Appeals and Complaint Policy

Complaint about Scientific Content

Complaint about scientific content includes any complaint and/or appeal regarding the editor decisions (for example manuscript rejection). Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether a submission is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many submissions are declined without external review with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal.

If the author believes the decision to reject the submission was not in accordance with journal policy and procedures, the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor-in-Chief with a detailed point by point response to reviewer and editor’s comments. The Editor-in-Chief will review the peer review process undertaken for the submission. The Editor-in-Chief will consider the authors’ argument, the reviewer reports and decides whether prior decision should stand, another independent opinion is required, or the appeal should be considered. Decisions on appeals are final and new submissions take priority over appeals.

Complaint about Processes

Complaint about process includes any complaint and/or appeal regarding the time taken to review a submission. The Editor-in-Chief will investigate the matter. The complainant will be given appropriate feedback. Feedback is provided to relevant stakeholders to improve processes and procedures.

Complaint about Publication Ethics

Complaint about publication ethics includes any complaint and/or appeal regarding any misconduct happened, either from the author’ or reviewer’s side. The Editor-in-Chief may ask the publisher via their in-house contact for advice on difficult or complicated cases. The Editor-in-Chief decides on a course of action and provides feedback to the complainant. If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the handling of their complaint, authors can submit the complaint to the publisher

Handling Complaints and Appeals

IJRIAR will abide by the following principles when investigating complaints and appeals:

Fairness: IJRIAR will endeavour to treat all parties involved in a complaint fairly and to avoid bias either in process or outcome. IJRIAR will avoid conflicts of interest.

Confidentiality: IJRIAR will only disclose information necessary to resolve a complaint.

Clarity: IJRIAR will seek to be clear in communication, taking into account the needs of the complainant.

Speed: IJRIAR will endeavour to resolve complaints as quickly as possible. It should be noted that some investigations are complex and take time to resolve equitably (for example, allowing reasonable time for multiple parties to respond).

Any appeals or complaint email sent to editor.riar@gmail.com will be acknowledged within a week. The Editor-in-Chief will conduct an investigation following Committee on Public Ethics (COPE) guidelines. The investigation will establish whether the correct procedures have been followed and assess whether the concerns have been addressed fairly and without prejudice.

Link: https://publicationethics.org/facilitation-and-integrity-subcommittee