NCBQ Peer Review Process

1. Manuscript Submission

In general, authors submit manuscripts via email. Submission guidelines can be found here.

2. Assessment by Editor in Chief (EIC)

The manuscript is assessed by the editor in chief to ensure it is of high quality and on a relevant subject that is not overrepresented in the National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly.

3. Ethicist Review (Optional)

The manuscript may be sent to an ethicist at The National Catholic Bioethics Center for his or her opinion on its merits.

4. EIC Assessment of Ethicist Review

The editor in chief reviews the ethicist’s comments and suggestions before deciding whether to send the manuscript for peer review.

5. Peer Review

The manuscript is sent to a reviewer with expertise on the subject matter, who evaluates the strengths and limitations of the article and provides the editor in chief with his or her assessment of the paper’s merits. This includes evaluating the author’s argument for soundness and clarity; eliminating unsupported claims, factual errors, and gaps in the research or reasoning; and providing solutions for addressing weaknesses. The peer-review process in double-blind, that is, the reviewer does not know the identity of the author and vice versa. If a peer reviewer recommends that a manuscript be rejected, the author will be given the opportunity to revise his or her manuscript for re-review.

6. EIC Assessment of Peer Review

The editor in chief reviews the peer reviewer’s comments and suggestions before deciding whether to send the manuscript back to the author for revision or to accept it for publication. If the reviewer recommends that a revised manuscript be rejected, the editor in chief may send the manuscript to a second reviewer before making a final decision regarding publication.

7. Manuscript Sent to Production

The manuscript is sent to the editorial staff, who fact-check and edit the work.