For Reviewers

Reviewer Guidelines

Log in to the Submission System to access your assigned review.
If you have forgotten your password, use the “Forgot your password?” link.
Please respond promptly to invitations. If declining, suggest alternative reviewers where possible.

Before accepting a review assignment, consider:

Expertise: Accept only if the manuscript is within your area of expertise.
Conflicts of Interest: Disclose potential conflicts to the editor immediately.
Time Commitment: Ensure you can complete the review within the deadline (typically requires at least one hour).
Familiarity: If new to reviewing, contact the editorial office for guidance ( contact@finessepublishing.com).

Manuscripts are evaluated on:

Novelty & Significance: Originality, contribution to social sciences/economics, advancement of knowledge.
Literature Review: Depth, organization, and theoretical/conceptual framing.
Research Design & Methods: Appropriateness, rigor, validity, and technical quality.
Findings & Implications: Clarity of results, conclusions, and relevance to practice or policy.
Presentation & Style: Clear structure, APA 7th edition formatting, logical flow, appropriate tables/figures.

High-priority manuscripts:

Reviewers should:

Provide constructive feedback for each section (Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion).
Suggest improvements to figures/tables.
Highlight strengths and areas for improvement.
Use respectful, professional language (no ad hominem remarks, self-promotion, or personal identifiers).
Consider diversity, inclusiveness, and methodological variety in assessments.

(Optional) Reviewers may add confidential remarks for editors only, including:

Ethical concerns (plagiarism, duplicate submission, fraud, IRB approval issues).
Suspicions of citation manipulation.
Recommendations on whether additional review is needed.

When submitting a review, select one of the following:

Decline Submission – Manuscript unsuitable for JSSE.
Resubmit Elsewhere – Better suited for another journal.
Resubmit for Review (Major Revisions) – Substantial changes required before reconsideration.
Revisions Required (Minor Revisions) – Publishable after minor corrections.
Accept Submission – Ready for publication with no major edits.

The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision, independent of reviewer identity, and may seek additional opinions if needed.

Manuscripts are confidential: do not share without editor permission.
Do not use or cite unpublished material.
Do not suggest citations to your own work unless scientifically necessary.
Report suspected misconduct (plagiarism, duplicate submission, ethical breaches).
Research involving humans or animals must have appropriate ethical approval—flag concerns if missing.

The journal values the contributions of its reviewers and offers:

Annual Reviewer Acknowledgement published on the journal’s website.
Reviewer Certificates upon request.
Encouragement to record reviews in Publons (verified by the editorial office).
Option to link reviews to ORCID iD for recognition of service.

Treat the manuscript and your review as confidential, even after a decision.
You will be notified of the editorial decision.
On behalf of the editors, authors, and readers, we sincerely thank you for your contribution to the integrity and quality of JSSE.