The Appeals Process

Appeals are only considered where the author(s) believe that (i) the decision was based on one or more significant technical errors or other false conclusions made by the review team (all handling editors and reviewers) or (ii) members of the review team did not make a good-faith effort to follow the journal’s editorial policies (e.g., as described here). In such cases, the author(s) may appeal by email to the relevant Area Editor or the Editor-in-Chief. Appeals should be sent no more than eight weeks after the final decision was transmitted to the author(s).

Your appeal should be organized as follows: 

•  State whether you are appealing on the basis of (i) or (ii) or both. 
• Your reasoning for why (i), (ii), or both are applicable in your case. Your appeal may not be longer than 500 words. Appeals that are longer than 500 words will be returned unread. Arguments not relevant to (i) or (ii) will be disregarded.

Please remember that the job of the review team is to use their expertise to judge the strength and significance of the contribution. An appeal will not be granted based on a difference in opinion regarding the value of the contribution; as such, arguments explaining why the contribution is stronger than the review team determined will be ignored.

The editor will consider the merits of the appeal, may consult with other members of the review team and editorial board, and will choose a path of action which is generally either to uphold the decision made or to secure one or more additional reviews of the paper for further consideration. All appeal decisions made by the Editor-in-Chief are final.