For Editors

IMR Press is an academic publisher that advocates open access. We are committed to publishing high-quality, reliable research and ensuring that the latest research is freely accessible to all. Our mission is to make constructive contributions to authors, readers, libraries, and academia worldwide. We emphasize academic rigor while encouraging diverse perspectives and interdisciplinary research to foster academic development and innovation. 

All IMR Press journal papers are published as Open Access articles under the unrestrictive CC-BY license. There are, therefore no subscription charges and no charges to access, read, and download articles published in any IMR Press journals. This means that researchers, students, and interested lay people from anywhere in the world have rapid access to the latest research through IMR Press journals. Authors of accepted manuscripts are required to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC) to publish their research in IMR Press journals. APCs cover the cost of managing the peer review process, professional copy-editing, content management, and website maintenance. IMR Press also obtains funds from charitable donations, fund raising, and investment.

For authors, Open Access means that articles will have the greatest visibility, discoverability and influence.

Articles submitted to any IMR Press journal are subject to strict peer review. IMR Press operates double anonymized peer review (i.e., the authors do not know the reviewers’ identities, and the reviewers do not know the authors’ identities until the paper has been published). IMR Press uses an online submission & editorial system that incorporates online tools for manuscript submission, peer-review and editorial decision making. Reviewers and Academic Editors can complete the tasks assigned to them by logging onto the submission system. Authors can read the "Author Instructions" page on each IMR Press journal website to prepare and submit their manuscripts.

Once a manuscript is submitted, the submission will be first reviewed by the journal’s Editorial Office for compliance with provided guidelines for preparation of articles. Articles that do not comply with the guidelines will be sent back to the authors. Once a manuscript passes these initial checks, editors will subsequently coordinate the entire editorial process for the manuscript including overseeing peer review, decision making regarding suitability for publication, soliciting potential author revisions, manuscript acceptance, copyediting, proofreading, and final publication.

Authors may be asked for adequate revisions, with a second round of peer review if necessary, before a final decision regarding publication is made. Apart from exceptional circumstances, we allow a maximum of two rounds of major revision per manuscript. The final decision is made by an academic editor (usually the Editor-in-Chief/Editorial Board Member of a journal or the Guest Editor of a Special Issue).

IMR Press carries out production on all manuscripts, including copy editing, layout and conversion to XML. Language editing is carried out by professional English editing editors. We recommend authors use EJEAR's English editing service prior to publication or during revisions. If you have used an alternative service, please provide a copy certificate to the Editorial Office.

In IMR Press journals, Special Issue Guest Editors are required to have their name(s) included on manuscripts they have accepted for publication.

The Editor-in-Chief together with the editorial team strive to provide a better experience for authors and readers. The Editor-in-Chief will supervise operations and policies during the publication process.

The responsibilities of the EiC include but are not limited to the following:

• Defining the Aims and Scope of the Journal.
• Understanding journal’s editorial procedure and overviewing the editorial process.
• Attending meetings with the publisher or publication board to promote the journal.
• Maintaining connection to the Editorial Board and assisting the Editorial Office in the smooth management of the journal.
• Providing suggestions for editors when needed.

An Editorial Board Member will be responsible for:

• Working closely with the editors and other Editorial Board members to develop the Journal’s editorial vision, policy and practices.
• Providing expertise, advice, and assessment assistance to the Editors.
• Promoting the Journal to authors and readers, and soliciting or contribute high quality manuscripts each year.
• Assisting the Editors in identifying potential reviewers.

Pre-screening and making decisions on new submissions within their research expertise, suggesting whether they should be sent out for peer review.

The initial term for an Editorial Board membership is one year, which is renewable. An Editorial Board member may also step down from the position at any time if they become unavailable or no longer feel able to fulfill the role.

We appreciate collaborations with scholars all over the world. Special issues are normally edited by a Guest Editor who invites colleagues from the same research field to contribute an article on a topic within their area of expertise.

The responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:

• Working together with the Editorial Office to prepare a description and keywords for the special issue webpage. 
• Preparing an Editorial to open or close the special issue.
• Making decisions on the acceptance of manuscripts submitted to the special issue.
• The acceptance or rejection of Guest Editor's own papers will be decided by other Editor-in-Chief.

IMR Press requires that editorial staff or editors not be involved in processing their own academic work. The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the journal. In these cases, the peer-review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board. Submissions will be assigned to at least two reviewers. The submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process. Decisions will be made by other Editorial Board Members who do not have a conflict of interest with the author.

Guest Editors should not hold conflicts of interest with authors whose work they are assessing (e.g., from the same institution or collaborate closely). In this case, the Editor-in-Chief or a suitable Editorial Board member will make final acceptance decisions for submitted papers.

This section is required for all papers. If there are no interests to declare, please use the following wording: "Given his/her role as [Guest] Editor [in Chief], <NAME of Editor> had no involvement in the peer-review of this article and has no access to information regarding its peer-review. Full responsibility for the editorial process for this article was delegated to <NAME of delegated editor>".

Updated on 10 May 2021