Frequently Asked Questions

Please submit your article online. An online submission and tracking service via Internet facilitates speedy and cost-effective submission of manuscripts. The full manuscript has to be submitted online via Bentham's Manuscript Processing System (MPS) at (https://bentham.manuscriptpoint.com). The link “Submit Manuscript Online” leads you directly to the submission system of that specific journal.

The Manuscript Processing System (MPS) is a web-based manuscript submission and tracking system developed by Bentham Science Publishers for efficient, fast and cost-effective processing of submitted manuscripts. MPS has been designed with the objective of ensuring step-by-step online processing and tracking of manuscripts for authors, editors and the publisher from submission to acceptance and final reproduction.

Each manuscript submission will be followed by a confirmation email to the corresponding author.

Authors may track all the stages of publication online until their manuscript is finalized and ready for publication. Log onto MPS and click the article title from the available list of your submitted manuscripts to view the detailed status at every stage of peer-review and editorial decision.

In most of the journals, the editorial decision on the submission is generally conveyed within two to three months from the initiation of the peer-review process. The time duration of the peer-review process varies due to factors such as availability and promptness of the reviewers approached to carry out reviewing of the submission. For the duration of the review process, the submission appears in the “In Review” section of the Manuscript Processing System (MPS).

Typically, reviewers are invited to conduct a review by a journal’s manager or editor. Editors usually select researchers that are experts in the same subject area as the paper. However, if you think you would be a good reviewer for a specific journal, you can always contact one of the journal's editors.

The reviewers will receive a notification email requesting for peer-review of the assigned manuscript. Interested reviewers can submit their comments online. Alternatively, they may decline the activity online.

Yes - all articles published in Bentham Open journals are fully peer-reviewed.

The fee varies by journal. Prices are clearly displayed on our Article Processing Charges (APC) page.

"An Executive Guest Editor is initially appointed for an 11-month term, contingent upon the submission and approval of one complete full-length thematic issue. The tenure of appointment (11 months) may be extended by mutual agreement. The primary responsibility of an Executive Guest Editor is to curate one special/thematic issue within a vibrant and evolving field of their expertise. This thematic issue is expected to consist of 10 to 12 articles, with a preference for a higher proportion of review articles.

For more details, please visit the following link: https://benthamopenscience.com/guest-editors-guidelines.php"

Yes, indeed. It is preferred that the primary Guest Editor includes a few Co-Guest Editors from different regions/countries to (ideally) increase the chances of a diverse collection of manuscript submissions in the thematic issue.

A proposal for a special issue must include the following details:

➢    Tentative title of the Special Issue.

➢    A one-page proposal containing information about the importance of the specific area and the proposed date of submission of the articles.

➢    Subtopics of the Thematic Issue (typically 8 to 10 articles).

➢    List of potential contributors (who should all be eminent in the field) along with their affiliations.

➢    Tentative schedule. For more details, please visit the following link: https://benthamopenscience.com/guest-editors-guidelines.php

Interested Guest Editors can send their proposals via email at info@benthamopen.net or follow the below steps to submit directly via the online system:

➢Enter the URL “bentham.manuscriptpoint.com”

➢ Login with their respective Manuscript Processing System account credentials by entering the valid ‘email’ and ‘password’ in the appropriate fields.

➢ After log in, please find the “New Submission” option under the Guest Editor portal of your dashboard, in the left panel. Click the “New Submission”option to start the proposal submission. For more details, please visit the following: link https://bentham.manuscriptpoint.com/manuals/guesteditor_tutorial.pdf

When the proposal for a thematic issue is submitted on our online processing system (Manuscript Processing System), a specific reference number is assigned by the system to that thematic issue proposal, e.g., BMS-TOPHJ-2024-HT-1. This reference number (HT code) should be used by the Guest Editor to track all the in-process activities of the thematic issue.

