Peer review policy

All articles published in Primenjena psihologija undergo peer review. Peer-review is an important process that enables the maintenance of high quality of both the research process and published articles. Primenjena psihologija applies a double-blind peer review process. All papers are reviewed anonymously by at least two independent reviewers.  

Responsible peer-review

The reviewer should provide an unbiased, constructive report in a timely manner on the scientific aspects of the manuscript, avoiding personal comments or criticism. Peer review reports should be in English, using an inclusive language that implies respect for the author's views, knowledge and contributions to scientific research.

Peer review reports should include an evaluation of all aspects of the manuscript, in particular the appropriateness of the research method, the accuracy of the results, and the relationship of the conclusions to the results. The reviewer should identify strengths and give constructive comments that will help the author to resolve weaknesses in the work.

The reviewer is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the review process. Sharing, discussing with third parties, or disclosing information from the reviewed manuscript are unacceptable. All material submitted for peer-review is a privileged communication that should be treated as confidential.

If the reviewer does not have the appropriate expertise for all aspects of the manuscript, this should be emphasized in the report. A reviewer cannot be an expert in all areas and limiting the review to a particular area of expertise is more than acceptable.

Before accepting an invitation to review a manuscript, potential reviewers should inform the Editor-in-Chief of possible conflicts of interest.

Initial manuscript evaluation

All manuscripts are initially assessed by the Editorial Assistant for fulfillment of technical conditions. Manuscripts that have not been edited in accordance with the Instructions to Authors will not be forwarded to the Editor-in-Chief. Incomplete and technically missing manuscripts are returned to the authors for revision. The next step in the evaluation is performed by the Editor-in-Chief, who assesses the suitability of the manuscript for the Journal. The manuscript is then forwarded to an Associate Editor for further evaluation.

Peer-review evaluation

All papers are reviewed anonymously by at least two independent reviewers. If the reviewer is unable to meet the deadline for the review, there is a possibility of a prompt decline to perform the review. The typical time for the review process in Primenjena psihologija is approximately 4 weeks. If the reviewer does not send the report within the deadline and after receiving the reminder, the editor should find a new reviewer, with a shorter deadline for the evaluation of manuscript. If the two reviews contradict each other, the expert opinion of the third reviewer will be additionally required.

The review report contains the following areas of evaluation:

Title (is it appropriate and concise?)

Abstract (its quality and length)

Aim(s) (are they stated clearly?)

Conceptual and theoretical frameworks (are the content and quantity satisfactory?)

Method (is the method appropriate,  is the sampling procedure  described in detail, are the instruments listed appropriately?)

Results and discussion (is data analysis appropriate given the stated aims and the nature of data, do the conclusions follow from the obtained data?)

Is the cited literature relevant?

Structure of the manuscript (is it in accordance to Instructions to Authors and the APA 6 standards)

Quality and structure of the text (has the manuscript been written clearly, are graphs and tables shown adequately?)

Contribution to the scientific field (if relevant, are the practical implications stated clearly ?

Revised manuscripts are returned to reviewers who may request another revision of the manuscript.

The final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles is made by the Associate Editor. Based on the received reviews and reviewers' advise, the Associate Editor makes one of the following decisions on the manuscript: A - acceptance, B - acceptance with corrections, C - rejection with the suggestion that the paper is largely corrected and resubmitted, or D - rejection.

Open peer review

Although Primenjena psihologija applies a double-blind review policy, there is an understanding for researchers who are committed to open peer review. If the reviewer prefers this model, the review can be signed, and the identity of the reviewer revealed to the author. Primenjena psihologija allows reviewers to deposit their reviews in review platforms such as Publons.

Peer review recognition

Primenjena psihologija is committed to recognizing the invaluable help of all experts who participate in the review process on a volunteer basis.

After the review report is sent, the reviewers receive an email with a notification that the review has been done. Reviewer recognition programs such as Publons allow indexing of reviews based on email with such content. Also, Primenjena psihologija publishes a list of reviewers that appears in the Journal on a regular annual basis.