The Journal of Prison Education and Reentry (JPER) is committed to providing authors with a fair, rigorous, and timely editorial process while maintaining high standards of scholarly quality and research integrity. Research papers and practitioner papers follow different review procedures in accordance with the journal’s editorial policies.
- Initial Editorial Screening: Within approximately 7–10 days of submission, the editorial team reviews each manuscript for relevance to the journal’s scope, completeness, overall quality, ethical compliance, and adherence to submission requirements. Research manuscripts that meet these requirements proceed to blind peer review.
- Research Paper Peer Review: Research manuscripts are normally evaluated by three reviewers with relevant expertise. The first round of peer review is generally completed within 8–12 weeks, depending on reviewer availability, the complexity of the manuscript, and the subject area.
- Editorial Decision: Authors of research papers are usually informed of the first editorial decision within approximately 9–13 weeks of submission. Decisions may include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection.
- Practitioner Paper Review: Practitioner papers follow a more streamlined editorial process and are generally reviewed by one reviewer or designated editor. Authors can normally expect an initial decision within approximately 3–6 weeks of submission.
- Revision and Final Decision: When revisions are requested, authors are given an appropriate period to prepare a revised manuscript. After resubmission, the revised paper is normally assessed within 2–4 weeks. Major revisions may be returned to the original reviewers and can therefore require additional time.
- Production and Online Publication: Once a manuscript has received final acceptance and all required publication materials have been submitted, the article normally proceeds through copyediting, formatting, proofreading, and final production. Accepted articles are generally published online within 1–2 weeks after completion of the production process.
Average first-decision time for research papers: approximately 9–13 weeks from submission.
Average first-decision time for practitioner papers: approximately 3–6 weeks from submission.
Typical online publication time for accepted research papers: approximately 10–16 weeks from initial submission, depending on revision requirements.
These time frames are indicative rather than guaranteed. The actual review period may vary depending on reviewer availability, manuscript complexity, the number and extent of revisions required, ethical or methodological questions, and the responsiveness of authors and reviewers. The JPER editorial team makes every reasonable effort to ensure that manuscripts are processed efficiently while preserving the fairness, confidentiality, independence, and rigor of the journal’s review process.