What is the peer review process?
Rhetoric and Communications Journal uses specially designed publisher review forms in English and Bulgarian.
The review forms (publisher’s reviews) reflect basic criteria that are a prerequisite for the quality of scientific publications. The criteria and evaluation points are indicated in them. The publisher review forms contain only the manuscript number and title. The forms are sent to the reviewers together with the manuscript, which contains only a number and does not contain the author(s)’ names, academic affiliation and emails, thus ensuring confidentiality and anonymity. The review form is provided to the reviewers together with the manuscript, which does not contain the names, academic affiliation, email of the author(s), thus ensuring anonymity and confidentiality. The form ensures a level playing field in the peer review process if a template is available and clear criteria are outlined. The structure of the criteria in the form creates conditions for objectivity in the presentation of the evaluations.
First group of criteria: structure and organization of the manuscript:
– Structure of the manuscript: (parts: title, abstract, keywords, introduction, main body, conclusion).
– Logical and meaningful coherence between parts and subparts: research object, aims, methods, stages of the research, summarising, discussion, conclusions, etc.
– Formatting of appendices (tables, diagrams, charts, photographs, visuals, lists, lists of abbreviations).
Second group of criteria: content, theoretical training, methodology, results
– Relevance and significance of the issues in the publication.
– Originality and novelty in a scientific field.
– Accurate and correct use of the categorical and conceptual apparatus and terminology;
– Methods and methodology, research design.
– Results, analysis of results and conclusions.
– Achievements is contributions of the author in a given scientific field.
The reviewer presents arguments in this part of the review as to whether the manuscript includes significant research findings; whether the subject and subject areas are correctly presented; whether the stages of the research are correctly described; whether the research instrumentation is correctly used; and whether the contributions are on the themes articulated in the journal’s editorial philosophy and policy.
Third group of criteria:
Bibliography and citations according to APA style, 7th edition (2020). The reviewer indicates whether the requirements have been met and makes recommendations for editing.
Fourth group of criteria: language, style, spelling and punctuation
Covering criteria for scientific style and academic writing in the genre of scientific article, spelling, punctuation in both Bulgarian and English.
The independent reviewer makes recommendations to the author of the manuscript.
The reviewer finally, on the review form, explicitly formulates the assessment and marks one of the options indicated:
– to accept the manuscript without revisions;
– to edit the manuscript at the level of language and style;
– edit parts of the manuscript;
– reject the manuscript.
If the sum of the quantitative criteria in the two reviews and over 70 points, the manuscript of the article is accepted.
If the sum of the quantitative criteria in the two reviews is below 70 points, the manuscript is rejected.
If the sum of the quantitative criteria in one review is below 70 points, the procedures described above are followed.
Requirements for online submission of a manuscript
Manuscripts should be submitted to the Editorial Board via the journal’s emails and/or from the online form on the journal’s websites in the contacts section.
journal@rhetoric.bg, editors@rhetoric.bg, journal.rhetoric.bg@gmail.com
Requirements for online publication of a manuscript
The decision to publish the manuscript as a final version on the journal’s websites is made by the Editorial Board and the editors/editors of the issue after peer review, editing and proofreading, and preprinting.
The “double-blind review” process involves two independent reviewers.
The publication procedure is carried out under ‘double-blind peer review’. The requirements are disclosed on the websites under the review section.
Publication takes place after the author(s) have signed a copyright and liability document. The information is presented on the sites in sections: Publishing Policy and Ethics.