The task of an Editor often requires a reasonable amount of hard work, but following these procedures and using the online peer review tool can help simplify the job considerably. More importantly, following these procedures will help ensure that submitted papers are handled in a professional and timely manner.
For newly recruited editors, we are now working with a trial period of 1 year, where the editor can get accustomed with the review process and the workload. If this period is finalized without any issues and the editor is interested in continuing, the term is extended for an extra 2 years.
The procedures discussed in the following sections have been developed over a number of years and represent the combined experiences of many individuals. However, as the Transactions editorial staff, readers, and the nature of the field itself changes, so too will the procedures. Thus, this document should be viewed as a working document and as such, any comments, criticisms, or suggested changes in the document or in the suggested procedures themselves are always welcome and should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief.
Purpose and Scope of the Transactions
The purpose of the IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology is to publish high-quality, peer-reviewed papers on electrical and electronics technology in vehicles and vehicular systems. The scope is defined by the following four areas:
Wireless Communications
Area Editors:
M. Cenk Gursoy, Syracuse University
Lingyang Song, Peking University
The use of mobile radio technologies for vehicular, mobile communications and services, including but not limited to, channel propagation, characterization and measurements, wireless communications techniques, MIMO communications, cooperative communications, cognitive communications, UAV/Vehicle-to-X communications, spectrum sharing, interference cancellation and coordination, machine learning for wireless communications, command and control for wireless systems, and consideration of the vehicle as part of the mobile communications environment.
Wireless Networks and Mobile Services
Area Editors:
Tomoaki Ohtsui, Keio University
Dusit Niyato, Nanyang Technological University
The use of wireless technologies for vehicular communication networks and mobile services, including, but not limited to, network architecture, protocol, and algorithm design; resource management; mobility management; quality of services; network security and privacy; network measurement and analysis; network management; spectrum sharing and multiple access techniques; routing, multicast, and groupcast; energy-efficient and sustainable networks; content distribution and distributed AI applications; wireless mobile sensor networks and Internet of Vehicles (IoV); edge computing/intelligence.
Vehicular Electronics and Systems
Area Editors:
Bilal Akin, University of Texas at Dallas
Matthias Preindl, Columbia University
The use of electronic or electrical components and systems for control, propulsion, or auxiliary functions, including but not limited to, electronic controls for engineer, drive train, convenience, safety, and other vehicle systems; sensors, actuators, and microprocessors for onboard use; electronic fuel control systems; vehicle electrical components and systems collision avoidance systems; electromagnetic compatibility in the vehicle environment; and electric/hybrid vehicles and controls.
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Systems
Area Editors:
Richard Yu, Carleton University
TBD, TBD
The use of electrical, communications, and electronics technology for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) including, but not limited to, architectures, protocols, and algorithms for CAVs, vehicle localization, travel planning, collision avoidance, platooning, decision-making and intelligent control; security, privacy, and dependability; traffic aid systems; traffic control systems; automatic vehicle identification, railway communications and networking; automated transport systems and autonomous driving; moving walkways or people-movers ground transportation systems, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs); unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs).
Last Updated: January 30, 2022
Types of Published Items
There are different types of published items:
- Regular paper
- Correspondence - for technical contributions that provide an enhancement of an existing contribution.
Other types of correspondence are:
- correction item - to correct a mistake in a published item; submitted by the authors of the published item
- comments item - to provide comments or concerns regarding a published item; submitted by individuals other than the authors of the published item
- reply item - to reply to a comments item; submitted by the authors of the published item being commented on
- errata - a correction to the journal submitted by the Editor-in-Chief
- editorial - an editorial section submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, such as introducing a new Editor-in-Chief. An editorial is also provided by Guest Editors for a special issue or special section of the journal.
General Guidelines
The IEEE has general requirements for its peer-review journals in the IEEE Policies.
The key points are:
- a minimum of 2 independent reviewers are needed
- the procedure outlined by the Publications Services and Products Board (PSPB) Operations Manual needs to be followed
- the contents of papers under review are treated as privileged information
- all authors are given equal opportunity to publish their work
Section 8.2 provides publications guidelines. Additional key points:
- plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification are unacceptable
- a paper submitted should not be submitted to another refereed journal as well
- anonymity of the reviewers should be preserved
- "The primary purpose of these periodicals is to disclose, and provide a permanent archival record of original technical work which advances the state of the art or provides novel insights."
- "Papers are to be selected strictly on the basis of merit and appropriateness"
Reviewer anonymity has several aspects:
- the authors are unaware of the reviewers' identities
- each reviewer is unaware of the other reviewers' identities
Should there be a concern, such as plagiarism or double submission, such a concern needs to be brought to the attention of the Editor-in-Chief.
Finally, Special Issues and Guest Editors have their own guidelines to follow.
Handling Revised Papers
Most papers will undergo one or more revisions. A revised paper will be entered using the online tool and is sent directly to the Editor who handled the reviews of the original version. The tool assigns a number related to the original paper number by adding an R1 extension (R2 is used for second revision.)
If the changes requested and made are minor, you might simply verify that these changes have indeed been made and then accept the paper as either a paper or correspondence. This usually happens when the previous decision was "accept with minor revisions."
However, many revised papers will need to be sent back to the original referees for a second round of review, particularly when the previous decision is "reconsider with major changes." In this case, the reviewers will have access to the original paper, its decision letter (which includes all reviews of the original paper), and the response of the authors to the reviewers. The online tool does not automatically invite reviewers back for the revised paper. It does copy the list of original reviewers and skips the initial "invite reviewer" stage. Thus, the Editor needs to click the "agreed" button for the reviewers that will be used again for the revised paper. Additional reviewers can be added in the usual way.
Generally, if a referee has provided an initial review, it will not be difficult to obtain a second review of the paper from him or her. As with the original paper, the tool automatically sends reminders at 30, 45 and 60 days.
Sometimes an author will accidentally submit a revised paper as a new paper. If you suspect you have a paper in this situation, contact the Editor-in-Chief.
Publishing Accepted Papers
Once a paper has been accepted for publication and no further modifications are required, the tool automatically notifies the Publication Editor. It sends the information needed for publication. The authors are requested to send materials directly to the Publication Editor.
Note that if the paper is accepted with minor changes (no matter how minor), the tool asks the author to make these changes and submit a final manuscript, which is treated as another revision of the paper and requires a decision.
Once a paper is either accepted, rejected, or withdrawn, your editorial responsibility for the paper has been completed.
Withdrawing Papers
Sometimes an author will wish to withdraw a paper. Any such requests should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief withdraws a paper by "un-assigning" it from the Editor, then notifying the authors that the paper has been withdrawn. Before the Editor-in-Chief un-assigns the paper, it is good for the Editor to "un-assign" the reviewers, using the can icon in the online tool, to let them know that a review is no longer needed.
When a paper has been accepted with minor revisions or the decision is to reconsider major revisions, there is an issue of when the revision is submitted. It is expected that the author will submit a revised paper within a reasonable length of time. If this time is exceeded, or the author simply does not wish to revise the paper, then eventually the paper should be withdrawn. Currently, there is no automatic procedure for this. It is recommended that after 12 months of inactivity, the paper be considered withdrawn.