Editorial Workflow

The following is the editorial workflow that every paper submitted to the Epidemiology and Health System Journal (Epidemiol. health system j., EHSJ, eISSN: 2980-7891, https://ehsj.skums.ac.ir) will undergo during the peer-review process. The entire editorial workflow is performed using the online manuscript tracking system. Once the corresponding author submits a manuscript, all authors are notified about the submission. The corresponding author can track the manuscript in his/her account on the EHSJ website. The Editor-in-Chief of the journal inspects the submitted manuscript.

The Editor-in-Chief also invites the section editor or one of the associate editors or co-editors, based on the subject of the manuscript, to inspect the paper.

If they determine that the manuscript is not of sufficient quality to go through the normal review process or if the subject of the manuscript is not appropriate to the journal's scope, the manuscript will be rejected with no further processing. If the Editor-in-Chief determines that the submitted manuscript is of sufficient quality and falls within the scope of the journal, then the manuscript will go to one of the editorial board members based on its subject, the availability of the editors, and the lack of any potential conflicts of interest with the submitting authors. If the editor declares that the submitted paper is of sufficient quality and falls within the scope of the EHSJ, the manuscript will be sent to a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 external reviewers for peer-reviewing.

When the reviewers submit their reports, the editor can make one of the following editorial recommendations:

1. Acceptance: the manuscript could be e-published.  We will try to reduce this process to a maximum of two weeks. Before e-publication, the corresponding author can verify a proof copy of the paper. After e-publication, the paper will be in a queue to be published in one of EHSJ's upcoming issues.

2. Minor Revision: authors will receive comments on their manuscript. They will be asked to submit a revised copy besides the cover letter showing authors’ rejoinders and a marked copy utilizing the Track Changes in the Microsoft Word Documents Review menu. The revised manuscript should be submitted up to two weeks after the decision letter. Otherwise, authors need to go through a re-submission process.

3. Major Revision: it means a chance to reorganize the manuscript to meet the required scientific criteria for another review process. Authors should pay more attention to reviewers’ comments and focus on their highlighted points. The editor may/may not request the authors to resubmit their revised manuscript beside the cover letter and a marked copy. The revised manuscript should be submitted up to two weeks after the decision letter. Otherwise, authors need to go through a re-submission process.

4. Reject: in most cases, methodological and scientific concerns are the main origins of rejection. Causes of rejection will be sent to the authors to provide more chances for them for publication in other journals.

5. Withdraw: if the manuscript does not meet the scope of the EHSJ, it will be withdrawn with the suggestion to be sent to another journal.