Editorial & Audit Policy

Review Labels

P/A Journal uses explicit and non-interchangeable labels for all stages of review. No review stage is represented as something it is not.

Published

A paper that has completed the applicable review process and is published in its current version.

Preprint

A paper submitted to the repository prior to any review process. Claims are those of the author and have not been evaluated.

Editorial Audit

A paper undergoing internal editorial examination of claims, evidence, dependencies, and structure. This is not external peer review.

Internal Audit

An AI-assisted and editor-conducted audit of the paper's internal consistency, citation connections, and conceptual dependencies. This is not external peer review.

External Peer Review

A paper currently under review by qualified external reviewers independent of P/A Institute. This label is used only when external review is actually in progress.

Revision Requested

Review has identified issues requiring author revision before the paper proceeds further.

Reviewed Version

A version of a paper that has been revised following a review or audit process, with changes documented in the version history.

Audit Record Policy

For papers that undergo editorial or internal audit, P/A Journal publishes an Audit Record containing:

• Major claims examined
• Evidence connections identified
• Citation verification status
• Conceptual dependencies made explicit
• Unresolved problems documented
• Revision history
• AI-generated findings (explicitly labelled)
• Human verification status

Audit records are published alongside the paper and updated when the paper is revised. They are permanently accessible regardless of whether the paper is revised or retracted.

AI in the Review Process

AI is used in P/A Journal as part of an auditable research infrastructure. Specifically:

• AI may assist in identifying structural dependencies, citation gaps, and internal inconsistencies.
• AI-generated findings are always explicitly labelled in the Audit Record.
• AI does not determine whether claims are true. It identifies what requires human examination.
• All AI findings are subject to human review before inclusion in an Audit Record.
• The use of AI in review is never presented as equivalent to human expert judgment.

External Review

P/A Journal is developing infrastructure for external peer review. Currently:

• External review requests may be submitted via the Submissions page.
• Reviewers are independent of P/A Institute.
• The "External Peer Review" label is applied only when review by an external, qualified reviewer is confirmed to be in progress.
• Reviewer identities may be anonymous, but the review process itself will be documented in the Audit Record.

Principles

• Credibility: Every claim in a P/A Journal paper must be traceable to evidence, argument, or explicit acknowledgment of uncertainty.
• Transparency: Review operations, evidence connections, limitations, and revisions are documented and made available.
• Traceability: Version history is maintained. No version is deleted. Revisions are documented.
• Non-inflation: Internal audit is never presented as external peer review. Preprints are not presented as reviewed.
• Continuity: Audit records persist even if papers are revised or the journal expands.