At a Glance
Tier 1
When research is submitted to Frontiers, Reviewers in the scientific community collaboratively and constructively examine and improve the articles to the highest possible standards. Afterwards the article is published in the appropriate specialty field (i.e. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience).

The review process is two fold:
1. An independent review
2. An interactive review
The reader activity of the wider research community automatically and objectively scores articles for their scientific excellence and social relevance. Those which are rated highly move on to the second tier.

Tier 2
The most outstanding research published in Tier 1 (judged over a period of time by an automated internet-based evaluation system) is selected for republishing in the Tier 2 journal, Frontiers in Neuroscience. The selected articles employ advanced copyeditors to help rewriting them in a broader context while still focusing on the core discovery. Advanced graphics also help to make the research more accessible to the wider community. Authors, Review Editors and Associate Editors are eligible for prizes for those articles which are selected for publication in Frontiers in Neuroscience.

Step by Step

1 - Article preparation
Authors format the article to be submitted according to the Frontiers manuscript guidelines.

2 - Registration
All Authors must register in Frontiers prior to the paper submission.

3 - Submission
The article is submitted online. Authors need to select a Frontiers Specialty Journal and an Associate Editor who best covers the papers field of research to handle their article.

4 - Agreement and Community Fee
Authors agree to the Frontiers Review Guidelines of publishing in Frontiers and a non-refundable community fee is paid for handling the paper. This fee is fully subsidized by Frontiers Research Foundation during 2008.

5 - Selecting Referees
During the first phase of the launch, the Associate Editor manually selects two Referees. In the future, the Frontiers Review System will automatically select and invite the most appropriate Referees from a database of verified and qualified Review Editors. A minimum of two Referees must agree to review the article before the article can be accepted for in-depth review. If two Referees cannot be found, the Specialty Chief Editors examine the submission and may either make further efforts to find Referees or may reject the paper (see Frontiers Review Guidlines ).

6 - Independent Review
Referees provide independently of each other and the Authors an initial standardized review assessment - the Independent Review Report. Referees remain anonymous during the review process, but declare their identity after the review is completed and the paper is accepted for publication. This protects Referees in the case of rejection of an article and in the event that a Referee wishes to withdraw from the review process due to a dispute. The Reviewers' contribution is acknowledged on accepted and published articles.

Rejection without In-Depth Review
If the Associate Editor notices that the general quality is obviously well below acceptable standards during the initial scan of the paper, he/she may recommend to the Specialty Chief Editor to reject the article without sending it out for review. In such case, the Chief Editor must examine the article and decide whether is should indeed be rejected or whether the Associate Editor should send the article out for review. Only the Chief Editor may reject an article without sending it out for review. Instead of outright rejection, the Authors are informed that the paper cannot be reviewed in its present form and they are referred to a Frontiers Science Consultancy Service (to be formed soon!) where paid consultants can work and train Authors to enhance the quality of their research and scientific writing. After the Authors have passed through this training system, Authors may resubmit the paper for consideration by Frontiers.

7 - Paper Pending
When the Referees finalized the independent review and the article has no objective errors and its general quality is high enough, the title, author list and abstract are published immediately as "Paper Pending" to secure the public declaration date of the discovery by the Authors. This provides Authors with the security to collaborate as effectively as possible with Reviewers to produce the highest quality research article without the concern that their discovery will be scooped during the review process.

8 - Interactive Review
After the independent review reports are completed, the Associate Editor activates the Real-Time Interactive Review Forum, where Authors and Reviewers can interact with each other and enter the real-time interactive review forum where Referees can review and Authors can revise the manuscript. The goal of the Interactive Review Forum is to facilitate convergence of opions. Referees are also able to interact with each other in real-time in order to resolve disputes and achieve objectivity in the review process. Author updates are immediately visible to Referees allowing unlimited Author and Referee interactions at a fraction of the time it usually takes in conventional systems. Referees indicate in the forum when their comments have been addressed to their satisfaction and then the article is ready for acceptance.

Arbitrations
Should a dispute arise that threatens to reject the paper because of objective errors, then the Author may trigger arbitration. Initially, the Associate Editor of a particular Specialty Journal will arbitrate and involve all Referees in a discussion to resolve the problem. In case the problems cannot be solved, the Specialty Chief Editor is alerted and can bring in additional Referees or Associate Editors to consult on more specialized topics. A paper can be rejected if the arbitration rules that the objective error stands. Referees may also trigger arbitration if they feel that the Author is unwilling to make the required changes. A Referee may also withdraw from the review process if he/she disagrees with the other Referees and the arbitration rulings. In the case of a Referee withdrawal, the Referees identity remains anonymous. A Referee withdrawal requires the recruitment of a new Referee, which slows the review process and Authors therefore need to co-operate as far as possible to address the concerns of Referees.

9 - Acceptance & Rejection of Articles
The Review is completed when both Review Editors consider their suggestions satisfactorily addressed. The handling Associate Editor, after verifying that the real-time review forum took place according to the Frontiers Review Guidelines, accepts the paper for publication.

If both Review Editors agree that an article has insurmountable problems/objective errors that the Authors cannot or are unwilling to address, the Associate Editor may recommend to the Specialty Chief Editor to reject the article. Only the Specialty Chief Editors can reject an article, and this also only after strictly following the Frontiers Review Guidelines that protect against bias in the review process. Rejected articles will be examined by an Independent Panel set up by Frontiers Research Foundation to further examine the effectiveness of the Frontiers Review Guidelines to protect against review bias.

10 - Publication Fees
Upon acceptance of an article a publication fee is charged. Rejected articles are not charged a publication fee.

11 - Frontiers Commentary
After acceptance, Referees are invited to a real-time interactive site to prepare - if they wish - a joint Frontiers Commentary, which will be published along the article and under a special commentaries section. With a large number of primary papers, Frontiers Commentaries are expected to be the first line of search for readers.

12 - Real-time Copy and Graphics Editing
After acceptance the article and commentary are placed in a real - time copy - editing site where a professional Copy - Editor revises the article and applies the Frontiers Style Sheet.

13 - Publication in First-Tier Specialty Journal
The article is published electronically in the Frontiers Specialty Journal in html and pdf format.

14 - Dynamic Impact Evaluation
Article Impact is dynamically evaluated as readers surf the pages of Frontiers and the top are selected for distillation to the next tier in Frontiers.

15 - Distillation of outstanding articles for the Second-Tier Frontiers in Neuroscience Journal
The top 10% articles distilled by the global evaluation are invited for publication in the second- tier journal Frontiers in Neuroscience. The Authors embed their original discovery into a broader context (review-style) addressing the wider neuroscience community.

16 - Real-time Copy and Graphics Editing
The article is revised by a professional Copy-Editor and the Frontiers Style Sheet is applied.

17 - Publication in Second -Tier Frontiers in Neuroscience Journal
The articleis published in the second- tier journal Frontiers in Neuroscience.