Peer review procedure

After an author submits a manuscript to the editorial office of the journal Southern Archive (Historical Sciences), it undergoes a double-blind peer review process: reviewers do not know the identity of the author(s), and authors do not know the identity of the reviewers.

 Stages of the Review Process:
1. Initial Screening (up to 5 days):
Verification of compliance with the journal’s scope.
Plagiarism check (using StrikePlagiarism).
Verification of adherence to formatting requirements.
Decision: send for peer review or reject.

2. Appointment of Reviewers (2–3 days):
Reviewers of scholarly materials are appointed by the Executive Secretary of the Editorial Board. Reviewers are selected carefully, considering their qualifications and publication record. Each reviewer receives a formal invitation. An anonymized version of the manuscript is provided for review.
If a selected reviewer does not consider themselves competent to evaluate the manuscript or realizes that they will be unable to provide a timely review, they must immediately inform the Editor-in-Chief.

Reviewer Selection Criteria:
Possession of a PhD or Doctor of Sciences degree.
Publications relevant to the subject of the reviewed article.
Publications in journals indexed in Scopus and/or Web of Science.
Absence of conflicts of interest with the author(s).

3. Review Process (2–3 weeks):
The reviewer evaluates:
Relevance of the topic and scientific novelty.
Consistency between the title and the content.
Quality of the literature review.
Appropriateness of the methodology.
Reliability of the results.
Validity of the conclusions.
Quality of presentation and language.

4. Possible Reviewer Recommendations:
Accept the article as is (without any changes).
Accept the article after minor revisions.
Request major revisions and resubmission (in this case, the revised manuscript is sent for re-review).
Reject the article without further consideration.

5. Author Revision:
The author receives an anonymized review.
Prepare a revised version.
Submits a response to the reviewer’s comments.

6. Final Decision:
The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision based on the reviewer’s recommendations.

Documentation:
Reviews are prepared using the journal’s standard form.
All reviews are archived by the editorial office for 3 years.

Timeframes:
Total time from submission to first final decision: 4–5 weeks.
Time allowed for revisions: 7 days.
Time for re-review: 7 days.

Appeal:
The author has the right to appeal a rejection decision within 10 days. The appeal is considered by an independent member of the editorial board.