The peer-review process is designed to ensure high scientific standards, professional integrity and compliance with ethical principles. It involves the following stages:

1. Submission and preliminary verification of the manuscript

The publishing house receives the works proposed for publication via crisia@mtariicrisurilor.ro and carries out an initial evaluation (editorial screening). In this phase, it is verified whether the work is consistent with the mission, thematic profile and scientific objectives of the Publishing House of the Țării Crișurilor Museum. At the same time, compliance with technical and editorial norms is analyzed, as well as compliance with the requirements regarding originality and research ethics.

Manuscripts that do not fall within the thematic area or do not comply with the minimum quality standards are rejected at this stage, with the authors being appropriately informed.

2. Compliance with the principle of exclusivity

The publishing house does not accept manuscripts or translations that are simultaneously in the evaluation process at other publishing houses or journals. Authors are responsible for declaring on their own responsibility that the text is not subject to parallel evaluation and that it has not been previously published (except in clearly indicated and justified cases, such as older editions, editions in a language other than the proposed one).

3. Referral for external evaluation

Manuscripts that pass the preliminary evaluation are sent to external evaluators. These are recognized specialists in the field, affiliated with academic institutions in the country or abroad, selected according to their scientific competence and relevant experience.

To guarantee the impartiality of the process, the evaluators:

• must not be affiliated with the same institution as the authors;

• must not be in professional or personal relationships that could generate conflicts of interest;

• must declare any possible situation of incompatibility or bias.

Communication between authors and reviewers is mediated exclusively by the editor or the collection coordinator, in order to ensure the confidentiality and objectivity of the process.

4. Evaluation criteria

The reviewers analyze the manuscripts according to clear criteria, such as:

• originality of the work;

• methodological rigor;

• relevance and importance of the results for the specialized field;

• clarity of the exposition and quality of the analyses;

• compliance with ethical norms (correct citation, avoidance of plagiarism, data transparency, respect for copyright).

Based on this analysis, the reviewers formulate a detailed report and issue a recommendation: acceptance, acceptance with revisions (minor or major) or rejection.

5. Final editorial decision

The final decision belongs to the editor or the editorial committee, which takes into account the reviewers’ reports and their coherence. The editor may request the authors to revise the manuscript in accordance with the observations received, aiming to improve the scientific and editorial quality of the work.

6. Ethical commitments of authors

Authors who wish to publish in a prestigious publishing house must respect high professional standards, including:

• assuming responsibility for the scientific content of the work;

• correctly indicating sources and avoiding any form of plagiarism;

• declaring the contribution of each co-author;

• mentioning any funding or conflicts of interest.