Peer review

SET Proceedings uses double-anonymous peer review. Every paper is assessed by at least two independent subject experts, none of them on the organising committee.

The model

SET Proceedings operates double-anonymous peer review. Reviewers are not told who the authors are, and authors are not told who the reviewers are.

The manuscript template has no fields for author names or affiliations, and the authors' names are hidden from reviewers. Authors must still not identify themselves in the text, for example in acknowledgements or by citing their own work in the first person.

What happens to a submission

1. Submission
Contributions are submitted through Caravel Press in one of three ways: an abstract on its own, an abstract with the full paper, or an abstract with a poster.
2. Abstracts
An abstract submitted on its own is checked for scope. It is approved, returned once for revision, or declined. Once it is approved, the full paper may be submitted for review. An approved abstract with no full paper is presented at the conference and not published.
3. Screening
Each full paper is screened for scope and format. A paper that does not meet the basic requirements may be declined without review.
4. Review
Each eligible paper is sent to at least two independent reviewers who are experts in the field and are not members of the organising committee. They assess its originality, methodological soundness, the significance of the contribution, and clarity of presentation.
5. Decision
The outcome is one of: accept, minor revisions, major revisions, or reject. The Editorial Board makes every final decision, solely on the reviewers' reports and the academic merit of the work. Authors receive the reviewers' comments whatever the outcome.
6. Revision
There is one round of revision. Where revisions are asked for, authors are given a deadline to answer the reviewers' comments. The revised paper goes to the editor, who accepts or declines it; it is not sent back to the reviewers.
Posters
Posters are approved or declined by the editor. They are not peer reviewed and are not published in the proceedings.

Attending the conference is not a condition of publication, and plays no part in a decision. At least one author of each accepted paper registers for the conference; see the charges.

Withdrawing a submission

A paper can be withdrawn at any point before it is published. Write to [email protected] and say which submission you mean. No reason has to be given.

Once a paper is published it cannot be withdrawn. The published record is permanent and the DOI goes on resolving. The only instruments after publication are correction, expression of concern and retraction, set out in the corrections and retractions policy.

Permanent address

For reviewers

What SET Proceedings asks of a reviewer.

Before you accept

Accept only if the paper is within your expertise. Declining is more useful than a review outside your field, and it is never held against you.
Decline if you have a competing interest: a recent collaboration, a shared institution, a commercial interest, or any relationship that a reader might reasonably think could colour your judgement.
Accept only if you can complete the review by the deadline the conference sets.

While you review

The manuscript is confidential. Do not share it, quote it, or use it in your own work, before or after publication.
Do not enter any part of it into a generative AI system. It is not yours to upload, and doing so is a breach of confidence. See the generative AI policy.
Do not attempt to identify the authors, and tell the Editorial Board if you believe you have.
Write to the authors, not about them. Say what is wrong, why it matters, and what would fix it.

How reviewing works

Reviews are written on the review form in Caravel Press, against four criteria: originality, methodological soundness, the significance of the contribution, and clarity of presentation. A paper is reviewed once; a revised paper is checked by the editor, not sent back to the reviewers.