is invited to sign up on the website to become referees of the journal.
After the registration process is completed, go to your profile settings, and select the “Reviewer” item in the “Roles” section, then indicate in the specific field your reviewing interests.
Personal data is stored in accordance with our privacy statement.
Reviewers’ names are indicated in the last issue of the current year (without specification of the issue and the related article) as an acknowledgement of their contribution and as evidence of the review process adopted.
Referees should refer to the journal’s editorial standards and fill out the “Peer-review form” that contains all the main points on which the referees evaluation is required.
Referees should evaluate the contribution both in quantitative (rated on a scale of 1-4) and qualitative (global synthesis evaluation) terms.
Referees can also provide advice to the authors to improve their contributions by filling out the “Indications and suggestions for the authors” section.
Referees may submit comments to the editors to highlight any ethical issues raised by the contribution or to report issues such as suspected plagiarism or significant overlap with other works previously published by the same author. Comments remain confidential between referees and editors and are not accessible to the authors at any time.
Referees’ recommendations on the contribution should never be addressed to the author, as they could be in disagreement with the final decision of the editors resulting in uncertainty for the author.
Editor receive from referees the following evaluations about the contribution:
- the contribution is eligible to be published;
- the contribution is eligible to be published provided recommended changes have been carried out;
- the contribution is not eligible to be published.
Referee is required to fill out the peer review form, section ”Indication regarding the acceptance of a submitted contribution” outlining what changes are necessary to make the contribution eligible to be published.
The referee's opinion is advisory. Editors, while taking into account the referees’ opinion, may decide to publish the contribution independently of the referee's advice.
Editors may contact other referees before the final assessment of the contribution, if the revisions are divergent or if one or more reports are biased.
The filled-out forms are forwarded to the authors by the editors. The identities of the referees are not disclosed.
The author revises his/her contribution according to the referees’ suggestions or refutes any comment he/she disagrees with.
When many changes are recommended by the referees, editors may require a second round of referring. When the changes suggested are minor, editors manage the review’s follow up and the final check of the contribution.
Editors set up the layout of the contribution’s revised version to send it to the graphic designer.