Peer Review Process

The HAP follows a “double-blind” peer review process in which the authors and reviewers are not informed of each other’s identity. Manuscripts submitted for review should have not been or be under current consideration for publication by other journals.
The peer-review system serves as the primary mechanism for ensuring the quality of published research. To achieve this, all submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous evaluation process to ensure that only high-quality work is selected for publication. Manuscript acceptance is based not only on scientific soundness and originality but also on additional factors such as the level of innovation, the significance and breadth of the findings compared to other submissions, the journal’s goal to present a diverse range of topics, and the manuscript’s overall suitability for the journal.
The peer-review process follows these general steps: Initially, the editor(s) act as the first filter, reviewing submissions for originality, relevance to the journal’s audience, and likelihood of success in peer review. This step helps avoid unnecessary reviews for manuscripts better suited to more specialized journals, saving time for both authors and reviewers. At this stage, authors may be asked to make initial corrections or adjustments before the formal review begins.
In the next phase, editors typically assign three reviewers with expertise in the subject matter and a background in statistics. These reviewers provide recommendations to the editor(s) and if two reviwers have the same idea about the study, the their idea would be accepted. If two authors conflict eachother in acceptance or rejection of the study the third reviwer idea would be considered. The authors can monitor the progress of their manuscript through their user profile. Click here to see the Flowchart.

Based on the review, submitted manuscripts will receive one of the following decisions:

• Accept Submission – The manuscript is accepted without changes.
• Revisions Needed – Minor revisions are required before acceptance.
• Resubmit for Evaluation – Major revisions are necessary, and the revised manuscript will undergo a second round of review.
• Reject Submission – The manuscript will not be published in the journal.