For Editors

Editorial Guidelines

Editors play a central role in maintaining the scholarly quality, integrity, fairness, and independence of journals published by Finesse Publishing.

Editorial decisions must be based on the academic merit, relevance, originality, methodological quality, and suitability of the manuscript for the journal.

Editorial Independence

Editors have full authority over editorial decisions.

The publisher, journal management, sponsors, advertisers, or external organizations must not influence decisions regarding manuscript acceptance, revision, or rejection.

Editorial decisions should be made independently and without discrimination based on nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, religion, political views, or other personal characteristics unrelated to scholarly merit.

Initial Editorial Screening

Editors should assess submitted manuscripts for:

  • Alignment with the journal's aims and scope.

  • Originality and scholarly contribution.

  • Basic methodological and scientific quality.

  • Appropriate manuscript structure and presentation.

  • Compliance with author guidelines.

  • Similarity and potential plagiarism concerns.

  • Ethical approval and informed consent where applicable.

  • Relevant conflicts of interest.

Manuscripts that clearly do not meet the journal's requirements may be rejected without external peer review.

Reviewer Selection

Editors should select reviewers based on:

  • Relevant subject expertise.

  • Appropriate publication or research experience.

  • Independence from the authors.

  • Absence of relevant conflicts of interest.

  • Ability to provide a timely and objective review.

Research articles should normally be evaluated by at least two independent reviewers.

Editors should avoid repeatedly relying on a narrow group of reviewers and should seek appropriate diversity in reviewer selection where possible.

Peer Review Management

Finesse Publishing journals use a single-blind peer review process unless otherwise stated by the individual journal.

Editors are responsible for:

  • Assigning qualified reviewers.

  • Monitoring the review process.

  • Evaluating reviewer reports critically.

  • Requesting additional review when reports are conflicting or insufficient.

  • Ensuring that reviewer comments are professional, relevant, and constructive.

  • Preventing inappropriate citation requests or other reviewer misconduct.

The final editorial decision remains the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief or delegated editor.

Editorial Decisions

Editors may make one of the following decisions:

  • Reject

  • Major Revisions Required

  • Minor Revisions Required

  • Accept

Editorial decisions should be supported by the manuscript's scholarly quality and the peer-review reports.

Editors are not required to follow reviewer recommendations automatically and should exercise independent editorial judgment.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must disclose any financial, professional, academic, or personal conflict of interest that could affect impartial handling of a manuscript.

An editor must not handle a manuscript when there is a significant conflict of interest.

In such cases, the manuscript should be assigned to another qualified independent editor.

If an Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Board member submits a manuscript to their own journal, they must have no involvement in the editorial or peer-review process.

Confidentiality

Editors must:

  • Treat submitted manuscripts as confidential.

  • Not disclose manuscript information to unauthorized individuals.

  • Not use unpublished information for personal or professional advantage.

  • Protect reviewer identities in accordance with the journal's peer-review model.

  • Ensure that confidential manuscript material is not uploaded to external systems that could compromise confidentiality.

Research Integrity and Misconduct

Editors must take potential research misconduct seriously.

Concerns may include:

  • Plagiarism.

  • Excessive or inappropriate text recycling.

  • Data fabrication or falsification.

  • Inappropriate image manipulation.

  • Duplicate or redundant publication.

  • Citation manipulation.

  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest.

  • Ethical approval concerns.

Cases should be assessed fairly and in accordance with the guidelines and procedures of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Similarity reports should be interpreted by editors and must not be used as the sole basis for determining plagiarism.

Use of Generative AI

Editors should not upload confidential manuscripts, reviewer reports, or unpublished research data to publicly accessible generative AI tools.

AI-generated output should not replace editorial judgment or peer review.

Authors remain responsible for disclosed use of generative AI in accordance with the journal's policy.

Corrections and Post-Publication Issues

Editors should respond appropriately when significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication.

Possible actions may include:

  • Correction.

  • Retraction.

  • Expression of concern.

  • Editorial clarification.

Such actions should follow COPE guidance and clearly preserve the scholarly record.

Complaints and Appeals

Editors should ensure that complaints and appeals are handled fairly and transparently.

Appeals against editorial decisions should, where possible, be reviewed by an editor who was not directly involved in the original decision.

Editors should avoid retaliation against authors who submit legitimate appeals or complaints.

Citation Ethics

Editors must not:

  • Require authors to add unnecessary citations.

  • Request citations primarily to increase journal metrics.

  • Encourage inappropriate citation to the editor's own work.

  • Permit reviewers to impose unjustified citation requests.

Only citations that are scientifically relevant should be recommended.

Timeliness and Communication

Editors should:

  • Handle manuscripts within reasonable timeframes.

  • Communicate clearly with authors and reviewers.

  • Avoid unnecessary delays.

  • Monitor overdue reviews.

  • Provide clear decisions and revision requests.

Where delays occur, authors should be informed when appropriate.

Editorial Board Responsibilities

Editorial Board members are expected to:

  • Support the scholarly development of the journal.

  • Provide advice within their areas of expertise.

  • Assist with peer review where appropriate.

  • Promote ethical editorial practices.

  • Maintain professional conduct.

  • Disclose relevant conflicts of interest.

  • Protect the confidentiality of journal materials.

Editorial Board membership does not provide preferential treatment for submitted manuscripts.

Thank you for supporting the editorial quality, independence, and integrity of journals published by Finesse Publishing.