Upon approval of the proposal for a thematic issue, authors are granted a period of 180 days to submit manuscripts for potential inclusion in the finalized thematic issue. Subsequently, the online system automatically restricts further submissions beyond this allotted timeframe.

The request for unlocking the thematic issue can be sent to the editorial office at info@benthamopen.net. The decision for unlocking a thematic issue is subjected to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.

To register an account, please click the "Sign Up" button appearing on the Manuscript Processing System log-in page and then follow the on-screen instructions. The link to visit Manuscript Processing System is as follows: https://bentham.manuscriptpoint.com/.

Login to your Manuscript Processing System account and follow the below steps:

·   Click on your name appearing in the top left corner.

·   Enter your personal information and click on the “save and continue” button.

Login to your Manuscript Processing System account and follow the below steps:

·   Click on your name appearing in the top left corner.

·   Update your affiliation and click on the “save and continue” button

To update your email address, send a request to admin@bentham.manuscriptpoint.com or info@benthamopen.net

Yes, mini-reviews are considered for publication in the thematic issue

The benefits vary for different Bentham Open journals that are provided to the contributing authors. For more information, please visit https://benthamopenscience.com/author-benefits.php

Invited authors who express interest in submitting articles for thematic issues are required to pay the concessionary article processing charges (APC) in accordance with the prevailing journal policies.

Bentham Open offers a 50% discount on the Open Access fee for manuscripts from corresponding authors based in countries categorized as low-income economies by the World Bank. The discount link is as follows:https://benthamopenscience.com/special-fee-waiver-and-discounts.php

The contributing authors are advised to follow the below steps for the submission of their manuscript in a thematic issue.

➢    Enter the URL “bentham.manuscriptpoint.com”.

➢    Login with your relevant Manuscript Processing System account credentials by entering the valid ‘email’ and ‘password’ in appropriate fields.

➢    After logging in, please find the “New Submission” option under the user portal of your dashboard in the left panel.

➢    Select the journal of your choice and click on the “Start Submission” Tab.

➢    Select the option of “Manuscript submission in a thematic issue” and then enter the Hot Topic (HT) code that you have received from the Guest Editor of the thematic issue.

The author can view/access the manuscripts by clicking on the drop-down arrow on the editor's portal in the left panel. However, any change or alteration in the revision due date can only be requested by authors by contacting the editorial office at admin@bentham.manuscriptpoint.com or info@benthamopen.net.

Only authors can make changes to their submissions and/or files.

If editor’s role is assigned to a user, then editor's dashboard will be opened after signing in. Manuscripts may be categorized into three sections on the dashboard (i.e., a. urgent action required, b. manuscripts (general topic), and c. manuscripts (thematic issues). The editor can select and view 'history' for any submission by clicking on the code of the manuscript.

The editor can select and view details of any submission by clicking on the code of the manuscript on their dashboard.

The newly submitted manuscript in the hot topic (thematic issue) appears in the guest editor’s dashboard under the  “Awaiting Guest Editor Initial Approval.”  Guest editors can either approve or reject the manuscripts and can upload comments.

The guest editor can view the completed reviews in the "awaiting EiC decision" section on their dashboard.

The editor can view the pending revisions in the "Revision Request from EIC" section on their dashboard.

A withdrawal request can be sent to the editorial office at info@benthamopen.net.

It takes approximately 90 days (on average) after the submission of the last article to publish a thematic issue.

The name of the appointed section editor appears on the website within 2-3 days after a signed agreement is received. However, in case of any delay, the section editor may send any query to the editorial office at info@benthamopen.net or to the last correspondent.

On the home page of Bentham's website at the link https://benthamopenscience.com/index.php, the social media links can be found on the left side of the homepage, towards the middle.

Q1 is the short form for the "first quartile" or the top 25% of journals in a subject area, while Q2 comprises journals appearing in the 26% to 50% journals of a certain group. These ratings are updated yearly by Scopus based on the journals' performance over the last three years.

The editorial office can be contacted for proposing a new journal at info@benthamopen.net.

