Peer Review Policy

The Review of Futures Markets (RFM) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scholarly quality, academic integrity, and research excellence. To ensure the publication of rigorous and impactful research, all manuscripts submitted to the journal undergo a thorough and impartial peer-review process.
The journal follows a Double-Blind Peer Review system in which the identities of both authors and reviewers remain confidential throughout the review process. This approach is intended to promote fairness, objectivity, and independence in the evaluation of scholarly work.

Initial Editorial Assessment
Upon submission, each manuscript is screened by the Editorial Office to determine its suitability for the journal. During this stage, submissions are assessed for relevance to the journal's scope, originality, academic quality, adherence to submission requirements, and compliance with ethical standards.
Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's basic requirements may be returned to the authors for correction or declined without external review.

External Peer Review
Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial editorial assessment are assigned to independent experts with relevant subject-matter expertise. Typically, each manuscript is evaluated by at least two reviewers who assess the work on the basis of:
- Originality and contribution to knowledge
- Theoretical and conceptual soundness
- Methodological rigor
- Quality of analysis and interpretation
- Relevance to the field
- Clarity of presentation and organization
- Appropriateness of references and supporting literature
Reviewers are requested to provide constructive, objective, and evidence-based feedback that assists both the editors and the authors in improving the quality of the manuscript.

Editorial Decisions
Following the review process, the Editor may reach one of the following decisions:
- Accept
- Accept with Minor Revisions
- Revise and Resubmit
- Accept with Major Revisions
- Reject
Authors receiving revision requests are expected to submit a revised manuscript together with a detailed response explaining how reviewer comments have been addressed.

Confidentiality
All manuscripts submitted to the journal are treated as confidential documents. Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff must not disclose information regarding a submission to anyone other than those directly involved in the editorial and review process.
Reviewers are expected to maintain strict confidentiality and must not use unpublished materials or information obtained through peer review for personal research or professional advantage.

Conflict of Interest
Editors and reviewers must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence their assessment of a manuscript. Individuals with conflicts of interest will be excluded from the review and decision-making process.
Authors are also expected to disclose any relationships, funding sources, or circumstances that may be perceived as influencing the research.

Ethical Considerations
The journal expects all participants in the publication process to adhere to recognized standards of publication ethics. Cases involving plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, or other forms of research misconduct will be investigated and handled in accordance with the journal's ethical policies.

Final Decision
The Editor-in-Chief has ultimate responsibility for all editorial decisions. Decisions are based on reviewer recommendations, the scholarly merit of the manuscript, the journal's editorial standards, and its relevance to the journal's aims and scope.
The Review of Futures Markets is committed to ensuring that every manuscript receives a fair, timely, and unbiased evaluation, thereby supporting the dissemination of high-quality research and the advancement of scholarly knowledge.