Reviewer and Publisher Responsibilities
Reviewer Responsibilities
Reviewers should accept an invitation to review only if the manuscript falls within their area of expertise and they are able to provide an objective and timely assessment. If the manuscript is outside their specialization, reviewers should inform the editor promptly. Where appropriate, they may suggest alternative qualified reviewers.
Reviewers should decline the invitation if any conflict of interest may affect their impartiality. This includes, but is not limited to, current or recent collaboration with any of the authors, co-authorship relationships, affiliation with the same institution, financial or non-financial competing interests, involvement in preparing a similar manuscript, or prior review of the same manuscript for another journal where this may compromise the integrity of the review process.
Reviewers are expected to complete their review within the time specified by the journal. If additional time is required, they should contact the editor as early as possible and request an extension.
Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts fairly, objectively, and professionally, without discrimination based on religion, race, nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, or political beliefs. Reviewer comments should be constructive, respectful, and intended to help the authors improve the manuscript.
Reviewers must not use inappropriate, offensive, or derogatory language in their reports. They should focus on the scholarly merit of the work and provide clear reasons for their comments and recommendations.
Reviewers must not request authors to cite the reviewers’ own work unless such citations are genuinely necessary for the scholarly improvement, completeness, or accuracy of the manuscript.
Reviewers must respect the confidentiality of the peer review process. Manuscripts and related materials must not be shared, discussed with others, or used for personal or professional advantage without the journal’s permission.
Reviewers are requested to provide one of the following recommendations based on the quality and suitability of the manuscript:
Accept
Minor Revision
Major Revision
Reject
In cases of major revision, the revised manuscript may be sent again to the original reviewers for further evaluation and final recommendations.
Reviewers are encouraged to use the journal’s reviewer form while submitting their reports. Alternatively, they may provide comments in a separate review document or in the manuscript file itself, provided that their identity is not disclosed anywhere in the file.
Relevant guidance for reviewers:
COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers:
https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers
COPE Peer Review Guidance:
https://publicationethics.org/peerreview
COPE guidance on what to consider when asked to peer review a manuscript:
https://publicationethics.org/guidance/flowchart/what-consider-when-asked-peer-review-manuscript
Reviewer Benefits
A reviewer certificate will be provided after the successful completion of the review.
Publisher Responsibilities
The publisher is responsible for supporting the journal’s operations and ensuring that the journal maintains appropriate scholarly publishing standards, ethical practices, and editorial independence.
The publisher is responsible for payments and administrative requirements relating to indexing, archiving, preservation, platform services, and other publishing support systems used by the journal.
The publisher works to ensure that the journal follows the latest publication ethics and best practices, including the COPE Core Practices and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.
COPE Core Practices: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/principles-transparency-and-best-practice-scholarly-publishing
The publisher supports the timely processing, production, and publication of accepted manuscripts during the post-acceptance stage.
The publisher is committed to protecting editorial independence and to supporting the Editor-in-Chief, editors, editorial board members, and editorial staff in carrying out their responsibilities without undue influence.
The publisher supports the visibility, discoverability, dissemination, and long-term preservation of journal content through appropriate indexing, archiving, and platform partnerships, while maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.
The publisher also supports the editorial office by providing administrative and technical assistance and by using appropriate systems and tools to help identify possible publication misconduct, including plagiarism and related ethical concerns.
All published articles are made freely available on the journal website under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
