Guideline for Associate Editors

Associate Editor Responsibilities

Desk rejection

Upon AE assignment, you shall evaluate the manuscript's suitability for SLADS within 7 days. Submissions will be desk-rejected if they fall below the journal's academic standards or are borderline cases (to save authors' revision time). Only manuscripts passing this initial screening will proceed to public posting.

Reviewer assignment

Upon confirming a submission's suitability for SLADS, you shall assign a minimum of 2 qualified reviewers within 7 days of accepting a paper's assignment.

By default, reviewers are expected to submit their reviews within 6 weeks of assignment. Upon assignment, reviewers will be requested to formally acknowledge their review responsibility via OpenReview. This acknowledgment status will be visible to you on the submission's OpenReview page. Should a reviewer fail to acknowledge their assignment within two days, we recommend that you follow up with them directly for confirmation.

Post-review discussion

Once the second review has been submitted, the authors are given an opportunity to take into account the reviewers' feedback, respond to any questions that were raised, and update their manuscript accordingly. You are responsible for ensuring the reviewers engage actively in this discussion. You may also participate in the discussion yourself, either by posing questions directly to the authors or initiating a private conversation among the reviewers via OpenReview to help reach a consensus where possible.

Since papers on OpenReview are publicly visible, you might encounter signed comments from non-reviewers that appear relevant. You may wish to ask the authors to address these as well. In general, any constructive intervention that assists you in reaching a decision recommendation for the submission is encouraged, provided it maintains the anonymity of both authors and reviewers.

Following their discussion with the authors, reviewers will submit their individual recommendations to you regarding the submission's disposition. This should occur no earlier than 2 weeks and no later than 4 weeks after the submission of the second review.

Decision

Upon receipt of two reviewer recommendations, you should summary all the reasonable suggestions and submit your decision proposal within 1 week. Three possible decision outcomes are: Accept, Accept with Minor Revisions, or Reject.

Final verification

As the final step in processing an accepted paper, you should verify that the revised manuscript has incorporated all reasonable suggestions from the reviewers.

Annual Quota: The standard annual quota is set at 6 papers, though this can be adjusted via the OpenReview console. You may also temporarily mark yourself as unavailable for periods of illness, vacation, or work leave through the same interface.

Manuscript Review Process

The following steps outline the standard manuscript review process:

1

Initial Assessment

Evaluate manuscript suitability for SLADS based on scope, originality, and quality.

2

Reviewer Selection

Identify 2-3 appropriate reviewers with relevant expertise.

3

Post-review discussion

Monitor discussion progress and ensure the reviewers engage actively in this discussion.

4

Decision Making

Evaluate reviews and make editorial recommendation.

5

Final verification

Verify the revised manuscript has incorporated all reasonable suggestions from the reviewers.

Ethical Guidelines

As an Associate Editor, you are expected to uphold the highest ethical standards:

  1. Maintain confidentiality throughout the review process
  2. Declare any conflicts of interest immediately
  3. Ensure fair treatment of all authors regardless of origin or affiliation
  4. Be vigilant about plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct
  5. Respect the intellectual independence of authors