Peer review rules

Journal of Digital Life 

Guidelines for Reviewers 

1.  Subject to Peer-review
Article, Technical Article, and Review Article submitted in accordance with the submission guidelines of the Journal of Digital Life are subject to peer review.

2. Editorial Board Member in Charge
An editor or editorial board member in charge must be appointed according to the research field of the submitted manuscript.

3. Reviewer and Editorial Board Member for Decision Making

3.1 Each editor/ editorial board member in charge appoints one independent expert to review submitted manuscripts. Secondary Publication and Report will be reviewed by the editor/ editorial board member in charge to decide whether or not to publish the manuscript. 

3.2 Matters that violate the submission guidelines shall be dealt with by the editor/ editorial board member in charge prior to peer review. 

3.3 The names of the reviewers shall be anonymous to the authors 

3.4 Authors may recommend reviewers to the editorial board in advance. However, the editorial board are not necessarily required to contact the reviewers recommended by the authors, and it is not allowed to recommend the authors’ colleagues or close collaborators as reviewers. 

3.5 When a reviewer is asked for a peer-review by an editor/ editorial board member in charge and declines the peer-review, it is possible to recommend another independent expert as a reviewer. In that case, to register personal information such as the name or e-mail address of the recommended expert, prior consent shall be obtained from the expert regarding the use of the personal information for the purpose of peer review. Additionally, to register the personal information on an online manuscript submission system, the purpose of use should be clarified and prior consent should be obtained from the expert. 

4. Peer-review Report 

The reviewers shall be supposed to be on an equal relationship with the authors and report from an objective, academic, and supportive perspective, not based on the reviewers’ subjective values (personal feelings and preferences that are not academic, or general opinions). 

4.1 Overall Recommendation of the Peer-review Results 

・Grade A: Accept in original form (the assessment result is equivalent to “Acceptable for publication”) 

・Grade B: Revisions are required (including a change in the type of article submitted) (the assessment result is equivalent to “Acceptable for publication”) 

・Grade C: Grade C: Major revisions are required (the assessment result is equivalent to ” Requires revision”) 

・Grade D: Rejected (the assessment result is equivalent to ” Cannot be published”) 

The assessment result of Secondary Publication and Report, which are not peer-reviewed but judged directly by the editor/ editorial board members in charge, are classified into three categories: “Accepted,” ” Requires revision,” and “Rejected”. 

・Accepted: Accept in original version of the article 

・Requires revision: Revisions are required (such as changing in the type of article submitted and correcting of English expressions) 

・Rejected: Manuscripts that clearly do not meet the requirements for publication, or manuscripts that are inappropriate for publication 

4.2 Comments on the Overall Assessment 
The reviewers provide comments on the overall assessment, including the appropriateness of the title, relevance to previous research, correspondence between research purpose and results, appropriateness of the structure of the article, originality, reliability of data, and appropriateness of expression. 

4.3 Comments on the Revision 
The reviewers provide comments on what should be modified 

5. Overall Recommendation of the Peer-review Results

5.1 According to the overall recommendation of the peer-review results, the editor/ editorial board member in charge decides whether to accept or reject the article and reports the decision to the editorial office. 

5.2 If it is difficult to make a decision on acceptance or rejection based on the opinions of the editor/ editorial board members in charge only, it will be reported to the chief editors and a decision on acceptance or rejection will be made. 

5.3 If the editor/ editorial board member in charge finds any inappropriate expressions or unnecessary comments in the peer-review report in accordance with these peer-review guidelines, it can be removed. 

6. Decision of Assessment Result
Decision on the result of the assessment shall be made as follows.

6.1 Accepted: The original version of the article will be published in the Journal of Digital Life. 

6.2 Continuing Assessment: The authors shall be asked to revise the article and resubmit it within 14 days. In this case, the authors shall be requested to clearly indicate the modifications as much as possible. The editor/ editorial board member in charge will ask the same reviewer as the first reviewer to re-review the revised manuscript. Based on the results of the re-review, the editor/ editorial board member in charge will check the details and parts of the revisions, and if the revisions are considered appropriate, the manuscript will be accepted; otherwise, the manuscript will be rejected. If it is considered necessary, another modification shall be requested. 

6.3 Rejected: The result of the assessment will be sent to the author. 

6.4 If the reviewer and the editor/ editorial board member in charge are different in their decision on the modified article, the decision of the chief editor shall be the final decision. 

7. Notification of Assessment Result and Revision Request
The editorial board shall notify the author of the assessment result and revision request through the editorial office. Regarding the revision request, it will be sent to the author based on the review report from the reviewer.

8. Peer-review Process
The peer-review period is approximately one month from the receiving of the submitted manuscript.

・Receiving submitted articles 

・Technical check is done by the editorial office, and if there are no problems, the editor/ editorial board member in charge is appointed: within one week 

・Selection and request of reviewers by the editor/ editorial board member in charge: within one week 

・Peer review: within one to two weeks in principle. If peer review is delayed, the editor/ editorial board member in charge may consider that the reviewer has withdrawn and may select a new reviewer. 

・Acceptance or rejection by the editor/ editorial board member in charge: within one week 

・Period when re-review is required: within one week 
In the case of a delay in peer review, a decision on acceptance or rejection may be made by the editor/ editorial board member in charge. 

・Notification of assessment results based on the acceptance or rejection decision by the editorial board: within one week 

・Publication in the Journal of Digital life: within 4 weeks after receiving the submission 

9. Objection

9.1 If an author raises an objection on the manuscript that has been rejected as a result of the assessment within two weeks, the editorial board shall make a decision as soon as possible. Its decision will be either re-review or rejection of the objection. 

9.2 The editorial board shall promptly notify the author of the result of its decision. 

9.3 In case of re-review, the editorial office shall appoint one editor/ editorial board member who is the same as the editorial board member at the time of the first submission and request a review. 

10. Publication of Accepted Article
An accepted manuscript shall be published in the Journal of Digital Life as soon as possible.

11. Implementation of Guidelines for Reviewers
These guidelines are enacted from September 1, 2021. The same shall apply to manuscripts that are currently under review at the time of the implementation of these guidelines.

Revised on July 6, 2022. 

Revised on September 30, 2022