The TRANSPORT use external experts to help evaluate articles and assist the editors to make a decision.
When articles are submitted they will be checked and any that appear out of scope of the journal, or otherwise unsuitable for consideration, will be rejected immediately.
All other original research articles will be sent out for review. Reviewers are selected based on their experience of the subject matter of the article. They may be selected from the Editorial Board of the journal as well as from elsewhere. The journal editorial office staff (Associate Editor, Managing Editor, Deputy Editor-in-Chief or Editor-in-Chief, i.e. responsible editor) will identify suitable experts and invite them to review. If authors have a good reason to request that a particular person should be excluded from review (e.g. because they are working in a competing institution), then they may say this when they submit the article. However, the editors' judgement of the reviewer is final.
The TRANSPORT operate a double-blind method of peer review. This means that the authors' names are not disclosed to the reviewer and the reviewer names are not disclosed to the authors.
Invitations are sent to the reviewers and the articles are only sent to them when they agree to review. The reviewing operation is managed through the submission system. Reviewers are given between 4 weeks to return their review and reminders are sent. However, the journal cannot guarantee a time to a decision since reviewers may be late, or there may be problems in finding the right reviewer. In all cases, the journal editorial office staff (responsible editor) will endeavour to manage the process as speedily as possible.
When the responsible editor has received at least 2 reviews he will make a decision.
The TRANSPORT is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and is published according to the Core Practices of the COPE and strictly follow their guidelines in respect of publication ethics and managing problems when they arise and also COPE Guidelines for Peer Reviewers, which provides a comprehensive guide to the ethics of peer review.
In particular, reviewers are asked to take note of the following:
Conflict of interest (or competing interests)
If the reviewer considers that there is any conflict of interest that may compromise their review they are required to make this known to the editorial office, and may be excused from performing the review. The reviewer may not be aware of this until they have accepted the invitation to review. "Competing interests may be personal, financial, intellectual, professional, political or religious in nature. If you are currently employed at the same institution as any of the authors or have been recent (e.g., within the past 3 years) mentors, mentees, close collaborators or joint grant holders, you should not agree to review. In addition, you should not agree to review a manuscript just to gain sight of it with no intention of submitting a review, or agree to review a manuscript that is very similar to one you have in preparation or under consideration at another journal." (from the COPE Guidelines)
Confidentiality
Reviewers are required to respect the confidentiality of the peer review process and "refrain from using information obtained during the peer review process for your own or another’s advantage, or to disadvantage or discredit others. Do not involve anyone else in the review of a manuscript (including early career researchers you are mentoring), without first obtaining permission from the journal. The names of any individuals who have helped with the review should be included so that they are associated with the manuscript in the journal’s records and can also receive due recognition for their efforts." (from the COPE Guidelines)
Timeliness
Reviewers are asked to return their reviews by the requested date, and to inform the editorial office staff (responsible editor) if there is likely to be a delay.
Reviewers are asked to evaluate the articles for the following:
Reviewers also can provide confidential comments to the editors and to the authors.
Reviewers are asked to always be polite and constructive in their report, and never to be abusive or to make unjustified criticisms of the work.
