All articles published in Babble, invited articles included, undergo double-blind peer review: reviewers do not know the identity of the authors, nor authors that of the reviewers.

Editorial Pre-Review

Every submission first undergoes an editorial pre-review, which checks its fit with the journal’s scope and with the Author Guidelines, the mandatory “Thesis” section of short notes and the anonymity of the text; the submission is also run through similarity-checking software. Submissions that do not meet these conditions are returned to the author or declined without being sent to reviewers.

Selection of Reviewers

• Every article that passes the pre-review is sent to at least two reviewers with expertise in its subject.
• Reviewers are chosen from institutions other than those of the authors. No one with a conflict of interest with the author is invited to review.
• The reviewers are chosen by the member of the Editorial Board who handles the article.

Review

• Reviewers respond to the invitation within one week and submit their reports within two weeks.
• Reviewers assess the article for its originality and contribution to the field, the clarity and defensibility of its thesis, the soundness of its theoretical framework, its use of sources and the clarity of its writing, and make one of four recommendations: accept, minor revisions, major revisions or reject.
• Where the reports differ markedly, the opinion of a third reviewer is sought.

Revision and Decision

• When revisions are requested, the author submits the revised text with a note answering the reviewers’ comments point by point. Texts that required major revisions are sent back to the reviewers.
• After consulting the Advisory Board, the editor-in-chief decides, on the basis of the reports and the handling editor’s recommendation, whether to accept the article, return it for revision or reject it. Babble aims to reach a first decision within three weeks of submission.
• Accepted articles are prepared for publication after copy-editing by the language editor; the author proofreads the typeset text before publication.

Articles by Editors and Board Members

Articles submitted by Babble’s editors and board members go through the same process. The review of such an article is conducted by an editor who has no connection with the author, or by a member of the Advisory Board; an editor who is an author has no access to the process of their own article at any stage.

Records and List of Reviewers

Review reports and correspondence are kept in the journal’s system. The list of reviewers who reviewed for the journal in the previous year is published every year on the Editors and Reviewers page.