General Considerations
All published research articles in the Journal of Transactions on Fuzzy Sets and Systems (TFSS) undergo rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening, refereeing by independent expert referees, and consequent revision by article authors when required. The Journal of “Transactions on Fuzzy Sets and Systems (TFSS)” follows a Single-Blind peer-review in which the authors do not know the reviewers. Authors have the right to communicate to the editor if they do not wish their manuscript to be reviewed by a particular reviewer because of potential conflicts of interest. The published article constitutes the final, definitive, and citable version of the work. All manuscripts submitted to TFSS must be original contributions and must not be under consideration for publication with another journal, nor have they been previously published, in part or whole. The survey articles are subject to the invitation by the editorial board.
The Peer Review Process
Peer Reviewing of articles is an essential part of the publishing process for scholarly work and is employed by all reputable scientific journals. Peer review is defined as obtaining advice on individual manuscripts from reviewers experts in the field who are not part of the journal’s editorial staff. It is an objective process that often provides useful feedback to authors and ensures that their work is presented in the best possible way. The Editorial Board of Journal of Transactions on Fuzzy Sets and Systems (TFSS) would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank our referees, past, present, and future, for giving us their valuable time and for their vital contribution to the success of this journal.
Article review process
A) The initial review (up to one week)
- Articles with the proper structure based on the "Paper Format" are sent to the editorial board of the journal for initial review.
- All submitted manuscripts are checked for similarity through iThenticate software to ensure their authenticity and originality and then rigorously peer-reviewed by expert reviewers.
- Each manuscript is reviewed by a member of the Editorial Board, who may suggest referees if the paper passes the initial evaluation.
- Authors of papers rejected at this stage will be informed as soon as possible.
- If the manuscript does not match the scope of the journal, it will be rejected, and if it matches, it will be sent to the editors for review.
- This process usually takes between 3 to 7 days.
B) Single-Blind review process (two to six months)
- The Editor may seek the advice of at least two referees, chosen in consultation with appropriate members of the Editorial Board, from among experts in the field of specialization of the paper.
- Referees are asked to comment on the originality and scientific correctness of the work and to note deviations from appropriate ethical guidelines, lack of references to the available literature, etc.
- A referee may recommend acceptance, perhaps following minor corrections; acceptance conditional on the successful completion of a more extensive revision; re-evaluation following a major revision that may involve extensions to the original manuscript; or rejection.
- The time taken by the reviewing process will vary, depending on such factors as the availability of appropriate referees, the number and nature of any requested revisions, A weekly e-mail will be submitted to the reviewers, and the manuscript will be given back due to lack of manuscript review after one month, then it will be sent to another reviewer.
- Based on the level of the requested modifications, the viewpoints of reviewers, the accuracy and speed of the modifications done by authors, being accepted in this publication takes about a few months (in case of final approval by reviewers).
- Secretary specialist and scientific committee based on relevant content and subject. This stage will usually take two months.
C) Make Decision
After third phase acceptance, the manuscript will be sent to two reviewers, and then the review process of the manuscript is as follows:
- If two reviewers reject a manuscript, it will be disapproved;
- If the opinion of the two reviews is the total revision of the manuscript, the manuscript will be submitted to the author for revision;
- If a reviewer's opinion is a general revision and the second one rejects the manuscript, the essay will be submitted to the third reviewer, and according to his idea relevant to the first and second item, the decision will be made.
- When the author modified the manuscript and submitted it, the manuscript would be given to another reviewer for comparative assessment. etc., but every effort is made to complete this process as quickly as possible.
D) Final Decision
After the reviewing process the Editor makes the final decision to accept or reject the article. This decision is communicated to the corresponding author, together with any remaining feedback from the referees.
Finally, based on the referee's report, the Editorial Board decides on the paper as:
(1) The paper is accepted without changes,
(2) The paper is accepted subject to minor changes, in which case the revised version should be sent back to the journal in at most one month,
(3) The paper will be accepted subject to more substantial changes being made, in which case the revised version should be sent back to the journal in at most two months,
(4) The paper might be acceptable but requires major revisions, in which case the paper will be regarded as withdrawn and any new version will be regarded as a new submission,
(5) The paper is rejected.
Confidentiality: The reviewing process is conducted in strict confidence and the identity of a referee is not disclosed to the authors at any point.
IMPORTANT
Peer Review Process Flowchart
