The review process

In order to be acceptable for publication, papers must reach the journal's high standards on all of the following criteria:

1. Interest, importance and originality
2. Quality of writing and presentation
3. Correctness of the arguments and claims of the paper

To demonstrate the interest and importance of the paper, it is essential that at least the introduction of each paper should be accessible to a wide range of readers. It should discuss the importance of the issues addressed and give a clear, nontechnical description of the main work of the paper. In some papers it may, for example, be appropriate to present special cases or specific examples prior to general, abstract formulations, while in other papers discussion of the general scientific context of a problem might be a helpful prelude to the body of the paper. The introduction should also give a clear scholarly context for the paper in relation to the literature in the field.

In order to expedite the decision process and to lessen the burden on referees, papers that are badly written and presented will be rejected early in the process. There will normally be no category of “invited revision”. Authors are therefore urged to submit work in the form in which they would wish it to be published. Inexperienced authors are advised to ask a more senior colleague to read their paper from the point of view of clarity and presentation before submitting it. However, authors whose first language is not English should be reassured that if papers are accepted they are copy-edited to correct any linguistic errors and so the judgement of clarity and presentation is not a check on linguistic correctness.

The correctness of the arguments and claims of the paper are ultimately the author’s responsibility, but referees will of course check both that claims to originality are justified and that the mathematical arguments of the paper are correct. However, if the paper is not clearly written the paper will not be assessed for correctness.

The Editors’ aim is that every paper should be either accepted or rejected on its first submission. Referees are asked only to suggest corrections and amendments that can be reasonably completed by the author in a week’s work; otherwise the paper will simply be rejected. It is the Editors’ hope that this will speed up the refereeing and publication process and will attract excellent submissions.