Review Process

The BEE uses a double-blind peer-review system. It provides mandatory anonymity for both reviewers and reviewed author(s) throughout the review process. The co-editors-in-chief, the members of the Editorial Board, and independent reviewers are expected to carry out their editorial duties in accordance with the Journal’s editorial and ethical guidelines, inspired by the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) principles.

Members of the Editorial Board and independent reviewers are recognised experts in the fields and areas covered by the BEE. Research submitted for publication will be reviewed by both a member of the Editorial Board and an independent expert. The BEE gratefully acknowledges authors’ and reviewers’ respective contributions. For further recognition, the reviewers may consider registering with PUBLONS or any other online platform or database that incorporates peer reviewer profiles. However, they are kindly reminded that reviews carried out for this Journal are confidential and cannot be disclosed or published in any way whatsoever at any time without prior written authorisation of the copyright owner of the Journal. Only the name of the Journal and the year of review may be disclosed without prior authorisation. 

The Journal may publish Special Issues under the guidance of a Guest Editor. In these cases, the manuscripts will be reviewed by both the Guest Editor and an independent expert. In addition to the peer-review criteria mentioned above (such as originality, innovative character, rigorous, appropriate citations, and references and, mainly, emphasis on the practical contributions and implications), relevance to the specific topic covered by the Special Issue is particularly important and will guide the peer review process. The evaluation process shall be totally anonymous. Authors will be informed of whether their submitted work will be published (after review) within no more than 3 months following receipt of their submission.

It is our intention that a first decision letter for manuscripts will be sent within 10 weeks of receipt.

The main stages of the peer-review process are as follows:

a-Submission compliance check

The co-editors and/or any other member of the editorial team will conduct an initial check to ensure compliance of submitted manuscripts with the Journal’s policy and submission guidelines.

In line with the ’BEE Ethical Guidelines for Publication‘, fabrication of data, results, selective reporting of data, theft of intellectual property of others, and plagiarism are unacceptable unethical practices. The editorial staff uses the TURNITIN software to verify the originality of manuscripts submitted to the Journal. Manuscripts that fail to comply with the Journal’s guidelines will be returned to authors without further evaluation.

b-Assigning reviewers to a submission

One of the co-editors or the Guest Editor of the Special Issue will send each manuscript accepted for review to a member of the Editorial Board, who will monitor the review and evaluation process of that manuscript.This assigned member of the Editorial Board, who is registered as ‘Section Editor’ with the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform of the BEE, will also assign the manuscript to a suitable External Reviewer who is available. The advice of a third reviewer may be sought in special cases. The Section Editor may either choose a reviewer from the database of OJS users who have registered as Reviewers or identify new reviewers. They must have demonstrable expertise in the disciplines and areas covered by the Journal and specifically, by the submission to be reviewed. In order to engage in the review process, they first need to be registered as Reviewers on the OJS platform. Throughout the review process of the assigned manuscript, the Section Editor shall keep the co-editors informed of any unexpected difficulties and setbacks.

c-Reviewers’ task

The Reviewers shall login in to the system accept or decline of the proposed task within 8 days of receipt of an invitation from Coeditors of the Journal or the Section Editor. If they don``'t response, the Section Editor will assume that they are unable to perform the evaluation and will contact another reviewer.

If they accept, reviewers are required to complete and submit the online Review Form designed for the evaluation of the assigned manuscript. 

Reviewers may make one of the following recommendations:

  • Accept Submission: the manuscript is acceptable as submitted;
  • Revisions Required: the manuscript requires minor changes before it can be published;
  • Review and Resubmit: the manuscript needs major changes and the revised version will undergo a second, final round of review or
  • Decline Submission: the manuscript should not be published in the Journal.

These recommendation options are offered twice for the completion of the review report; first on the Review Form and, second, as part of the OJS default list of recommendation options.  Hence, reviewers should be consistent in their choices. On the OJS default list of recommendation options, two additional choices are available for reviewers: ‘Submit Elsewhere’ and ‘See Comments’. These comments may be written on the Review Form (there is specific space for confidential comments for the Section Editor) or on a separate attachment file. In case of a ‘Submit Elsewhere’ recommendation, the Reviewer shall suggest alternative publication venues for the manuscript.

For further assistance, reviewers should contact the management team of the Journal (beejournal@deusto.es).

Reviewers shall submit their reports through the OJS platform within 30 days of receipt of the manuscript for review. Before submission, reviewers must ensure that all marked fields in the standard Review Form have been properly completed. Reviewers shall also ensure that their identity details are concealed from the author(s).

d-Recommendation to the Editor

On the basis of the final review reports received, the Section Editor must make their recommendation about the submission and provide the Co-Editor or the Guest Editor of the Special Issue, one of the following recommendations through the Journal OJS platform:

  • Accept Submission
  • Request Revisions
  • Resubmit for Review
  • Decline Submission

This should be done within 10 days of receipt of the review reports. The Section Editor may attach any additional files (other than the Reviewers’ reports) to their recommendation to the Editor.

e- Final decision and revision work follow-up

The Co-Editor or the Guest Editor is responsible for taking the final editorial decision. They will prepare a decision letter based on the comments of the reviewers and the recommendation of the Section Editor.  The four possible Editor’s decisions, as foreseen in the OJS platform, are the following:

  • Accept Submission: acceptance of the manuscript as it stands.
  • Request Revisions: acceptance of the manuscript after minor revisions.
  • Resubmit for Review: the manuscript needs major changes and a second and final round of review will be required for the revised version.
  • Decline Submission: rejection of the manuscript as it stands.

The Co-Editor or the Guest Editor will contact the authors, again within 10 days of receipt of the recommendation from the ‘Section Editor’, with their decision and send them copies of the review documents. The Editor in Charge will cc the Section Editor.

The Co-Editor or Guest Editor's decision is final. If revisions are required, the relevant editor will send to the authors comments/suggestions from the reviewers and any annotated copies of the original manuscript. The editor in charge may also can add their own comments/suggestions.

Authors should complete the requested revision and submit a revised version of their manuscript within 10 days (in case of ‘Request Revisions’) and 30 days (in case of ‘Resubmit for Review’) of being asked to do so; otherwise their article may be rejected or assigned to a later issue.

The revised version should be sent to the co-editors, who will ask the ‘Section Editor’ for a new recommendation. The external reviewers may also be involved if deemed appropriate, particularly in the case of a ‘Resubmit for Review’ decision. Within 10 days, the ‘Section Editor’ should decide whether to recommend ‘Acceptance’ or ‘Rejection’ and then they should send their recommendation to the relevant editor.

There are no costs associated with submissions or with publishing articles.