Political Analysis, like most academic research journals, replies upon the timely, unbiased, and accurate evaluation of manuscripts from peer reviewers. As our review process is single-anonymous, reviewers should not identify themselves as a reviewer to authors of a paper they review for the journal, no matter what the final decision regarding the paper.
Reviewers should not accept the invitation to review a manuscript for the journal, unless they can undertake the review in a timely manner (usually within two or three weeks). If the reviewer perceives they have a potential conflict of interest that is known when the invitation to review is received, they should notify the editors. If a potential conflict of interest arises during the review process, or immediately thereafter, the reviewer should notify the editors. Reviewers should always feel comfortable notifying the editors if any potential conflicts of interest arise; it may also be useful for reviewers to consult the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) “Cope Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers” (March 2013, v1)
Reviewers should not use the Political Analysis peer review process to generate citations for non-germane purposes with the goal of increasing someone’s citation scores (including their own). This is called “citation pushing” and is an unethical professional practice.
NOTE: Authors of published articles will be added to the PA Reviewer database. Fresh in mind, recently published authors are often invited to review manuscripts with topics that match their pertinent expertise. We appreciate the contributions authors return to the editorial process. It is important and reasonable to expert authors who have benefited from Political Analysis to also contribute to the process that keeps the journal sustained.
Peer review is the foundation of quality in research for both books and journals, ensuring that published research is rigorous and ethical. Peer reviewers can access a number of resources to assist them with their peer reviewing duties:
- How to peer review journal articles: a practical introduction to conducting peer reviews, especially for those who are new to the process
- Ethics in peer review
- Online peer review systems, and how to anonymously annotate manuscripts
- Peer review FAQs
The journal administrator is also happy to help with any queries regarding undertaking peer review assignments. Please contact the Editorial Office with any questions.
ScholarOne
This journal uses ScholarOne - http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pa - for online submission and peer review. ScholarOne is a “comprehensive workflow-management system for scholarly journals, books and conferences”. Further information on ScholarOne can be found here, and queries can be directed to the Editorial Office at politicalanalysis@cambridge.org.