Appealing against a rejection from our journals

You have the right to appeal against a rejection from our journals. An appeal is an extension of the peer review process and the same ethical standards apply, so you should not submit an appeal whilst your article is under consideration by another publication. Please see our ethical policy for journals for further information.

To lodge an appeal you should contact the journal e-mail address, outlining your case for reconsideration. To be considered, appeals must directly address the reason(s) given for the initial rejection decision. If reviewer reports were included with the decision letter, then these criticisms must be responded to in the appeal. Appeals that do not address reviewers’ criticisms, are dismissive of the reviewer comments, or contain offensive language will not be considered.

Appeals that meet the requirements above are sent to a member of the journal’s Editorial Board for consideration. If successful, an appeal can lead to the article’s re-entering the peer review process. The article may ultimately be published following any revisions deemed necessary by the Editorial Board. You should not submit a revised version of your article until the appeal process is complete. If the appeal is rejected, then the original rejection decision is upheld and no further consideration of that article is possible.

Please note, we must receive your appeal within four weeks of the original decision, otherwise we are unable to consider it.