Peer review will be an unbiased, independent, critical assessment of all submitted articles for publication. Most manuscripts will be sent for peer review. Manuscripts that will require peer review are ultimately the responsibility of the editors.
Manuscripts that may potentially not undergo peer review:
The journal is accountable for establishing systems to select suitable reviewers. The Editor-in-Chief or their appointee is responsible for ensuring that reviewers have access to all materials relevant to evaluating the manuscript, including supplementary material designated for electronic publication. Additionally, they must ensure that reviewer comments are appropriately assessed and interpreted within the context of the reviewer’s declared relationships and activities.
The editor-in-chief is accountable for selecting all content, and editorial decisions may consider factors beyond the manuscript's quality, such as its relevance to the journal. An editor has the authority to reject any article at any stage prior to publication, including after acceptance, if concerns about the integrity of the work arise.
Journal will notify reviewers of the ultimate decision to accept or reject a paper and should acknowledge the contribution of peer reviewers to their journal.
Editors should review research protocols, statistical analysis plans, and contracts for project-specific studies during peer review. They should encourage authors to make these documents publicly available upon publication.
Journal may require an independent data analysis of the manuscript. Journal may ask author(s) to share their data with others for review.
