Understand Peer Review

Learn what happens between submission and decision. IEEE offers insight into peer review and the decision-making process for conference papers.

About Conference Peer Review

Peer review is vital to the quality of published research. IEEE requires all conference papers go through the peer review process before publication.

How does it work?

Peer review is a process in which a scientific paper is evaluated by a group of experts in the same field to make sure it meets the necessary standards for acceptance and publication. 

Each IEEE Conference’s Technical Program Chair will appoint a Technical Program Committee.

• The Technical Program Committee collaborates to review and discuss submitted papers.
• Review occurs during a fixed window of time. All authors are notified of the decision on their paper at the same time.
• The Technical Program Chair is ultimately responsible for the selection of every accepted paper.

The most common types of peer review are single-anonymous and double-anonymous review.

• In single-anonymous, the names of the reviewers are not shared with the author, but the reviewers are aware of the author’s identity.
• In double-anonymous, neither the author nor the reviewers are aware of each other’s identity.

Both models ensure that the reviewer can give an honest and impartial evaluation of the paper. Most IEEE publications use the single-anonymous review format.

What Are Reviewers Looking For?

Learn what is important during peer review. Make sure to cover all the topics in your conference paper. 

During the peer review process, reviewers look for the following.

• Scope: Is the paper appropriate for the scope of this conference?
• Novelty: Is this original material distinct from previous publications?
• Validity: Is the study well designed and executed?
• Data: Are the data reported, analyzed, and interpreted correctly?
• Clarity: Are the ideas expressed clearly, concisely, and logically?
• Compliance: Are all ethical and publication requirements met?
• Advancement: Is this a significant contribution to the field?

Peer Review Decisions

Conference peer review occurs within a fixed window of time. All authors are notified of the peer review decision on their paper at the same time.

You may receive one of three possible decisions.

• Accept: Your paper will be published without edits. You may be asked to upload final camera-ready files or to sign a copyright form.
• Accept with revision: Your paper will be accepted after you implement edits suggested by the reviewers. You will be asked to provide a revised version.
• Reject: Your paper will not be presented at the conference or published in the conference proceedings. You may submit your paper to another IEEE publication.

Due to a limited peer review period, many conferences do not offer a revision option. Instead, they will either accept or reject the initial submission.