Quality Control System

Our efficient and rigorous peer review and production process ensures the high quality of our journals is maintained.

Peer review flowchart

  1. Handling Editors pass the submitted manuscript to the Editor-in-Chief.
  2. The Editor-in-Chief conducts a preliminary review and passes the article of interest to an Associate Editor with related expertise depending on the topic of the submitted manuscript.
  3. The assigned Associate Editor reviews the manuscript and recommends external reviewers to the Editorial Office. A literature search may be conducted to identify appropriate external reviewers.
  4. External reviewers review the manuscript.
  5. The external reviewers make recommendations. The Editorial Office will seek advice from the International Advisory Board members when there are not enough external review comments.
  6. The recommendations are sent to the Editor-in-Chief, along with a review from the assigned Associate Editor and advice from the International Advisory Board when applicable.
  7. The Editor-in-Chief makes a decision on the manuscript, for which there are four options: accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject.

Selection of reviewer

The potential reviewers for a manuscript are usually identified by our internal reviewer database APPLY (AME Peer-reviewed Publication LibrarY) and external scholarly databases (e.g., PubMed and Web of Science). The Editorial Office will also seek advice from the International Advisory Board members when there are not enough external review comments.

For the convenience and efficiency of the peer review process, peer reviews are conducted and trackable electronically via both the OJS system (journal website).

Editing and publishing flowchart

Once a manuscript is accepted, it will be arranged for copyediting, typesetting and publication. 

  • The accepted manuscript is passed to the copy editors.
  • The copy editors cross-edit the manuscripts and contact the authors with copyediting questions.
  • The copyedited manuscript is passed to the typesetting editor.
  • The typesetting editor typesets the manuscript with InDesign to produce a PDF.
  • The eProof editors contact the authors for proofreading.
  • The HTML/XML editors produce HTML and XML electronic versions of the manuscript.
  • The manuscript is published on “Online First”.
  • Finally, the manuscript is officially published in the journal and distributed.

Updated on May 23, 2023.