Peer Review Process

The EPHELS is a refereed journal and has a double-blind review. Any manuscript submitted for consideration in publication in the EPHELS is reviewed by at least two international reviewers with expertise in the relevant subject area, are appointed by the editors. All peer assessment reports are sent electronically and anonymously to the participants via journal database. Names of reviewers are kept by the journal to preserve the integrity of the double-blind peer review process. Editors appoint two experts in their fields to evaluate all the papers submitted for publication. If there is a conflict between the reviews of the reviewers, a third reviewer is appointed.After the author submits the final and corrected version of the article, it is reevaluated by the reviewers and the editor to decide whether to publish it.

The articles should be original, unpublished, and not in consideration for publication elsewhere at the time of submission to The Eurasia Proceedings of Health, Environment and Life Sciences (EPHELS) and during the review process. Articles can be submitted to EPHELS journal in two ways: 1- Authors can upload their articles directly to the journal. After a preliminary review by the EPHELS journal editors, these articles are forwarded to one of the conferences supported by the journal. Authors register with the conference system and upload their abstract. If the paper is deemed suitable after the conference, the peer-review process is initiated in EPHELS journal. 2- Articles are forwarded directly to EPHELS journal by the editors or committees of the conferences supported by EPHELS journal.

THE ROLE OF THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE

In both cases, the relevant conference committee first reviews the abstracts of the articles and, if the abstracts are suitable, sends them to reviewers through the conference system. Studies whose abstracts are found suitable as a result of the peer review are accepted to the conference. After the conference, the authors revise the full text of their studies, taking into account the feedback they received during the conference, and upload the final version to the conference system again. This time, the conference committee sends the full texts to reviewers. If the full texts are accepted by the conference committee, the conference committee recommends that the authors submit their articles to the EPHELS journal. The conference committee also sends a list of accepted articles and the results of their review to the editors of the EPHELS journal. These reviews and corrections made by the conference committee speed up the process and have a positive impact on the publication of articles. However, acceptance of the full text of a study by the conference committee and reviewers does not automatically mean acceptance by the EPHELS journal. The EPHELS journal considers the conference committee's review only as a preliminary review. A study accepted at the conference may be rejected by the EPHELS journal editors. The EPHELS journal editors conduct their own reviews and send articles back to reviewers. The final decision for publication rests with the EPHELS journal editors.

THE ROLE OF EPHELS EDITORS

The conference committee's recommendation serves as a preliminary review but does not mean the article has been accepted by the EPHELS journal. Articles submitted to the journal are first subjected to a preliminary review by the journal editors. If, as a result of the preliminary review, it is decided that the article is relevant to the journal's focus, the article is sent to two reviewers. Based on the reviewers' feedbacks, a decision of acceptance, rejection, or revision is made and communicated to the authors. At the end of this process, accepted articles are assigned to the appropriate issues according to the conference name.

THE ROLE OF REVIEWERS

EPHELS journal selects the majority of its reviewers from among conference committee members, journal editorial board members, and former and current conference participants. The main reason for this selection is to speed up the process and to receive feedback from individuals familiar with the journal's system. Additionally, participants who volunteer to be reviewers via email, WhatsApp, etc., are also assigned as reviewers. After reviewing, reviewers receive a thank-you email from the journal's system. Reviewers provide feedback on the articles within 15 days at the latest. When assigned as reviewers, they examine the articles taking into account the journal's article review template.