Review Process

Manuscripts submitted to SPORK undergo a three-stage peer review process. The time from submission to the distribution of the peer reviews is approximately 1–3 months. We aim to publish manuscripts 3–6 months after submission.

Before submission

1. Recommendation by a faculty member: When submitting the article, confirmation of the publication recommendation by a faculty member is required. This recommendation confirms that the article is of sufficient quality to proceed to further review. The recommendation can be informal but must specify two criteria for the submission of the article. You can download a form for the instructor to fill out from the Resources section.  

After submission

2. Editorial Review: The editorial team reviews the submission to ensure it complies with the specified formal requirements. These include, among other things, spelling, grammar, meaningful headings, image quality, correct (consistent) citations, a complete bibliography, and, in cases of suspected plagiarism, a plagiarism check. If any deficiencies are identified, the manuscript is returned for revision with detailed but constructive feedback. In cases of serious deficiencies, a manuscript may also be rejected.

3. Peer Review: After the editorial review and any necessary revisions, the manuscript is forwarded to a qualified peer reviewer for content evaluation. The manuscript may be accepted, returned for revision with suggested changes, or rejected. The detailed feedback is intended to encourage the author to further revise the manuscript as needed after receiving the feedback, to consider it from different perspectives, and to gain insights into the practices of open-access publishing. 
In the event of revisions, the author is required to submit a reply addressing the points raised in the review and detailing the changes made.