Peer Review Process

Editorial and Peer Review Process

SCRIPTed publishes Articles, Analysis Pieces, Case/Legislation Comments, Book Reviews, and Conference Reports. All submissions are subject to editorial assessment and, where appropriate, peer review.

Initial Editorial Assessment

All submissions are first considered by the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor to determine whether they fall within the journal's scope and are suitable for further consideration. Submissions may be declined at this stage where they are clearly outside the journal's remit or do not meet the minimum standards expected for publication.

Peer Review

Where a submission proceeds to review, the process will depend on the type of contribution:

  • Articles and Analysis Pieces are assigned to an Assistant Editor and normally undergo double-blind peer review by two independent experts in the relevant field.

  • Case/Legislation Comments are assigned to an Assistant Editor and normally undergo review by one independent expert.

  • Book Reviews and Conference Reports are assessed by the Editor-in-Chief and/or Managing Editor and are not ordinarily subject to external peer review.

Reviewers are invited to assess submissions on the basis of their quality, originality, contribution to the field, clarity of presentation, engagement with relevant literature and sources, and, where relevant, their interdisciplinary contribution.

Following review, a submission may be:

  • accepted for publication;

  • accepted subject to minor revisions;

  • accepted subject to major revisions; or

  • declined.

Revisions

Authors receiving a request for revisions will be provided with anonymised reviewer comments and any editorial observations through the journal platform. Authors are expected to address these comments carefully and, when submitting a revised version, to explain how the points raised during review have been addressed.

Revised manuscripts may be assessed by the editorial team and, where appropriate, returned to one or more reviewers for further consideration before a final decision is made.

Copyediting and Production

Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, it enters the copyediting stage. Authors remain responsible for ensuring that their submission complies with the SCRIPTed House Style, including the journal's Format and Style Guidelines and citation requirements.

The editorial team may make amendments necessary to ensure consistency, clarity, accuracy, and compliance with the journal's stylistic conventions. This may include corrections relating to grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting, style, and citation presentation. Substantive editorial changes will normally be returned to the author for approval.

Following author approval of the copyedited manuscript, the text will be treated as final and prepared for publication. At this stage, further amendments should only be requested in exceptional circumstances.