Editorial process

Updated: August 2013

After you submit your article online, you will receive:

1. An automatic e-mail acknowledgment that your electronic submission has been received. The file will be inspected to make sure it is readable before it is assigned for further review.
2. A second e-mail confirmation after the IJCB staff has verified that your uploaded paper is readable and manuscript assigned to a co-editor who will be in charge of making the decision to publish. At that time your manuscript will be assigned a manuscript ID number, which you can refer to in subsequent correspondence with the journal regarding your submission. You also will be given information on how you can check the status of your submission.

In addition to the co-editor, referees may be assigned to review and comment on your submission. Normally you should expect to wait about eight weeks before referees have returned reports and a decision can be made.

The co-editor will contact you via e-mail with the decision to accept, decline, or return the manuscript for revision. Copies of the referee report(s) will be forwarded with the decision letter.

Quick-Screen Procedure: In the interest of avoiding unnecessary editorial delays and conserving reviewing resources, the IJCB will retain the option, within one month of submission, of determining that a manuscript is unlikely to be appropriate for the journal, without sending it to other referees. "Appropriateness" may reflect the fit of the manuscript with the journal's objectives, the Editors' assessment of quality or originality, or other factors. The decision to reject under the quick-screen procedure cannot be appealed.