STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT TO PEER REVIEW AND EDITORIAL OVERSIGHT OF ALL PUBLISHED CONTENT

A manuscript is first reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and the Assigned Senior Editor. The Editor-in-Chief will check the manuscript to see if it is within the scope of the journal. The Senior Editor checks that the manuscript is up to the linguistic standards to be sent for review. For example, unstructured or too lengthy sentences, missing parts of sentences, and generally poor use of English. If the manuscript is beyond the scope of the journal or has a poor standard of English that impedes understanding, the manuscript will be unsubmitted. In the case of linguistic issues, it will be unsubmitted by the Senior Editor and in the case of being beyond scope by the Editor-in-Chief.

Following these checks, an Editor is assigned by the Editor-in-Chief, who then sends the manuscript to be blind reviewed by at least two subject specialists selected for their expert knowledge. Once the reviews have been received, the corresponding author of the manuscript is provided with each reviewer’s qualitative comments and suggestions. When sending in the revision of the manuscript, authors are required to offer a response to each of the comments made by each reviewer, giving as much detail as possible and highlighting in the manuscript itself where any changes were made. Once received, these revised manuscripts are reviewed by the original referees. When the reviewers have made their suggestions, the Editor decides if the paper should be accepted, rejected or have a minor / major revision and recommends this to the Editor-in-Chief, who then makes the final decision. For a graphical representation of the publication and review process, see our website, under For Authors: https://prosperitas.uni-bge.hu/editorial-process-from-submission-to-publication/.

The review process takes about 4-8 weeks from date of receipt of the article to communication of initial decision to the author. The authors can specify any reviewers they are opposed to having as reviewers. Any reviewers suggested by an author will not be used for that author’s paper. 

The reviewers have the responsibility to ensure all reviews should be clear, objective, constructive, detailed and in high-quality English. As such, reviews are expected to be at least 100 words in length and make use of supporting arguments and offer references where appropriate. All comments should be intended to improve the quality of the scholarly work. Comments and tone should be professional and courteous without personal, unnecessary, or hostile remarks. In cases of inappropriate language usage, the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to remove any such language. Reviewers are chosen for their expertise in the field and work on a voluntary basis, i.e. they can refuse to review if they have a conflict of interest, believe they can identify the author, or feel the manuscript is not within their expertise.

Cases of suspected misconduct by reviewers or authors during the review process should be discussed with the Editor-in-Chief only. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to refuse any manuscripts, whether an invitation or otherwise. Decisions by Editors and the Editor-in-Chief, as well as comments by reviewers, should be devoid of personal bias.  Editors should only discuss information about a submission with the reviewers and authors.  If a reviewer provides evidence to an Editor or the Editor-in-Chief that the conclusion of a submission is incorrect, the Editor must promptly inform the Author. If evidence is provided to an Editor or the Editor-in-Chief that the conclusion of a published manuscript is incorrect, the Editor must promptly inform the Author and publish a correction. 

Prosperitas follows the rules recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) available at https://publicationethics.org/core-practices. Further details on all journal policies can be found under the menu option entitled, Journal Policies, at https://prosperitas.uni-bge.hu/

The Prosperitas Editorial Team and Editorial Board cover a wide array of expertise and geographical representation, with the editorial board consisting of members from 15 countries.