Society of Antiquaries of London

Peer review procedure

To guarantee the quality of monographs published by the Society of Antiquaries, all its publications undergo a rigorous peer-review process. The Society of Antiquaries is international in outlook, so British and foreign scholars are invited to propose suitable titles for publication.

The procedure is as follows:

All proposed monographs are subject to an initial appraisal by the Publications Manager and, if found suitable for further consideration, the complete manuscript is forwarded to upto two external academic referees for peer review, one of whom is usually a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

If the referees are of the opinion that the manuscript is suitable for acceptance without amendment, this decision is transmitted to the author and the manuscript is presented at the next Publications Committee in person by the Publications Manager, who will recommend that the Publications Committee approve the manuscript for publication. The Publications Committee comprises eminent members of the Society who have been elected for one year to oversee the Society’s publishing programme.

If the academic referees recommend amendments, the author is given an opportunity to implement these. The Publications Manager then sends the amended manuscript to the referees for confirmation that the amendments have been made correctly. When the referees are happy that all required amendments have been made correctly, the manuscript is presented to the next Publications Committee in person by the Publications Manager, who will recommend that the Publications Committee approve the manuscript for publication.

Once approved by the Publications Committee, the Publications Manager informs the author that the manuscript has been formally accepted for editing and publication.

The peer-review procedure is co-ordinated by the Publications Manager of the Society of Antiquaries.