For Authors

Each issue of the journal is thematic, i.e. a call for papers on a specific  topic is published for each issue. The Editor-in-Chief or other experts (internal or external to the Advisory Board and/or the Editorial Board) can edit the call for submission.

Experts in the disciplines, on themes and topics consistent with PAD intentions, can propose themes for the semester calls. In evaluating the proposals, the Editor-in-Chief may consult with the members of the Advisory Board and the Editorial Board.

Each issue is divided into editorial sections whose names are based on the thematic call (so they can have different titles for each issue) and on the various contributions selected through refereeing.

All received articles are subjected to a double-blind peer review.
Only those that have been accepted according to the peer review are published in the various sections of the journal.

The last section may contain reviews, visual essays or photographic reports and interviews, or short descriptions of projects or events, which, not having the characteristics of an article, are not subject to review, even if made and published according to the theme of the call.

Similarly, the editorial of the editors of each issue is not subjected to refereeing but is supervised by the Editor-in-Chief in collaboration with other members of the editorial team.

PAD publish online and spreads among networks of international scholars the call for papers for each issue. Authors are welcome to submit their manuscripts related to the published call by the deadline.

A submission implies that the described work relates to a call for papers and guidelines; that the paper has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – at the institute where the work has been carried out. The publisher will not be held legally responsible should there be any compensation claims. Submissions are rigorously reviewed by peers, in order to ensure the highest scholarly standards. Thorough peer-reviewed papers are published online after acceptance and proofreading.

Authors who wish to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

Authors are called to prepare their manuscript following the Authors’ guidelines:
PAD-guidelines-for-authors-ENG

For editors and reviewers to accurately assess the work presented in the manuscript, authors need to ensure the English language is of sufficient quality to be clearly understood. If needed, they should consider proofreading their papers by a native English speaker.

If your manuscript is accepted, you will be accurately re-checked for spelling, formal style and appropriate style of references – following the latest APA Style guide – before publication. All articles are published open access, and accepted submissions are subject to a publication fee.

Submissions are rigorously reviewed by peers to ensure the highest scholarly standards. Through a double-blind peer-review process, papers are published online after acceptance and proofreading. The peer-review includes different steps following a defined process.

During an initial review, the Editor-in-Chief, along with Guest or Associate Editors, evaluates each abstract manuscript to determine if its topic and content are suitable for consideration. Abstract manuscripts that do not meet the call topic and scholar minimum criteria are returned to the authors. Authors of the abstract that meet the topic and quality criteria are advised to prepare their full paper and send it to the editors by the deadline.

Full papers received are assigned to referees. Each paper is reviewed by at least two referees, each selected based on their expertise in the paper’s particular field. At least one of the reviewers is external to the PAD boards. The review process is carried out under a double-blind peer review process, where both the referees and the authors are kept anonymous. Referees are asked to evaluate the manuscript based on its originality, soundness of methodology, the correctness of the information, impact on design research, and relevance to design practices by the deadline.
After collecting the referees’ reports, the authors are informed of the recommendation on the acceptability of the manuscript.
To facilitate timely publication, authors and referees are asked to complete their work according to the assigned deadline and publish it in the call.

Based on the referees’ comments and the Associate Editor’s recommendation, and a third reviewer if needed, the Editor-in-Chief makes a final decision on the acceptability of the manuscript and communicates to the authors the decision, along with referees’ reports. The final decision can be Accepted, Required Correction, Revise and Resubmit, or Decline Submission. A revised manuscript should be re-submitted according to the deadline. It will usually be returned to the original referees for evaluation.