Peer Review Policy
BRICS employs a double-blind peer-review process: the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other throughout the review.
Review Process
- Initial screening: The editorial office checks each submission for scope, completeness, anonymisation, formatting, and similarity (plagiarism) before review. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's requirements may be desk-rejected or returned to the authors.
- Peer review: Manuscripts that pass screening are sent to at least two independent expert reviewers. Reviewers assess originality, contribution, methodological rigour, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope.
- Editorial decision: Based on the reviews, the editor makes one of the following decisions: accept, minor revision, major revision, resubmit for review, or reject. When reviewers disagree, the editor may consult an additional reviewer.
- Revision: Authors are expected to submit revised manuscripts together with a point-by-point response to the reviewers' comments. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers.
- Final decision: The final decision on publication rests with the Editor-in-Chief.
Reviewer Responsibilities
Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents, declare any conflict of interest, provide objective and constructive comments, and must not upload manuscripts or any part of them to generative AI tools.
Editorial Submissions
Manuscripts submitted by editors or editorial board members are handled independently by another editor and are subject to the same double-blind review process; the submitting editor is excluded from all decisions concerning the manuscript.
