Peer review procedure

Journal of Sustainable Transitions (JST) maintains a double-anonymous peer review process, ensuring that reviewers’ expertise aligns with the submitted manuscript. Reviewer comments provide constructive feedback for the improvement of manuscripts.

JST journal ensures that all invitations and comments are kept confidential. It mandates that reviewers do not share their review or information about the review process with anyone without the agreement of the editors and authors involved, irrespective of the publication outcome or even after publication. The peer review procedures are outlined below:

• In Stage 1 – The peer review process starts with the journal Editor-in-Chief, who assesses submitted manuscripts and determines if the manuscript aligns with the aims and scope of the journal and is properly formatted using the template. A plagiarism check is further conducted. Once the minimum criteria are not met, the Chief Editor will return the manuscript to the authors to address them and then resubmit. However, if the submitted manuscripts meet the requirements of the journal, it proceed for a double-blind peer review where an ID is assigned to the manuscript.
• In Stage 2 – The journal Editors contact and assign anonymous reviewers with expertise relevant to the manuscript's subject matter for review comments. The manuscripts will be assessed based on the originality, significance, soundness of methodology, clarity of the analysis and interpretation of results, significance of the of findings and conclusions. Relevant comments from the reviewers will be made available to the authors for the necessary changes to the manuscript before publication. The final decision on the manuscript, either to accept, reject, or request revision, is at the discretion of the Editors.
• In Stage 3 – With a decision for revision, the authors are requested to improve the manuscript guided by the comments made by the Associate Editors and the Reviewers and resubmit the revised version for further consideration. It is important to note that, the manuscript will undergo several review processes to ensure it meets the requirements for publication in the Journal of Sustainable Transitions. Several rounds for the review process are necessary to ensure all corrections are addressed by the authors.
• In Stage 4 – The Editor-in-Chief will finally accept the revised manuscript provided all necessary corrections are completed by the authors. The manuscript is then forwarded for production and publication. Authors will have the opportunity to proofread their formatted manuscript before publication.

Journal of Sustainable Transitions (JST) maintains a double-anonymous peer review process, ensuring all papers are assessed by at least two anonymous independent researchers within the field.