Peer Review Process

Virtual Archaeology Review will acknowledge the articles received by the Editor-in-Chief. The article will be allocated to one of the Editors who will follow an initial screening of the paper’s content and suitability. The Editors, once confirmed that the article fulfils the standards of style and content indicated in the submission policy, will assign independent reviewers for double-blind peer review. The Editors will decide upon publication of the articles received after the review. However, papers may be rejected without full review if they are deemed not to meet the journal’s requirements.

The assessment will be influenced by the interest of the full original article which is expected to reflect both current research and best practice throughout the world, in order to contribute to the advancement of the new field of virtual archaeology, ranging from new ways of recording and documentation, modelling, advanced reconstruction up to cyber-archaeology, virtual exhibitions and serious gaming, among others. Thus acceptable material may emerge from interesting applications as well as from original developments or research. Attention will be paid to the way innovative concepts and solutions are introduced and applied, the way the critical judgement are developed, the suitability of the bibliographical references considered, the correct language writing, etc.

According to the recommendations of the Editor and the reviewers, the Editor of the Virtual Archaeology Review will notify the corresponding author the review decisions: acceptance –publication without changes; minor revision; major revision; and rejection. The communication of the first review will be usually communicated to the authors by the Editor in less than two months.

If the paper is not rejected, some form of revision is normally required and, on receipt of author amendments, a further round of review is undertaken. In this case, the authors will have to resubmit a new (revised or amended) version of the paper, addressing all the comments/suggestions. The author/s will send a rebuttal file with amendments to the Editor in charge of the article, indicating the modifications made in the revised article. The revised article should display the modifications made (e.g. by means of activating the track changes facility) in the light of their comments.

Considering the degree of compliance with the requested changes, the Editors will decide whether or not the article is ready to be accepted for publication. This final decision will be communicated by the Editor of the Virtual Archaeology Review to the corresponding author.

Any requests to either add or remove an author, or to rearrange the author names, must be sent to the Editor from the corresponding author and must include: (1) the reason the name should be added or removed, or the author names rearranged; (2) written confirmation by e-mail from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement; and (3) confirmation from the author being added or removed.

The final acceptance of a contribution will be communicated to the authors within approximately three months.