For Editors

1. Editorial Process, Peer-Review, and Production

2. General Duties of All Handling Editors

2.1 Decision on Publication of Articles 

2.2 Fair Play

2.3 Journal Metrics

2.4 Confidentiality

2.5 Declaration of Competing Interests

3. Editorial Board Structure

3.1 Editor-in-Chief

3.2 Associate Editor-in-Chief

3.3 Editor

3.4 Associate Editor

3.5 Editorial Board Member

3.6 Early Career Editorial Board Member

4 Guest Editor

4.1 Guest Editor Responsibilities

4.2 Conflicts of Interest

1. Editorial Process, Peer-Review, and Production

Articles submitted to Tech Science Press (TSP) journals are subject to a rigorous peer-review process. Single-blind review (the reviewers know the authors’ identities, but the authors do not know the reviewers’ identities) may be used according to the Journal’s editorial policies.

Reviewers and external editors require deep-link access to log in to the TSP Submission System for assigned tasks. Once a manuscript is submitted, the in-house Managing Editor coordinates the editorial workflow, including peer review, decision-making, potential revisions, acceptance or rejection, copyediting, proofreading, and final publication. Assigned editors, including Editorial Board Members, Associate Editors, and Guest Editors, handle the peer review of submitted articles.

Final acceptance or rejection decisions can be made by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriate Editorial Board member authorized by the Editor-in-Chief. Upon acceptance, the in-house Managing Editor oversees production, including copyediting, English editing, and preparation for publication on the Journal’s website. Journals are organized in yearly volumes with either monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or continuous publication schedules.

Learn more about TSP’s Peer-review Policy.

2. General Duties of All Handling Editors

2.1 Decision on the Publication of Articles

The editor is solely and independently responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always underwrite such decisions. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding issues such as libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making these decisions.

2.2 Fair Play

The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors. When nominating potential editorial board members, the editor shall take account of the need for appropriate, inclusive and diverse representation.

2.3 Journal Metrics

The editor must not attempt to influence the journal’s ranking by artificially increasing any journal metric. In particular, the editor shall not require that references to that (or any other) journal’s articles be included except for genuine scholarly reasons and authors should not be required to include references to the editor’s own articles or products and services in which the editor has an interest.

2.4 Confidentiality

The editor must protect the confidentiality of all material submitted to the journal and all communications with reviewers, unless otherwise agreed with the relevant authors and reviewers. In exceptional circumstances and in consultation with the publisher, the editor may share limited information with editors of other journals, institutions, and other organizations that investigate cases of research misconduct where deemed necessary to investigate suspected ethical breaches.

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.

2.5 Declaration of Competing Interests

Editors must conduct editorial assessment and decision-making independently and impartially. They must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest (COIs) relating to the authors, reviewers, manuscript, institutions, funding sources, or other relevant parties.

An editor must recuse themselves from handling a manuscript where a COI could compromise, or reasonably be perceived to compromise, their impartiality. The manuscript must be reassigned to another suitably qualified editor with no relevant COIs, who will independently oversee the peer-review process and editorial decision.
An editorial role does not preclude an editor, editorial board member, Guest Editor, or journal staff member from submitting work to the journal. However, they must not be involved in the peer review or editorial handling of any manuscript they have authored or co-authored. Such manuscripts must be handled independently by another suitably qualified editor with no relevant COIs with the authors or the manuscript.
The editor-author must not participate in reviewer selection, editorial assessment, discussion, or decision-making and must not have access to reviewer identities, reports, recommendations, or other confidential information relating to the peer-review process beyond that normally provided to authors.
When an Editor-in-Chief, editor, or other editorial board member publishes an article in the journal, the published article must disclose the author’s editorial role and confirm that the peer-review and editorial process was handled independently. The following statement may be adapted as appropriate: Conflicts of Interest: Given their role as [AUTHOR JOURNAL ROLE TITLE] of this journal, [AUTHOR NAME] had no involvement in the peer review or editorial handling of this article and had no access to information concerning its peer review. Full responsibility for the editorial process was delegated to another independent journal editor. The authors declare no other conflicts of interest.
Where more than one author holds a relevant editorial role, all such authors and their respective roles must be disclosed. Any additional financial, professional, academic, personal, or other COIs must also be declared.
Where there is uncertainty as to whether an interest should be disclosed, disclosure is encouraged so that the journal can determine whether appropriate safeguards are required.

