Peer review procedure

Following an initial quality check, each new submission is assigned to an Editor with relevant expertise. Having assessed the manuscript for suitability, the Editor determines which experts are needed to evaluate the manuscript, based on their qualifications and level of expertise. The author/corresponding author can submit the names and institutional e-mail addresses of several potential referees. However, the Editor retains the sole right to decide whether the suggested reviewers are selected.

UBJ operates a single blind peer review process. All contributions are typically sent to two independent, anonymous expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the manuscript. Usually external peer reviewers have up to 3-4 weeks to submit their review. Reviewers remain anonymous unless they choose to identify themselves in the Peer Review Form (UBJ Review Forms in English and in Ukrainian can be downloaded from this page).

The Editor considers the feedback from peer reviewer and makes a preliminary decision on each manuscript (to accept; to request minor or major revision; to reject). This decision is communicated to the corresponding author, along with the reviewer feedback and other requirements from the UBJ office. If the manuscript can be published after revision, the author is invited to revise it and to resubmit the revised version of the manuscript. After resubmission, the Editor takes an overall decision based on evaluation of the revised manuscript and author response to reviewers, or, if necessary, requests additional comments from external peer reviewers.

If the Editor is finally satisfied with scientific aspects of the manuscript, he recommends to the Editor-in-Chief to accept the manuscript for publication. Once the final formatting and technical requirements are completed, the UBJ office sends a formal decision on acceptance of the manuscript. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of the manuscripts.

UBJ provides fast publication of taxonomic and nomenclatural novelties in order to ensure priority of the proposed changes. These manuscripts are also peer reviewed by two external referees but undergo shorter publication process in order to accelerate valid publication of taxonomic or nomenclature proposals. For these submissions, UBJ offers quick turn-around time ranging between 2–3 weeks for review process and 2 weeks for publication after manuscript acceptance.