Instructions for Referees
The SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics (SIDMA) depends heavily on our referees, and we are greatly indebted for maintaining the quality and timeliness of our journal. Thank you for your help in assessing manuscripts.
Editorial Policy
The SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics publishes research papers of exceptional quality in pure and applied discrete mathematics, broadly interpreted. The journal's focus is primarily theoretical rather than empirical, but the editors welcome papers that evolve from or have potential application to real-world problems. Submissions must be clearly written and make a significant contribution.
Topics include but are not limited to:- properties of and extremal problems for discrete structures;
- combinatorial optimization, including approximation algorithms;
- algebraic and enumerative combinatorics;
- coding and information theory;
- additive, analytic combinatorics and number theory;
- combinatorial matrix theory and spectral graph theory;
- design and analysis of algorithms for discrete structures;
- discrete problems in computational complexity;
- discrete and computational geometry;
- discrete methods in computational biology, and bioinformatics;
- probabilistic methods and randomized algorithms.
The journal may, on occasion, publish a special issue devoted to a particular topic, or invited articles that survey a topic of significant interest.
Submission of a manuscript to a SIAM journal is representation by the author that the manuscript has not been published or submitted simultaneously for publication elsewhere. However, papers previously presented in conference proceedings may be submitted in revised form. If a paper has appeared previously, in any form, authors must clearly indicate this both in their cover letter and in a footnote on the first page of the paper.
Review Process
The manuscript submission and peer review process is broken down into the
following steps:
- The Author submits a manuscript.
- The Editor-in-Chief assigns an Associate Editor to act as Review Editor for the paper.
- The Associate Editor assigns Referees.
- The Referees review the manuscript and send reports.
- The Associate Editor makes a decision and the author is contacted.
All SIDMA papers go through review in the web-based Journal Submission & Tracking System; http://peerreview.siam.org/.
When invited to serve as a referee there are two ways to gain access to the manuscript.
- You'll receive an e-mail with basic information about the paper, and a link to view the manuscript. When you use the link to gain access to the web-based system and to see the paper, you are presented with a link to accept the assignment, and a link to decline the assignment.
Accept referee assignment: If you accept, the link will automatically log you into the system and take you directly to the files for the pertinent paper.
Decline referee assignment: If you are unable to review this manuscript and must decline we appreciate any suggestions of potential referees. You can suggest other reviewers or offer any observation on the paper by e-mailing [email protected]. You can also enter your observations or suggest other referees directly into the system after you click the decline link.
- You can alternately access your files by logging into the system
through http://sidma.siam.org, using your user name and password. You are then taken to your "Home"
page. It will list your assignments. If an item is pending, there will be a red arrow next to a
manuscript link. After clicking on this link, you will be presented
with a "Manuscript" screen containing:
- Information about the specific manuscript
- A link to see the manuscript
- Links to Accept/Decline to serve as a referee
- A link to contact journal staff
Review Manuscript
Once in the system you will be presented with a "Manuscript" screen. At
the bottom of this screen under "Manuscript Tasks" is a "Review
Manuscript" link. Clicking on this link displays the "Review Manuscript"
screen. This screen asks for a recommendation and for a report.*
* Note that in giving a recommendation, along with a free-form text box
that allows you to copy and paste a report and /or comments, you must:
Select from a drop-down menu. This manuscript is:
- Excellent;
- Good;
- Fair;
- Poor;
- Not appropriate for the journal.
- Reject outright;
- Return to the author for major revisions, outlined in comments;
- Publish after minor revisions, outlined in comments; or
- Publish as is.
Finally, a manuscript evaluation form is available, but the use of this is optional.
If you prefer to work offline, you may find it faster and easier to download and print the manuscript, draft your review remarks in plain text, and copy and paste into the referee remarks text area on this screen.
Again, the manuscript evaluation form is optional; the drop-down recommendations and report are required.
NOTE: As a referee, SIDMA offers the option of attaching a file to deliver your report. It is recommended, however, that you instead use the text box on the Referee Recommendation Screen to type or paste plain text or TeX code. File attachments are not recommended, as referee confidentiality may be compromised. However, if you must send an attachment know that it may be forwarded to the author by the Review Editor, so please be sure to first edit the file for profile information thatif left in placecould disclose your identity as the owner/creator.
See here for specifics on how to remove hidden identity clues from PDF and Word files.
Getting Help
If you need additional help, you can click on the help signs throughout
the system. A help dialog will pop up with context sensitive help. You can
also e-mail [email protected] if you need
assistance.
To get the status of your assigned manuscript(s):
- Log into the system with your password.
- Click on the link represented by the manuscript tracking number and abbreviated title.
- Click on the "Check Status" link at the bottom of the displayed page.
NOTE: Author rights to unpublished manuscripts:
All manuscripts are privileged documents; an author retains the right to the unpublished work. A referee should not use results or ideas obtained exclusively through the refereeing process in his or her own research.