Peer Review Process
Capacious is a double-blind, peer-reviewed journal. When an essay arrives via our online submissions process (Submit an Article) the managing editor will review it in order to determine whether to assign it to two members of the editorial board (or one member of the editorial board and one external reviewer) for evaluation. If the managing editor decides that the submission does not fit within the aims and scope of Capacious, they will provide appropriate feedback to the author(s) regarding this decision. As a rule, editors will communicate decisions at the entry level to submitters within a week to ten days of submission. Once successfully past the managing editor and into the hands of the two blind reviewers, the essay will receive feedback (see Reviewer Guidelines for the specific criteria used for written commentary) and ultimately be determined as falling into one of the following five outcomes:
Accept
The submission is well written, clearly argued, and makes an original contribution to the study of affect. It will be published in Capacious without need for further revision.
Conditional accept
The submission needs only a few very minor revisions/corrections, and the managing editor – working with the author(s) – will oversee their quick completion.
Accept with minor changes
The revisions that are necessary are minor, but acceptance is dependent upon authors adequately revising the paper in light of reviewer comments. Further rewriting/revision is necessary but once completed, and checked by the editorial team, the submission is likely to be accepted.
Revise and resubmit
The submission needs to be thoroughly rethought. Substantial rewriting and reframing must be done before the author(s) can resubmit. Authors asked to revise and resubmit must compose a brief cover letter outlining how they have specifically addressed the reviewers’ concerns, please see Responding to Reviewers’ Comments for guidance.
Reject
The submission falls short of the journal’s expectations of scholarship in the study of affect and does not warrant further consideration by Capacious. The managing editor will try to offer scholarly advice, guidance, and constructive feedback about other venues or future possibilities for this work.
Authors should allow four to six weeks for the process of review and communication to complete. When the managing editor is satisfied with authors’ revisions (as specified by reviewers), the manuscript will be submitted to the production editor for formatting. The journal’s copy editors then review and format the manuscript. After the manuscript has been formatted and copy edited, editors will ask authors to make one final review of the piece (for minor corrections only). When authors convey the completion of this task, editors will publish their essays on the Capacious website. After five or six essays have appeared on the website, editors will compile them into a single downloadable issue with an introduction or afterword written by an appropriately resonant member of the journal’s editorial board.
Please note: Capacious is geared, in the main, to providing graduate students and early career scholars with a venue for what might be among their first publishing opportunities. Thus, our reviewers will be expected to offer – as necessary – constructive critique, gently framed writerly advice, specifically targeted bibliographic/reading suggestions, and respectfully guided mentorship on the whole.