Reviewer Guidelines

Below are the guidelines for reviewing articles/works submitted to APCJ for publication consideration.  As you know, APCJ is an international peer-reviewed journal that seeks to publish strong academic works; therefore, your contribution to this process is essential. We appreciate the time, effort, and dedication you demonstrate by your willingness to help in this important endeavor. 

Because of our desire to provide prompt feedback to our contributors and reduce the unnecessary delays in making quality research available to our audience, time is of the essence in our review process.  As a result, we ask that you provide your review commentary and recommendations within 30 - 45 days of receipt of the manuscript.  If, for any reason, you will be unable to meet this timeline, please notify the editor as soon as possible.

Typically all materials will be sent to and received from reviewers via e-mail unless some unusual circumstance dictates otherwise. All materials will be converted to MS Word for the review process. (All accepted articles will be converted to a PDF file for publishing.) Of course, all materials received during this review process are to be treated as confidential.

We ask that reviewers be as complete and thorough as possible in their assessment, considering issues of fit to this particular journal, content, editorial style, sophistication, empirical rigor, and contribution. 

Reviewers should provide the editor a general appraisal of the article in paragraph form; however they can also utilize the editing features in MS word for comments that will be forwarded to the submitting author. In each case, the reviewer’s comments should follow the format and provide an assessment of the criteria listed below including a recommendation for publication, revision, or rejection.  In each case, the reviews should be clear and concise and fully support the overall recommendation.  

When reviewing manuscripts our goal is to assess for fit, style, sophistication, and rigor.  Areas that need further refinement should be addressed clearly and in the spirit of helpful guidance. Remember the importance of offering quality feedback in the spirit of collegiality. The goal should be to offer your expert opinion and provide the author(s) with guidance as to what specific areas might need improvement and how they might accomplish the improvement. 

Once your review is completed, please promptly submit all material to: editor@apcj.org.
THANK YOU!

Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice is now a part of the PsycInfo abstracting database. APCJ is already indexed by a number of services including Sociological Abstracts and Criminal Justice Abstracts. Additionally, Applied Psychology in Criminal Justice is now included in the EBSCO academic databases; the largest, most used, premium research database in the world. Users are able to access full-text copies of the articles printed in APCJ.

 

Reviewer Format

Please frame your review of APCJ articles in the following format/sequence.  All elements are important to the review process. This allows the logistical considerations to flow more smoothly.

Use this dowloadable template to provide the following information:

Thank you for your assistance. 
Please e-mail completed reviews to: editor@apcj.org.