Review Procedures
Manuscript Submissions and Editor Assignments
Authors must submit manuscripts to SIAM Journal on Financial Mathematics (SIFIN)
in electronic form. Hard-copy submissions will not be considered. Authors
can enter submissions directly into the Journal Submission & Tracking
System at http://sifin.siam.org.
Authors should submit both the manuscript and a cover letter in PDF format.
Figures, if any, must be embedded “inline” in the manuscript.
Following are specifics of how the journal’s peer review will operate.
After the submission has entered SIAM's tracking system, the corresponding
author receives an e-mail acknowledging receipt and providing the manuscript
number. Authors are asked to include the manuscript number in all correspondence
regarding the paper.
After checking the files the author submitted, the SIAM office contacts
the EIC to let him/her know that there is a new manuscript that needs
to be routed to a Review Editor. The EIC will make all final decisions.
Contact with the EIC and the SIAM office regarding the manuscript should
be done via e-mail. The EIC reviews each submission to determine whether
it is appropriate for the journal and, if so, which Associate Editor
(AE) can best handle the review. In making this decision, the EIC takes
into account both the areas of expertise and the current workloads of the
editors. At the time the AE accepts the assignment, the paper is considered
in review (status R). Note that the EIC can reject papers that are clearly
inappropriate for SIFIN without assigning them to a Review Editor. The Review
Editor can recommend rejection to the EIC without referee reports if he
or she deems the paper inappropriate for the journal.
Direct Submissions: Members of the Editorial Board occasionally receive submissions directly from authors. In such cases the editor will ask the author to resubmit the paper to the SIAM office through the Journal Submission & Tracking System at http://sifin.siam.org. This procedure ensures that the SIAM office will have the opportunity to access the manuscript for proper processing and tracking throughout the review process. Editors should not review a new submission without the approval of the EIC, who assigns the Review Editor for each paper.
Papers authored by Editorial Board members: Papers authored by Editorial Board members are subject to the same anonymous peer review process as other papers. Submissions to the journal authored by the Editor-in-Chief will be directed to the Vice President for Publications, who will oversee the review process.
Status Changes
Once the Review Editor has obtained referee reports and made a recommendation,
the reports go to the EIC for the decision. The author receives e-mail
informing him/her of the decision. The anonymous reports are generally
included.
The various status designations used by SIAM are discussed below. Note
the distinctions among the following statuses: rejected, in revision,
minor revision.
- Accepted (A). The EIC sends an acceptance letter through the web-based system. This goes to the corresponding author via e-mail. In a follow-up step, SIAM staff contacts the author for TeX files to launch the production process.
- MMinor Revision (PA, PA1, PA2, PA3). The code PA designates provisionally accepted, but though the revisions asked of the author are minor there is no guarantee the paper will be accepted for publication. The author must revise the manuscript, and the editors will decide if another round of review is necessary. A decision letter from the EIC asking for a minor revision may state whether the EIC intends that the revised paper will be sent back to the Review Editor and referees or not. Also, a due date of no longer than one month for the revision should be stated.
- In Revision (V, V1, V2, etc.). When an author is asked to revise a paper, there is no guarantee that the revised paper will be accepted for publication. Usually, in fact, such revised papers are again refereed. The author receives referee reports along with the e-mailed decision letter requesting revisions. The e-mail contains a link that the author may use to submit the revised version directly into SIAM's web-based system. Also, a due date of no longer than three months for the revision should be stated.
- Rejection (RJ). A paper that is of poor quality should never be transferred to another SIAM journal. The decision letter should leave no doubt as to the status of the paper. The author receives a rejection letter and may also get reports.
- In review (R, R1, R2, R3). The paper is with the EIC, or with the AE who is handling the review process. Referees are usually contacted and asked to send reports.
- In Review; re-routed from one editor to another (RR). This status
change can be effected by the EIC. It occurs in one of two situations:
- An AE can’t handle a given paper due to heavy workload or other considerations and requests that the paper be re-routed to another editor. The EIC informs the SIAM office of the change in editors, and the Publications Manager or Editorial Associate can make the change in editors reflect in the web-based tracking system.
- An AE has not handled a paper in a timely or responsible fashion and the EIC determines that the paper must be re-routed to another editor.
- Reports Sent (RS, RS1, RS2, RS3). The Associate Editor has made a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief who considers the recommendation and referee reports before making a decision.
- Withdrawn (W). An author can withdraw a paper. The SIAM office and the EIC must be notified. Also, the SIAM office must let the Review Editor (and referees, if they are working on the paper) know. A paper is also considered withdrawn when an author fails to revise a paper within a reasonable length of time. SIAM asks authors to revise and resubmit papers within six months. The decision to close a file out is made jointly by the SIAM office and the Editor-in-Chief, often after consulting with the Review Editor. Files are never closed without first giving the author ample opportunity to submit a revision.
Transfer
Papers that are of high quality but are inappropriate for the journal to which they have been submitted can be transferred to another SIAM journal for consideration. The EICs of both journals and the author(s) must approve the transfer. The EICs must agree before the author(s) is consulted. If the author agrees to the transfer, the original paper is marked rejected (RJ) and a new file is opened with a different manuscript number. The submission then goes through the system to the EIC of the second journal. However, SIAM staff should first include a "General Note" on the electronic file indicating its history as a transferred paper.
Reports
Various reports can be run by SIAM staff. Selected reports are run
and distributed to the journal EIC on a monthly and quarterly basis.
One report shows all papers in process, while others emphasize papers
that have remained in one status for an unusually long time.
