Peer-review policy

All articles submitted to our journal that are selected for peer review are sent to at least one but usually two, independent reviewers, selected by the editors. Authors are welcome to suggest suitable independent reviewers and may also request that the journal excludes one or two individuals. The journal sympathetically considers such requests and usually honors them, but the editor’s decision on the choice of referees is final. Usually, it takes twelve weeks from submission of the article to its publication. 

Editors, authors, and reviewers are required to keep confidential all details of the editorial and peer review process on submitted manuscripts. Unless otherwise declared as a part of open peer review, the peer review process is confidential and conducted anonymously; identities of reviewers are not released. Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts. If a reviewer wishes to seek advice from colleagues while assessing a manuscript, the reviewer must consult with the editor and should ensure that confidentiality is maintained and that the names of any such colleagues are provided to the journal with the final report. Regardless of whether a submitted manuscript is eventually published, correspondence with the journal, referees’ reports, and other confidential material must not be published, disclosed, or otherwise publicized without prior written consent. Reviewers should be aware that it is our policy to keep their names confidential and that we do our utmost to ensure this confidentiality. We cannot, however, guarantee to maintain this confidentiality in the face of a successful legal action to disclose identity.

Journal reserves the right to contact funders, regulatory bodies, journals, and the authors’ institutions in cases of suspected research or publishing misconduct.

Manuscript processing time

Typically the manuscript will be reviewed within 4 weeks. Should the reviewers' reports contradict one another or a report is unduly delayed, a further expert opinion will be sought. If necessary, revised manuscripts may be returned to the initial reviewers, usually within a month. Editors may request more than one revision of a manuscript, and reviewers may also be invited to review the manuscript at any time.