1. Submission of a manuscript
All manuscripts are to be submitted via email to the Publishing Coordinator: manager@retailandmarketingreview.co.za or the Editor: editor@retailandmarketingreview.co.za. On receiving the emailed manuscript, authors will receive a manuscript number within 48 hours. The format in which all manuscripts are to be submitted is laid out clearly in the Author Guidelines. These guidelines must be strictly adhered to as manuscripts not adhering to these guidelines may be returned. All manuscripts must be submitted in MS-WORD file format. The Copyright Agreement Form must be submitted along with the manuscript.
2. The publishing process
a) Acknowledgement of submitted manuscript
As soon as the manuscript is received the author(s) will receive a standard letter of “Acknowledgement of received paper”. This email, sent within two days, will contain the allocated manuscript number which must be used in all future correspondence with the manager or editor. Please contact the journal again if you do not receive this email – after checking in your spam box as well.
b) Initial Review
All submitted manuscripts are initially screened by the editor for compatibility with the journals aims, scope and focus. Manuscripts that do not pass the initial screening are rejected and authors will be informed regarding the reasons for the rejection. The manuscripts which are found suitable for review are then similarity checked through Turnitin and any manuscripts with an unacceptable level of similarity or containing plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, are rejected. Manuscripts that have been published (fully or partially) elsewhere are rejected.
c) Peer Review process
All submitted manuscripts that passed the initial screening will be submitted for peer review. A double blind peer review system is followed. The identities of both reviewers and the authors are kept secret in order to ensure objectivity and no reviewer will review a submission for an author from his or her institution. The reviewers selected for the review process are all experts in their fields and at least two reviewers from different institutions will be used. In the case of conflicting reviews a third reviewer will be used to review the manuscript. The review process takes between four and six weeks.
d) Acceptance or rejection
Based on the reviews of the reviewers a manuscript is either accepted or rejected. This decision is based on the recommendations of the reviewers who can accept the submission with no changes, accept with minor changes, accept with major revision or reject as not suitable. If both reviewers accept the manuscript or acceptance is given with changes suggested provisional approval is given and authors are requested to make the required changes and resubmit the manuscript. The manuscript is then resent to the initial reviewers to either approve or reject the manuscript based on the changes made as suggested. If these changes have not been made to the satisfaction of the reviewers the manuscript is rejected. A manuscript which is rejected by both reviewers during the first screening is rejected. Any differences of opinion between reviewers, will result in a third reviewer being asked to do a final review of the manuscript.
e) Notification of outcome of review
After the review process the corresponding author will be notified of the outcome of the review. In the event that changes are required authors will be asked to review the manuscript and resubmit the manuscript as an MS Word document with the required changes within a specified timeframe. In all instances authors are provided with the feedback and comments from the reviewers. This will assist authors to improve future submissions and to improve the overall quality and standard of their submissions.
