FAQ for Authors

Q01: How do I submit an original manuscript to ScholarOne?

A01: Format your manuscript following the guidelines in the “Prepare and Submit Manuscript” page. You can sign up for an account and login at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jbhi-embs. In your Author Center, click on “Click here to Submit a New Manuscript”. Follow the instructions listed, and fill out the online forms as appropriate.

Q02: How do I know if my manuscript submission to ScholarOne worked OK?

A02: You will receive an automatic confirmation e-mail as soon as you have uploaded the manuscript. Your manuscript will then be checked and forwarded to the Editor-in-Chief who will start the review process. If there are any technical problems with your uploaded manuscript you will be contacted by the submissions manager.

Q03: I still have problems with this ScholarOne, who do I contact?

A03: Contact the J-BHI Editorial Office at fotiadis@uoi.gr.

Q04: Whom do I contact if I have questions about the status of my manuscript?

A04: Contact the J-BHI Editorial Office at fotiadis@uoi.gr.

Q05: How do I submit my revised manuscript to ScholarOne?

A05: Once the first review has been entered for a manuscript a copy of the manuscript is sent to your Author Center with the R1 extension (e.g. 00101-2013.R1). Return to your Author Center and first view the comments of the Associate Editor and reviewers. You may enter any confidential comments to the editors in the “Cover Letter” box. Do not enter your response to reviewers in the text box provided, but submit it as a supporting document when upload your manuscript files. Authors submitting a revised manuscript are required to upload a pdf file with all changes highlighted stating how you have addressed review comments as a supporting document. Follow all the steps and make sure that you select the “View proof” button. Only after looking at the proof will you be presented with a submit button. The manuscript is not submitted unless you press this button. You will get a confirmation email.

Q06: Can I submit a manuscript that’s been rejected?

A06: There are two kinds of rejects. Manuscripts being of merits but requiring additional studies are rejected with encouragement of resubmission. In this case, we ask these authors to resubmit with a cover letter stating original manuscript number. Other steps are similar to submission of revised manuscripts. Manuscripts rejected without encouragement for resubmission are, in principle, discouraged to resubmit. If the authors feel that there is a reason justifying resubmission, consent must be obtained from the Editorial Office prior to resubmission.

Q07: What format should I use for my manuscript in ScholarOne?

A07: You can submit in MS Word, or PDF format. All files will be converted to PDF when you upload them.

Q08: Why am I not able to upload the final version of the manuscript or a revised manuscript and/or other supporting documents into the system?

A08: Only the submitting author can upload the file onto the ScholarOne Manuscript System. If you are the corresponding author, but not the submitting author, you will not be able to submit the revised manuscript or other documents. Note all supporting documents need to be submitted before the deadline.

Q09: When do I submit the IEEE Copyright form?

A09: Only once your manuscript has been accepted for publication you will be asked to (electronically) submit the IEEE Copyright form (details follow in the acceptance e-mail).

Q10: How long does it usually take before authors receive a decision on their manuscript?

A10: The current average turnaround time is about 2.5 months, but this duration can vary quite substantially due to the availability of reviewers and the nature of the work involved.

Q11: How much time do authors get to submit a revised version of their manuscripts?

A11: This will be dependent on the editorial decision, it will be clearly stated in the decision letter and you will need to strictly adhere to the deadline imposed. Also note that J-BHI only permits one major modification during the review cycle, any further major modification required for the revised paper will render your paper rejected.

Q12: What are the costs involved for publishing overlength papers, receiving reprints, and publishing papers with color illustrations?

A12: Review papers that exceed ten (10) pages incur mandatory page charges. Regular papers that exceed eight (8) pages will incur mandatory overlength page charges. For papers that are 8 pages or fewer: only voluntary page charges ($110/page); 9–10 pages: mandatory page charges ($250/page for pages 9 and 10); 11 pages and beyond: $350/page.”

Q13: When my paper is accepted, why is it necessary to resend an electronic version of the manuscript; don’t you already have that in your system?

A13: The version in ScholarOne is in Acrobat PDF format and cannot be edited. Sometimes final editing requires to make small alterations to the text (e.g., in case of spelling mistakes), therefore we need an editable document.

Q14: Why do you need us to submit a paper version of the document according to the layout of the journal (IEEE-style)?

A14: Apart from the fact that it is needed to allow pre-posting on the IEEE Xplore website it allows us to estimate how many pages it will take to print it in the journal. This allows us: 1) to plan which papers can be grouped to form one issue, and 2) determine whether additional page charges apply or not.

Q15: I have just been informed that my paper is accepted, in which issue will it be published?

A15: This will depend on the journal production cycle and the amount of papers in the queue, also if any special issues of the journal are coming up and other factors. However, electronic version of your paper may appear ahead of print on IEEE Xplore, which can help disseminate your paper without delay.

Q16: Are there other forms required?

A16: Besides the IEEE Copyright form, J-BHI requires 1) the Page Charges form, 2) Color Figure Consent form, and 3) Author Consent form (if more than one author) during final submission when a manuscript is accepted. Typed signature is sufficient when uploading the forms via ScholarOne.

Q17. How can I determine the status of my manuscript?

A17: When you log into ScholarOne and access your Author Center you will see a status bar with the title of all manuscripts you’ve submitted to ScholarOne. On the right of the bar is the Processing Status. A status of “Under review” means that your manuscript is being reviewed.

Q18: I would need to get your decision on my paper as soon as possible because I need it for a applying for a grant/approval of thesis/… Can you help me?

A18: We will do what we reasonably can to speed up the review process if there are special cases, but please keep in mind that there are many people involved in reviewing your paper (3-4 reviewers, an associate editor, and the editor-in-chief); as you can understand that these people are typically already very busy and maintaining quality and consistency is a top priority of our editorial office.