Important aspects of editorial procedures for the information of inexperienced authors.
Keith Attenborough · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2009
Several matters concerning the quality of papers and the editorial process have emerged from editorial activities for three acoustically-related journals (Applied Acoustics, Acta Acustica combined with Acustica, and the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America). Each of the journals suggests particular criteria to reviewers as the basis for their reviews. These factors are compared and discussed. Each of the journals offers various editorial decision options. These options and the uses that are made of them are discussed. Two common factors that influence editorial and reviewer judgements on submission quality include (a) the use of English and (b) the provision of a comprehensive and critical literature review. An increasingly important consideration is the availability of good reviewers in areas related to the topic of the paper. Sanitized examples illustrating some of these points are offered.