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data or conclusions. Your course of action is obvious: Try another journal.

Second, if the subject of the manuscript is appropriate for consideration, is the manuscript itself in suitable form for
consideration? Are there two double-spaced copies of the manuscript? (Some journals require three or more.) Are they
complete, with no pages, tables, or figures missing from either copy of the manuscript? Is the manuscript in the
editorial style of the journal, at least as to the basics? If the answer to any of the above questions is ''no," the
manuscript may be immediately returned to the author or, at the least, the review will be delayed while the
deficiencies are rectified. Most journal editors will not waste the time of their valued editorial board members and
consultants by sending poorly prepared manuscripts to them for review.

I know of one editor, a kindly man by nature, who became totally exasperated when a poorly prepared manuscript that
was returned to the author was resubmitted to the journal with very little change. The editor then wrote the following
letter, which I am pleased to print here as a warning to all students of the sciences everywhere:

Dear Dr. :
I refer to your manuscript ––––––––––– and have noted in your letter of August 23 that you apologize without excuse for the condition of
the original submission. There is really no excuse for the rubbish that you have sent forward in the resubmission.
The manuscript is herewith returned to you. We suggest that you find another journal.

Yours sincerely,

–––––––––––––––
Only after these two preconditions (a proper manuscript on a proper subject) have been met is the editor ready to
consider the manuscript for publication.

At this point, the editor must perform two very important functions. First, the basic housekeeping must be done. That
is, careful records should be established so that both copies of the manuscript can be followed throughout the review
process and (if the manuscript is

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accepted) the production process. If the journal has a managing editor, and most of the large ones do, this activity is
normally a part of his or her assignment. It is important that this work be done accurately, so that the whereabouts of
manuscripts are known at all times. It is also important that the system include a number of built-in signaling devices,
so that the inevitable delays in review, loss in the mails, and other disasters can be brought to the attention of the
editor or managing editor at an early time.

Second, the editor must decide who will review the manuscript. In most journal operations, two reviewers are selected
for each manuscript. (Again, remember that some journals have more than one editor, often called "associate editors,"
who deal directly with reviewers and authors.) Obviously, the reviewers must be peers of the author, or their
recommendations will be valueless. Normally, the editor starts with the Editorial Board of the journal. Who on the
board has the appropriate subject expertise to evaluate a particular manuscript? Often, because of the highly
specialized character of modern science, only one member (or no member) of the board has the requisite familiarity
with the subject of a particular manuscript. The editor must then obtain one or both reviews from non-board members,
often called "ad hoc reviewers" or ''editorial consultants." (A few journals do not have Editorial Boards and depend
entirely on ad hoc referees.) Sometimes, the editor must do a good bit of calling around before appropriate reviewers
for a given manuscript can be identified. Selection of reviewers can be facilitated if appropriate records are kept.
Many of the journals published by the American Chemical Society, for example, send questionnaires to potential
reviewers. On the basis of the responses to the questionnaires, computerized records of reviewers' areas of expertise
are established and maintained.

Does the peer review system work? According to Bishop (1984), "The answer to this question is a resounding, Yes!

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