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APSR Appeals Process

Individuals may appeal an adverse decision of the journal under limited circumstances. An author may initiate an appeal by sending a request to the journal email address (apsr@apsanet.org).

Manuscripts that have been appealed must not be submitted to another journal until the appeal outcome is determined. 

 

Elements of an Appeal

In order for the editors to consider the appeal, an appeal request must lay out the grounds for the appeal, keeping in mind that mere disagreement with the editor’s reasoned decision is not likely to be successful and such appeals are strongly discouraged. Appropriate grounds include:

  • Errors of fact in the letter or reviews
  • Procedural irregularities or improprieties in the review process
  • Unethical behavior by reviewers
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Other exceptional circumstances

The letter should also establish that these concerns have been material to the decision to reject the paper.

 

Timing

The APSR will not consider an appeal until three weeks after a decision has been rendered. An appeal must be submitted within two months of the date of the original decision letter.

 

Process

The Standing Appeals Committee will review the appeal. If committee members determine that the appeal meets the threshold for further review, they will review all materials, including the appeal memo, the original decision letter, all external reviews (both the text of the reviews and comments that the reviewers shared with the editors only), the numerical manuscript ratings the reviewers shared with us, and the manuscript itself. They will then recommend appropriate action, which may be to deny the appeal, to solicit new reviews, or to reverse or revise the original editorial decision. Committee members (who will not simultaneously serve as lead editors) will ask other editors to join the deliberations if their particular expertise is needed. They will recuse themselves from any consideration if they were the editor who issued the adverse decision or if any conflicts of interest become apparent. 

Timing: If the Standing Appeals Committee decides the appeal does not merit further attention, they communicate that decision to the author(s) in a timely manner (typically within ten business days of receipt of the appeal), and the appeals process ends. 

If the Committee decides the appeal does merit further review, they will decide on an appropriate course of action within twenty business days of receipt of the appeal. The entire process will typically take approximately a month but no more than six weeks unless the Committee decides to solicit another review, consult with an Editorial Board member or send the paper out for an entirely new round of reviews.