Editorial Policy

As Bastas Publications, we are dedicated to a quick and fair decision after an insightful and constructive feedback editorial process. We consider editorial autonomy as a vital point for our mission to publish highest quality scientific articles. For all our journals, editors have full control over the selection of the articles that will be published in our journals. All published articles, except editorials, are strictly peer reviewed.

The following standards must be met by all manuscript submissions:

• Manuscript must be relevant to the journal’s aims and scope.
• Manuscript must be original work of authors. 
• Manuscript must be produced in accordance with publishing ethics and author guidelines.
• Manuscript must demonstrate good use of English.

All submitted manuscripts are initially screened by the editorial office and editor-in-chief to make sure that the manuscript complies with all the requirements cited above. At this stage, the manuscript may be returned to the authors for corrections or rejected without further evaluation.

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are assigned a senior academic section editor, who is responsible for managing the rest of the editorial process. Section editors are selected based on their expertise in the subject area of the submission and their suitability. Section editor invites external peer reviewers to evaluate the originality and quality of the submission. We recommend all our reviewers to follow our reviewer guidelines. Depending on the reports of at least two expert reviewers, section editor provides final editorial acceptance decisions. In case of a conflict of interest, alternative section editors or peer reviewers must be assigned.

Special issue policy: We accept special issue proposals and value them as an integral part of our commitment to fostering innovation. Any such proposal should outline the rationale, significance, and scope of the special issue, as well as the identity of its guest editors. These proposals are carefully assessed by the Editorial Board for publication in the journal based on its scientific merits, expertise and contributions of its guest editors, and its alignment with the aims and scope of the journal. Guest editors of accepted proposals are responsible for overseeing the editorial process of the related special issue submissions, and are expected to maintain the highest standards of objectivity, quality, integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct. While guest editors manage the editorial processes of the articles, the entire process is subject to oversight by the editor-in-chief. The editor-in-chief reserves the right to make the final decision taking into account the recommendations of guest editors and reviewers. Manuscripts that are submitted to a special issue undergo the same rigorous double blind peer review process as regular submissions to ensure quality and fairness, while minimizing bias in evaluation of the submitted manuscripts. Guest editors, reviewers and authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Any disclosed conflict will be carefully investigated by the journal editors and the editorial board, and appropriate actions will be taken according to COPE flowcharts and guidelines. 

In cases where authors are not satisfied with the editorial process and/or the outcome, they may send the detailed description of their complaints or appeals to the ethics@bastas.co.uk. Any complaint or appeal will be thoroughly investigated according to COPE flowcharts and guidelines.

Last updated on 17 September 2023