3. Editorial Board Structure

The editorial board typically consists of prominent scholars in the Journal’s field who are informed of their responsibilities upon appointment. The editorial board supports and advises on the Journal’s content and strategy, both proactively and through content review.

3.1 Editor-in-Chief

The Editor-in-Chief oversees the peer-review process and provides strategic recommendations for the Journal. This role may be shared with an appointed member, such as a Publisher representative, organization, or academic society.

3.2 Associate Editor-in-Chief

The Associate Editor-in-Chief collaborates with the Editor-in-Chief on the Journal’s overall academic planning and serves as an editorial escalation point.

3.3 Editor

Editors collaborate with the Editor-in-Chief on daily journal operations and share responsibilities in the peer-review process.

3.4 Associate Editor

Associate Editors support the Editor-in-Chief, managing assigned manuscripts and overseeing the peer review process.

3.5 Editorial Board Member

Editorial Board Members bring diverse perspectives and assist with the Journal’s outreach and credibility in the academic field.

3.6 Early Career Editorial Board Member

Early Career Editorial Board Members hold responsibilities equivalent to those of other Editorial Board Members and provide specialized advice to Editors on topics relevant to early career researchers. Each year, a limited number are selected and invited by the Editors. Candidates should be actively engaged in research fields pertinent to the Journal’s scope, within the first 10 years of receiving a doctoral degree, and experienced in academic writing, publishing in English, and peer review.

Learn more about Join as a Member of TSP Early Career Editorial Board.

4. Guest Editor

Guest editors play a vital role in curating high-quality contributions on a particular topic and driving the editorial review process for special issue publications.

Learn more about TSP’s Special Issue Policy.

4.1 Guest Editor Responsibilities

In general, the responsibilities of a guest editor include:

· Refining the topic and setting out the importance of the area on which the special issue will focus.

· Identifying papers and inviting potential authors for possible inclusion in the special issue with the help of the editorial team.

· Setting and following the timeframe in which the special issue should be produced (to include paper writing, reviewing and submission of final copy to the journal) to ensure timely submission and publication.

· Cooperating with the journal editor and any other guest editor(s) for the special issue with respect to the identification and invitation of authors to contribute to the special issue and responding to potential author queries with regard to this special issue.

· Using subject matter expertise to manage the initial check process, and recommend edits and revisions. The final decision on whether a paper will be accepted will be made by the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.

· Assisting with any further information requested by our editorial team to ensure completeness of the special issue.

· Promoting the special issue and helping with the marketing by indicating any special timing, associated events, funding support, partnerships or other links or relationships which could influence the content promotion of the issue.

4.2 Conflicts of Interest

Guest Editors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived COIs that could affect, or reasonably be perceived to affect, their editorial judgment. Where such a conflict exists, the Guest Editor must not participate in the peer review, editorial assessment, discussion, recommendation, or decision-making for the manuscript concerned. The manuscript must instead be handled independently by another suitably qualified editor with no relevant COIs. A Guest Editor may submit a manuscript to a Special Issue for which they have editorial responsibility, but they must have no involvement in the peer review or editorial handling of their manuscript and must not have access to confidential peer-review information beyond that normally provided to authors.

The published article must disclose the Guest Editor’s editorial role and confirm that the peer-review and editorial process was handled independently. The following statement may be adapted as appropriate:

Conflicts of Interest: Given their role as Guest Editor of this Special Issue, [AUTHOR NAME] had no involvement in the peer review or editorial handling of this article and had no access to information concerning its peer review. Full responsibility for the editorial process was delegated to another independent journal editor. The authors declare no other conflicts of interest.

Any additional financial, professional, academic, personal, or other COIs must also be declared.