Peer review and editorial policy

The journal follows the Springer Nature Peer Review Policy, Process and Guidance, Springer Nature Journal Editors' Code of Conduct, and COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer-reviewers.

The journal's portfolio is formed in the form of thematic issues, compiled in collaboration with invited editors who are experts in one of the thematic areas of the journal. Traditionally, invited editors are members of the program committees of major international scientific conferences and symposiums. Thematic issues are composed of full-text articles prepared based on the best conference presentations and talks recommended by the conference program committees. Individual manuscripts submitted to the editorial office without the involvement of invited editors are considered by the editorial board in coordination with the invited editor. For articles that constitute a separate thematic issue, the decision on the appointment of reviewers is made by the invited editor of the issue. All articles undergo peer review by at least two independent and anonymous reviewers. The first reviewer is usually a member of the conference program committee or a leading thematic section, who provides an in-person assessment of the material and gives an overall evaluation of the article. The first reviewer cannot be the compiler (editor) of the thematic issue. The second reviewer, recommended by the conference program committee, also remains anonymous to the authors and thoroughly and critically examines the manuscript, preparing a review based on which the authors make the necessary revisions. After addressing the comments, manuscripts receiving positive reviews are forwarded to the editorial office. The editorial board may, at its discretion, send individual manuscripts for additional review. For manuscripts submitted to the editorial office independently of the editors of thematic issues, two anonymous reviewers are assigned. Manuscripts that receive at least two positive reviews are considered for publication.

When compiling thematic issues, the invited editor rejects approximately 20 to 40% of the submitted manuscripts that do not comply with the submission guidelines. The journal follows a single-blind reviewing procedure. The time from submission to the first decision is usually no more than 40 days. The approximate rejection rate is at least 15%. The final decision on the acceptance of a manuscript for publication is made by the Editor-in-Chief or one of the Deputy Editors-in-Chief.

If Editors, including the Editor-in-Chief, publish in the journal, they do not participate in the decision-making process for manuscripts where they are listed as co-authors.