The review process is perhaps the most difficult and the most important part of the publication process. Critical reviews by knowledgeable reviewers are the only way that a quality issue can be assured. Each paper must receive at least three independent reviews. It is important that the reviewers be from different organizations. Only those papers that receive solid positive recommendations from the reviewers should be published. A J-SAC issue with ten high-quality papers is far more valuable than an issue with 20 papers of lower quality.

The review process is also the point at which problems often develop with the publication schedule. Some reviewers will always be late with their reviews. Guest Editors must remain in contact with the reviewers to insure that the process remains on schedule. The review process must be completed within a two-month period.

Particular care must be exercised in those cases in which significant revisions result from the initial review process. Significant revisions must be re-reviewed by the original reviewers. Since the reviewer is already familiar with the paper, this second review can usually be conducted in a much shorter time than that required for the initial review. Nevertheless, great care must be exercised if the review process is to remain on schedule.

Please note that while graduate students or postdocs of the guest editors may serve as paper reviewers, the following tasks must be performed exclusively by the guest editors who are named in the proposal: soliciting reviewers, evaluating the reviews, making the accept/reject decisions.