Duties of Reviewers

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to editorial decisions

Peer review assists both editors in making editorial decisions and authors in improving their manuscripts. Peer review is a key element of formal scholarly communication and lies at the heart of scientific endeavour. It is our belief that all scholars who wish to contribute to the scientific process have a duty to do a fair share of reviewing.

Promptness

In case an invited reviewer feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible, they should notify the editors and decline the invitation to review so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.

Confidentiality

manuscripts received for review are treaded as confidential documents; they must not be disclosed to or discussed with others except if authorized by the Editor-in-Chief (who would only do so under exceptional and specific circumstances). This applies also to invited reviewers who decline the review invitation.

Standards of objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively and observations formulated clearly with supporting arguments so that authors can use them for improving the manuscript. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate.

Acknowledgement of sources

Any relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors should be identified by reviewers. Any statement that is an observation, derivation or argument that has been reported in previous publications should be accompanied by the relevant citation. In case there is substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other manuscript (published or unpublished) of which reviewers have personal knowledge, it needs to be reported to the editors.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Any invited reviewer who has conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other connections with any of the authors, companies or institutions connected to the manuscript and the work described therein should declare their conflicts of interest to the editors and decline the invitation to review so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.

Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research, unless the authors’ written consent is obtained. Reviewers must keep privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review confidential and must not use them for personal advantage. This applies also to invited reviewers who decline the review invitation.