Principles behind reviewing manuscripts submitted for publication in „Opolskie Studia Administracyjno-Prawne” (OSAP)

The procedures and principles of reviewing comply with the recommendations of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education as presented in the document entitled “Good practices in reviewing procedures  in science”[1].

• Submission of a manuscript for publication is tantamount to the author’s (authors’) consent for the work to be subject to the procedure and principles of reviewing.

• The manuscripts which are sent in and which are thematically in line with the journal’s profile, as well as satisfy the formal requirements (see: Instruction for authors) are initially accepted by the Editorial Board and then sent to two independent external Referees who are recognized specialists in the given domain.

• The Referees are selected by the Board, with particular taking account of the suggestion of the Thematic Editor responsible for the given volume.

• If a Referee is not able to prepare a review, they are obliged to instantly inform the Board of the fact. Should a situation like this happen, the Board will choose another Referee

• The reviews are made in the double-blind review process, meaning that as well the Referees as the authors do not know each other’s identity.

• In case there occurs a conflict of interests, both authors and Referees are obliged to notify the Board of the fact.

• The reviews are drawn in writing and include the unambiguous final conclusion regarding the acceptance of the work for further processing (printing) or its rejection. The review forms in Polish and in English are available on the OSAP webpage.

• Acceptance of the manuscript for publication is dependent on its high substantive standard recognized by both Referees. If one of the reviews is in positive and the other in negative, the Board calls on a third Referee to review the work again. In this case both the principle of confidence and double-blind anonymity are binding.

• The reason for rejecting the manuscript by the Referee can be, in particular, lack of originality of the work and its low scientific-cognitive value.

• The Board forwards the information concerning the reviews to the author(s) and renders it possible for the latter to get acquainted with the content in order to respond to the Referees’ opinions. The authors are requested to return the amended manuscripts within 14 days following their receipt at the latest.

• The reviewing process runs with observing the principle of confidentiality. The Referees must not use their knowledge of the manuscripts or the results and information they obtained before the work is published.

• The Board does not reveal the names of the Referees of individual manuscripts. The Board publishes an overall list of Referees who have been cooperating with the journal in the given year. The list is available on the journal’s webpage and in the last volume coming out in the given year.

[1] Source: http://www.nauka.gov.pl/g2/oryginal/2014_02/307f933b1a75d6705a4406d5452d6dbf.pdf (Accessed: 2018-04-23)