The peer-review of a manuscript is a strictly confidential process and conducted in the double-blind manner. Reviewers are thus required to keep the whole process completely confidential. Reviewers must not disclose any information whatsoever to anyone before the publication of the manuscript.

Interested reviewers are expected to submit their comments online via Bentham's Manuscript Processing System (Manuscript Processing System) at (bentham.manuscriptpoint.com/). Reviewers will log in to their respective Manuscript Processing System accounts and click on the “Yes, I agree to review” button to carry out the review. Clicking the “Yes, I agree to review” button will open the Review Form. Here, you can download the manuscript file at once or individually, and you can also read the online version of the manuscript. Once the Reviewer Evaluation form is filled, click on the “Save” button. A “Thank You!” message will appear when you click on it. The reviewer can go back to the dashboard by clicking on the “Back to Dashboard” button.

The reviewers will receive a notification email requesting peer-reviewing of the assigned manuscript. Interested reviewers can respond directly to the email showing their consent for review. Once a reviewer agrees to review the assigned manuscript, he/she will receive the login details of Manuscript Processing System via email from the Editorial Manager.

Go to the Manuscript Processing System login page at bentham.manuscriptpoint.com/ and follow the below steps:

·    Click on the “Forgot your password” tab.

·    Enter your email address and click on “Submit”. An email with a link to reset your password will be sent to your registered email address. Please also check your SPAM/ JUNK folders If you do not receive this email.

·    Click on the link provided in your email to reset your password

·    Enter a new password and submit

If you still face trouble logging in, then submit your query to info@benthamopen.net or admin@bentham.manuscriptpoint.com

The complete peer-review history of a reviewer is maintained on our Online Manuscript Processing System. Reviewers can download the certificate directly from the Manuscript Processing System after the completion of the review process. Alternatively, you can also send a request at info@benthamopen.net or admin@bentham.manuscriptpoint.com

You can find the Impact Factor of a journal on the journal’s homepage. Click on “Journal Home”, on top of the right panel you can find the Impact factor.

The peer-review of a manuscript is a confidential and a double-blind process. Reviewers cannot see the comments of other reviewers.

The reviewers are expected to provide their reports in a timely fashion since a prompt review leads to timely publication of a manuscript. However, a reviewer who needs extra time for reviewing should consult the editorial office at info@benthamopen.net or admin@bentham.manuscriptpoint.com

Bentham Open greatly appreciates the reviewers for their efforts and valuable time during the peer-review process. Moreover, we offer:

ø    A voucher equivalent in value to USD 100, to Reviewers who conduct the review within the deadline, that can be used for buying any Bentham Open content or availing any service within the next 12 months.

ø    A certificate for reviewing the manuscript will be issued to you after completing the review.

If you have accepted the review request but cannot complete the task due to any reason, you can inform the Editorial Office at the recent email correspondence or at admin@bentham.manuscriptpoint.com

You can send your suggestions to the Editorial office at info@benthamopen.net or admin@bentham.manuscriptpoint.com

If you have received the invitation and do not wish to receive the review invitations further, you can simply click on the UNSUBSCRIBE link mentioned at the bottom of the invitation letter. Alternatively, you can also unsubscribe by sending an email to info@benthamopen.net.

Endorsements


"Open access will revolutionize 21st century knowledge work and accelerate the diffusion of ideas and evidence that support just in time learning and the evolution of thinking in a number of disciplines."
Daniel Pesut
(Indiana University School of Nursing, USA)

"It is important that students and researchers from all over the world can have easy access to relevant, high-standard and timely scientific information. This is exactly what Open Access Journals provide and this is the reason why I support this endeavor."
Jacques Descotes
(Centre Antipoison-Centre de Pharmacovigilance, France)

"Publishing research articles is the key for future scientific progress. Open Access publishing is therefore of utmost importance for wider dissemination of information, and will help serving the best interest of the scientific community."
Patrice Talaga
(UCB S.A., Belgium)

