Submission Requirements

If your special issue proposal is approved, submit a final scope statement, timeline, and guest editor list for confirmation.

Guest Editor Responsibilities

Guest editors coordinate peer review, recommend decisions, and ensure submissions align with the theme.

• Define scope and submission guidelines
• Invite contributors and reviewers
• Coordinate revisions and timelines

Quality Standards

All special issue manuscripts undergo the same peer review and ethics screening as regular submissions.

Research Visibility

Open access publication ensures that robotic surgery and AI research is available to engineers, clinicians, and health system leaders worldwide.

Quality Assurance

Every manuscript receives editorial screening and independent review to protect the integrity of technical and clinical claims.

Scheduling

Clear timelines help maintain momentum and ensure the collection is published on schedule.

Submission Package

Provide the final scope statement, confirmed guest editor list, and proposed timeline. Include a draft call for papers and a plan for reviewer recruitment.

Communication Plan

Outline how the guest editor team will communicate with authors and reviewers. Consistent updates keep contributors informed and engaged.

Quality Control

All manuscripts must meet JRAI ethical and technical standards. Guest editors should ensure consistent review criteria across submissions.

Indexing and Visibility

Special issues receive dedicated landing pages and are promoted through the journal network to increase visibility and citations.

Milestone Tracking

Track submission volume, review completion, and revision status to maintain the schedule. The editorial office provides support for milestone reporting.

Reviewer Pool

Provide a list of potential reviewers with relevant expertise to accelerate peer review. The editorial office will validate and invite reviewers as needed.

Decision Letters

Guest editors should provide clear decision letters that summarize required revisions and highlight key reviewer feedback. Consistent messaging improves author responses.

Guest Editor Onboarding

The editorial office provides onboarding guidance, decision templates, and policy reminders to support guest editor effectiveness.

Ethics Screening

All submissions undergo similarity checks and ethics screening before review. Guest editors should flag any concerns early to avoid delays.

Revision Coordination

Coordinate revisions and ensure authors respond to reviewer comments with clear change summaries. This keeps the collection on schedule.

Submission Portal Setup

Once approved, the editorial office configures the submission portal with the special issue label. Authors will select the issue during submission to route papers correctly.

Article Categorization

Define which article types are appropriate for the issue, such as technical notes, clinical validation studies, or review papers. This helps maintain consistency across the collection.

Final Collection Review

Before publication, the guest editor team may review the full collection for thematic cohesion and ensure abstracts and keywords align with the issue scope.

Conflict Management

Guest editors should disclose conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when needed. This protects the fairness and integrity of the special issue review process. This protects reviewer trust and author confidence throughout the process overall.

Editorial Office Coordination

Maintain regular contact with the editorial office to address delays, reviewer availability, or scope questions. Coordination keeps the project on track. Use shared tracking documents for submissions and reviewer status so the team has a single source of truth. Prompt updates reduce confusion and help align publication dates with conference or grant timelines for strategic planning.