What are the criteria by which manuscripts are returned without external peer review?
If a manuscript is determined to be outside of the journal’s scope, is not of sufficient general interest or significance, or technical aspects of the work do not meet the journal’s standards, it is returned to the authors prior to external peer review. In general, the editors allow expert peer reviewers to assess questions about criticality, rigor, and validity. Whenever there is any doubt about either the significance or the technical merits of a manuscript, editors routinely use a consultation process with other members of the editorial board to seek further opinions.
