The JFQA wishes to publish the best papers, while treating all authors fairly. Publication in the JFQA is extremely competitive, and over 90% of submissions are rejected.

Publication decisions reflect the judgment of the assigned editor, who can elect to solicit the assessments of one or more referees.  In some cases, often related to the submission’s scope, fit with the journal, or the editor’s assessment of the probability of a favorable review, the editor will decide to reject without seeking a referee’s assessment. Such decisions are not subject to appeal.

Among negative decisions that involve a referee report, an author may on occasion conclude that a referee substantially misinterpreted the submission’s content, methods, or contribution.  To resolve such situations equitably, and to avoid serious errors in our editorial outcomes, the JFQA relies on an appeals procedure as described below:

Stage 1 Appeal:

1. The author(s) may submit a letter detailing their concerns to the editorial office, with the understanding that it will be forwarded to the original editor and referee.  Author(s) must wait at least one month but no more than three months of the original decision to submit an appeal.
2. The original referee is asked to respond to the editor.
3. The original editor will assess whether the initial negative decision should be changed to a revision request.

Stage 2 Appeal:

If the editor is not persuaded to reverse the prior negative decision, the author can, within one month of learning the Stage 1 outcome, initiate a Stage 2 appeal by advising the editor and paying a $500 appeals fee.  However, no stage 2 appeal will be considered from an author who initiated a Stage 2 appeal with a negative outcome during the prior twenty-four months.

4. The editor will send the paper to an appeals referee, along with the prior review and the correspondence between the author and the original referee. The appeals referee will review the version of the paper that was originally submitted.
5. The appeals referee will submit a letter to the editor and a referee report.  If the appeals referee convinces the editor that a revision request is appropriate, the $500 fee will be refunded, and the review process will continue, with the appeals referee replacing the original referee going forward.
6. If the appeals referee does not convince the editor that a revision request is appropriate, then the submission fee is not refunded, and the rejection decision is final.