Review Process

The review process for submissions to Demographic Research is designed to ensure high quality and promote rapid turn-around. Our reviewers include many of the most prominent scientists working in demography and related disciplines.

The Review Process

Submissions go through a two-stage review process.

First, all content submitted to the journal must pass pre-review with the Editor, an Associate Editor, or a Guest Editor of a collection, including a routine check for plagiarism through an external service provider. If an editor chooses to reject a submission in this phase, the journal office will notify the author within a few weeks of first submission.

Second, those submissions that are approved for review are sent to selected referees for comments. Referees may be members of the journal’s Scientific Review Board, outside experts, or both. All Demographic Research reviews are double-blind: authors do not know reviewers’ identities, and vice versa.

The Decision Process

The Editor or designated Associate Editor makes the final decision on a paper’s status, taking into account reviewers’ comments. Editorial board members are not bound by reviewer recommendations, and it is they who decide whether to publish a submission, reject it, or return it for revision.

In addition to the decision, authors will typically receive comments that reviewers and the Editor address to them. However, complete details of referee reports, as well as the Editor’s decision made on a particular manuscript, are not discussed with the authors.