Peer-review process
All papers submitted to the JRS undergo anonymised peer-review (see details in the Instructions for Authors).
Submissions are reviewed on the basis of quality and importance for achieving the JRS aim, to share new knowledge that will help prevent death and serious injury due to crashes on our roads.
All submitted manuscripts are initially screened by the Editor-in-Chief to assess if the work meets the JRS aim, is original and contains new content that is important to the JRS. Manuscripts are also assessed for compliance with JRS template and guidelines (e.g., ethics approval if required).
Manuscript that pass the initial screening are then forward to subject matter experts for anonymised peer-review. Experts are seleted on the basis of expertise and prior work in the area. Additional peer reviewers may be called on at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief, for example to adjudicate reviewers’ feedback or to provide additional technical advice. The names of the reviewers are not disclosed to the authors. Each manuscript is peer-reviewed by a minimum of two subject matter experts. The manuscript handling system is monitored daily and if there is a delay in the response from reviewers, additional reviewers are invited.
Matched reviewers
Note that the JRS welcomes submission from academic researchers and practitioners. Reviewers are matched by sector, that is, academic manuscripts are reviewed by academics and practitioner manuscripts are reviewed by practitioners.
Outcomes
Authors are informed of the outcome of the review when feedback is received from all reviewers. Depending on the type of feedback, manuscript may undergo several rounds of reviews and revisions. While reviewers’ feedback is independent, the majority of reviewers must recommend ‘Accept’ for a manuscript to be accepted for publication.
Based on the recommendations from the peer-reviewers, the Editor-in-Chief makes a decision to accept or reject a manuscript, or to request revisions from the author/s in response to the comments from the reviewer/s. Any editorial decisions regarding manuscript acceptance by the Editor-in-Chief are final.
Get in touch
Contact the Journal Managing Editor at journaleditor@acrs.org.au for questions about reviewing an article of the Journal.