All manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening to assess relevance and quality, followed by double-blind peer review by at least two independent reviewers, in which both the reviewers and the authors are anonymous. SC upholds the standards of international excellence in academic publishing. To facilitate this, authors have to anonymize their manuscripts to ensure that their identity has not been given away in the main text.

Peer review is an important process of evaluation, designed to keep the quality of scholarly work high. The process aims to give constructive feedback to the authors, so that their work can become of the highest academic standard possible. Peer reviews also help editors to decide the paper’s suitability for publication in the journal. As a principle, SC will not accept peer reviews that contain harsh or discriminatory comments, that are unduly negative or could be unduly biased toward a specific ideological or disciplinary position, or due to a range of reasons that result in an overly critical judgment. We wish to support scholars, particularly those who are at an early stage in their research careers or have not benefited from training at an elite institution. Our peer review system is primarily designed to support authors in developing their work; therefore, peer reviewers must provide overall supportive and constructive criticism to help the author (s) develop and improve their submission and learn how to better compose a publishable article.

We ask reviewers to provide review reports in a timely manner, in order to help the journal provide a high-quality publishing service that benefits the global scientific community. Please contact the editorial office if you need a deadline extension for your review.

Editorial decisions are based on originality, theoretical and methodological rigor, significance of contribution, and clarity of presentation.