OPEN ACCESSPEER REVIEWEDISSN 2576-9359
Editors Guidelines
Editors provide scholarly stewardship by overseeing peer review and upholding publication ethics. This page sets out what the journal asks of an editor handling a manuscript.
THE TASK
Handling a manuscript
A handling editor carries a manuscript from assignment to decision and is answerable for the process.
- 01
Assess scope and readiness
Read the manuscript against the journal’s remit and its minimum requirements. All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal’s scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review.
- 02
Select reviewers
Invite reviewers with the specific expertise the manuscript needs and no competing interest in it. Seek a range of perspectives rather than a single school of thought.
- 03
Run the review
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. Keep reviewers informed, chase an overdue report, and replace a reviewer who withdraws. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
- 04
Weigh the reports
Read the reports against the manuscript rather than counting them. Where reviewers disagree, resolve the disagreement with your own reading or a further opinion.
- 05
Decide and explain
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal. Give the author a decision letter that says what is required and why.
CONDUCT
Ethical conduct
These apply to every editor of the journal, on every manuscript.
- Treat every manuscript as a confidential document and share it only with people brought into the review.
- Recuse yourself from any manuscript in which you have a competing interest, and from your own submissions, which are handled independently.
- Apply the same standards whatever the identity, institution or country of the authors.
- When double-blind review is requested, editors must ensure that author-identifying information is not shared with reviewers.
- Use no unpublished material or idea from a submission in your own work.
- Reviewers must obtain journal permission before using AI to assist with a review. Any permitted use must be disclosed, and confidential manuscript content must not be uploaded where confidentiality cannot be assured.
- Report a suspected breach of publication ethics to the Editor-in-Chief, who will handle it under COPE guidance.
- Decisions remain independent of fees, services, memberships and editorial or reviewing roles.
IN PRACTICE
Timeliness and support
The journal asks for prompt handling and supports editors in achieving it.
WHAT THE JOURNAL ASKS
Accept or decline an assignment quickly, so a manuscript can be reassigned without delay.
Tell the editorial office as soon as a manuscript needs more time or a different editor.
WHAT THE JOURNAL PROVIDES
The editorial office handles reviewer administration, correspondence and production, so that an editor’s work stays scholarly.
Questions about a specific manuscript, a competing interest or a suspected breach go to the Editor-in-Chief through the editorial office.
NEXT
The journal’s policies
The full policy set, the reviewer guidance and the journal’s terms are on the pages below.