The Manuscript Processing System (MPS) is a web-based manuscript submission and tracking platform 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 can track all the stages of publication online until their manuscript is finalized and ready for publication by logging onto MPS and selecting the article title from the available list of their submitted manuscripts to view the detailed status at each stage of the peer-review and editorial process.

Editorial decisions are generally provided within two to three months from the initiation of the peer-review process. However, this timeline can vary depending on reviewer availability and response times. For the duration of the review process, the manuscript will appear in the “In Review” section of the Manuscript Processing System (MPS).

Reviewers are typically invited by a journal’s editor or manager based on subject expertise. However, if you think you would be a good reviewer for a specific journal, you can always contact one of the journal's editors.

Reviewers receive notification emails with peer-review invitations. Accepted reviews can be completed and submitted online through MPS. Reviewers can also decline assignments through the system.

Yes - all articles published in Bentham Open journals undergo a rigorous peer-review process.

Open Access Articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode), which permits unrestricted, distribution and reproduction in any medium, as long as the work is properly credited/attributed.

Fees vary 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 recommended 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 respective field of research) 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 by info@benthamopen.net or follow the below steps to submit directly via the online system:

➢Enter the URL “benthamscience.manuscriptpoint.com”

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

➢ After logging in, please navigate to the “New Submission” option under the Guest Editor portal of your dashboard, in the left panel. Click “New Submission” to start the proposal submission. For more details, please visit the following: link https://benthamscience.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 specific 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 a thematic issue proposal, authors are granted a period of 180 days to submit manuscripts for potential inclusion. After this deadline, the online system automatically disables further submissions for that thematic issue.

Requests to unlock a thematic issue should be sent to the editorial office at info@benthamopen.net. Approval of such requests is subject to the discretion of the journal’s Editor-in-Chief.

To register an account, please click the "Sign Up" button on the Manuscript Processing System (MPS) log-in page and follow the on-screen instructions. You can access the MPS platform at: https://benthamscience.manuscriptpoint.com/.

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

·   Click on your name in the top left corner.

·   Enter your personal information as needed, then click the “save and continue” button.

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

·   Click on your name 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 a thematic issue

The benefits offered to contributing authors may vary across different Bentham Open journals. For more information, please visit https://benthamopenscience.com/author-benefits.php

Invited authors who wish to submit articles for thematic issues are required to pay the concessionary Article Processing Charges (APC) in accordance with the journal’s current 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

Contributing authors are advised to follow the steps below to submit their manuscript to a thematic issue:

➢    Visit “benthamscience.manuscriptpoint.com”.

➢    Log in using your Manuscript Processing System (MPS) credentials by entering your registered email and password.

➢    Once logged in, click on the “New Submission” option located in the left panel of your dashboard.

➢    Select your desired journal and click the “Start Submission” Tab.

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

Authors can view or access their manuscripts by clicking the drop-down arrow in the left panel of the editor’s portal. However, any changes in the revision due date must be requested 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 a user is assigned the role of an editor, the editor's dashboard will appear upon signing in. Manuscripts on the dashboard are typically organized into three sections [i.e., a. Urgent Action Required, b. Manuscripts (General Topic), and c. Manuscripts (Thematic Issues)]. The editor can view the submission history of any manuscript by clicking on its corresponding code.

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

Newly submitted manuscripts for a Hot Topic (thematic issue) appear in the Guest Editor’s dashboard under “Awaiting Guest Editor Initial Approval.” Guest Editors can approve or reject the manuscripts and have the option to 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 is typically published on the website within 2–3 days after the signed agreement is received In case of any delay, the Section Editor may contact the editorial office at info@benthamopen.net or follow up with the last point of contact.

On the home page of Bentham's website (https://benthamopenscience.com/index.php), social media links are located on the left side of the page, 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 process is strictly confidential and conducted in a double-blind manner. Reviewers are therefore required to maintain complete confidentiality throughout the process and must not disclose any information to anyone prior to the publication of the manuscript.

Interested reviewers are expected to submit their comments online through Bentham's Manuscript Processing System (MPS) at https://benthamscience.manuscriptpoint.com. Reviewers should log in to their MPS accounts and click the “Yes, I agree to review” button to begin the review process.

Clicking this button will open the Review Form, where reviewers can download the manuscript either as a complete file or in individual sections. They may also read the manuscript online. After completing the Reviewer Evaluation Form, reviewers should click “Save.” A confirmation message — “Thank You!” — will appear. To return to the main dashboard, simply click the “Back to Dashboard” button.

Reviewers will receive a notification email inviting them to peer-review an assigned manuscript. Interested reviewers can respond directly to the email to confirm their willingness to participate. Once a reviewer agrees to take on the task, login credentials for the Manuscript Processing System (MPS) will be sent via email by the Editorial Manager.

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

·    Click on the “Forgot your password” tab.

·    Enter your email address and click “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 the link provided in the email to reset your password

·    Enter a new password and submit

If you continue to experience issues logging in, please contact the editorial team at info@benthamopen.net or admin@bentham.manuscriptpoint.com.

The complete peer-review history of each reviewer is maintained within our online Manuscript Processing System (MPS). Reviewers can download their review certificates directly from the Manuscript Processing System (MPS) 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 a journal’s Impact Factor on its homepage. Click on “Journal Home”, and the Impact Factor will be displayed at the top of the right-hand panel.

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

Reviewers are expected to submit their reports in a timely manner, as prompt reviews contribute to the timely publication of manuscripts. However, if additional time is needed, reviewers should contact the editorial office at info@benthamopen.net or admin@bentham.manuscriptpoint.com to request an extension.

Bentham Open sincerely appreciates the valuable time and effort contributed by reviewers during the peer-review process. As a token of appreciation, we offer the following incentives:

ø    A voucher worth USD 100 to reviewers who complete their reviews within the specified deadline. This voucher can be used to purchase any Bentham Open content or services within the next 12 months.

ø    A certificate of review issued upon completion of the review process.

If you have accepted a review request but are unable to complete it for any reason, please inform the Editorial Office either by replying to the most recent email correspondence or by contacting 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 a review invitation and no longer wish to receive such requests, you can simply click the UNSUBSCRIBE link at the bottom of the invitation email. Alternatively, you may unsubscribe by sending an email to info@benthamopen.net.