"Open access journals are a novel concept in the medical literature. They offer accessible information to a wide variety of individuals, including physicians, medical students, clinical investigators, and the general public. They are an outstanding source of medical and scientific information."
Jeffrey M. Weinberg
(St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, USA)

"Open access journals are extremely useful for graduate students, investigators and all other interested persons to read important scientific articles and subscribe scientific journals. Indeed, the research articles span a wide range of area and of high quality. This is specially a must for researchers belonging to institutions with limited library facility and funding to subscribe scientific journals."
Debomoy K. Lahiri
(Indiana University School of Medicine, USA)

"Open access journals represent a major break-through in publishing. They provide easy access to the latest research on a wide variety of issues. Relevant and timely articles are made available in a fraction of the time taken by more conventional publishers. Articles are of uniformly high quality and written by the world's leading authorities."
Robert Looney
(Naval Postgraduate School, USA)

"Open access journals have transformed the way scientific data is published and disseminated: particularly, whilst ensuring a high quality standard and transparency in the editorial process, they have increased the access to the scientific literature by those researchers that have limited library support or that are working on small budgets."
Richard Reithinger
(Westat, USA)

"Not only do open access journals greatly improve the access to high quality information for scientists in the developing world, it also provides extra exposure for our papers."
J. Ferwerda
(University of Oxford, UK)

"Open Access 'Chemistry' Journals allow the dissemination of knowledge at your finger tips without paying for the scientific content."
Sean L. Kitson
(Almac Sciences, Northern Ireland)

"In principle, all scientific journals should have open access, as should be science itself. Open access journals are very helpful for students, researchers and the general public including people from institutions which do not have library or cannot afford to subscribe scientific journals. The articles are high standard and cover a wide area."
Hubert Wolterbeek
(Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands)

"The widest possible diffusion of information is critical for the advancement of science. In this perspective, open access journals are instrumental in fostering researches and achievements."
Alessandro Laviano
(Sapienza - University of Rome, Italy)

"Open access journals are very useful for all scientists as they can have quick information in the different fields of science."
Philippe Hernigou
(Paris University, France)

"There are many scientists who can not afford the rather expensive subscriptions to scientific journals. Open access journals offer a good alternative for free access to good quality scientific information."
Fidel Toldrá
(Instituto de Agroquimica y Tecnologia de Alimentos, Spain)

"Open access journals have become a fundamental tool for students, researchers, patients and the general public. Many people from institutions which do not have library or cannot afford to subscribe scientific journals benefit of them on a daily basis. The articles are among the best and cover most scientific areas."
M. Bendandi
(University Clinic of Navarre, Spain)

"These journals provide researchers with a platform for rapid, open access scientific communication. The articles are of high quality and broad scope."
Peter Chiba
(University of Vienna, Austria)

"Open access journals are probably one of the most important contributions to promote and diffuse science worldwide."
Jaime Sampaio
(University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal)

"Open access journals make up a new and rather revolutionary way to scientific publication. This option opens several quite interesting possibilities to disseminate openly and freely new knowledge and even to facilitate interpersonal communication among scientists."
Eduardo A. Castro
(INIFTA, Argentina)

"Open access journals are freely available online throughout the world, for you to read, download, copy, distribute, and use. The articles published in the open access journals are high quality and cover a wide range of fields."
Kenji Hashimoto
(Chiba University, Japan)

"Open Access journals offer an innovative and efficient way of publication for academics and professionals in a wide range of disciplines. The papers published are of high quality after rigorous peer review and they are Indexed in: major international databases. I read Open Access journals to keep abreast of the recent development in my field of study."
Daniel Shek
(Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong)

"It is a modern trend for publishers to establish open access journals. Researchers, faculty members, and students will be greatly benefited by the new journals of Bentham Science Publishers Ltd. in this category."
Jih Ru Hwu
(National Central University, Taiwan)