PROCEDURES FOR THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS
QRT is a bi-annual journal dedicated to advancing understanding of qualitative research in the fields of tourism and hospitality. All original research article submissions are double-blind peer reviewed.
The peer review process can be broadly summarized into the following seven steps:
- Manuscript Submission
The corresponding author submits the manuscript to the online submission system of the journal available at: https://jqrt.online/submissions/index.php/jqrt/about/submissions. All authors receive a confirmation letter by email. - Format-free submission
The journal will introduce a format-free submission process where authors will not be required to follow any scholarly format or layout set when submitting their manuscripts. Authors are expected to supply an editable version of the manuscript after paper acceptance. - Initial Assessment by the Editor-in-Chief
The Editor-in-Chief (EIC) (Prof. Konstantinos Andriotis, – k.andriotis@iatour.org) checks that the manuscript is appropriate for the journal and is sufficiently original and interesting. If not, the manuscript is being rejected without any further review. If yes, the EIC assigns himself as the Handling Editor (HE), or assigns the manuscript to one of the Regional Editors, who acts as a HE. All research notes are assigned to the Research Notes Editor, Dr. Ahmed Abdel Fattah, Macao University of Tourism, Macao (ahmed@utm.edu.mo). - Invitation to Reviewers
The HE sends invitations to at least two independent scholars, he or she believes would be appropriate reviewers for the manuscript. The reviewers are requested to make a scientific assessment and a recommendation to the editors following specific criteria. (Authors and reviewers do not know each other´s identities and cannot be from the same institution). - Reviewers’ Response to Invitations
Invited reviewers consider the invitation against their own expertise, conflicts of interest and availability. They then either accept or decline. When declining, they are asked to suggest alternative reviewers. Further invitations are sent to additional scholars, until the required number of acceptances is obtained (at least two). - Manuscript Review
Reviewers are given one month to read the manuscript and submit their review. In case of delay, a reminder is sent. The review must be submitted online though the online submission system. The criteria of evaluation are given to the reviewer prior to the submission of the review. Reviewers are requested to read the paper and to build a detailed point-by-point review. The review is then submitted to the journal, with a recommendation to accept (with a request for major or minor revision) or reject it - HE Evaluates the Reviews
The HE considers all the returned reviews before making an overall decision. If the reviews differ widely, he or she may invite an additional reviewer as a moderator to get an extra opinion before making a decision. - The Decision
The HE sends a decision email to the author including all relevant reviewers comments. If the article is accepted with major or minor corrections, the HE sends the reviewers’ constructive comments to the author(s) to help them improve the article. If the authors submit a revised version of the manuscript, they should also submit a point-by-point response to reviewers’ comments. The same reviewers are invited to do a follow-up review. When accepted, the EIC sends an acceptance letter by email to the author(s) and the manuscript is sent to production. At this point, reviewers are also sent an email letting them know the outcome of the review process.