Exclusion of Reviewers/Suggesting Reviewers

While authors may request to exclude certain reviewers who might have perceived competing interests from refereeing their works, they are asked to provide additional information to support such a request. The Editors will respect these requests provided that they do not interfere with the objective and thorough assessment of the article.

The Editors avoid sending manuscripts to particular reviewers under the following circumstances:
The reviewer has previously co-published an article with the author(s),
The reviewer has assisted the author(s) in proofreading their manuscripts,
The reviewer has experienced problems with the author(s) in the past,
The reviewer will benefit financially from the publication of the article,
The reviewer works in the same institution (same department within the same university) as the author(s).

Authors may be asked to suggest 6 expert reviewers. Where appropriate, authors should suggest 2 to 3 reviewers who are experts in methodology as well as 2 to 3 reviewers who are experts on the subject. Authors should avoid suggesting as reviewers those individuals with whom they have had a collaborative relationship within the past 3 years, whom they have mentored, or by whom they have been mentored.

Status Inquiries

Authors are expected to feel free to inquire about the current status of their manuscripts as it progresses through the editorial process. Authors may e-mail the editor with specific questions.

Request to Withdraw

Authors may request to withdraw their manuscript(s) as they progress through the editorial process, reviewer process, or of an accepted but unpublished paper.

Objection to Referee Reports and Editorial Board Decisions

Author(s) have/have the right to object to referee reports and editorial decisions at any time and in any situation. In such and similar cases, the Author(s) are requested to report their objections with their justifications. If the editor deems it necessary in case of objections, it may initiate a new evaluation process.

Copyright

Authors hold the copyrights of their manuscripts as well as the final papers. The authors hold the copyright without any restrictions. Copyright transfer agreements and similar agreements are not requested from the authors. SPC full text articles are published online immediately after their procedures and are openly and freely accessible afterwards.

Errata

Authors certainly have the right to request an Erratum for the material errors occurring in Editorial or publishing processes, as well as for errors of their own Works, in the first work to be published.