Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Reviewers assist editors in making editorial decisions and help authors improve their manuscripts through constructive feedback. Peer review is a vital part of scholarly communication and scientific progress. All scholars should contribute to the peer review process as part of their professional responsibilities.

Promptness

Reviewers should respond promptly to review invitations. If a reviewer feels unqualified to assess the manuscript or cannot complete the review on time, they should notify the editors immediately and decline the invitation, allowing alternative reviewers to be contacted.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, discuss, or disclose the manuscript with others unless authorized by the Editor-in-Chief. This confidentiality applies to all invited reviewers, even those who decline the invitation.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be objective and constructive, providing clear and well-supported feedback to help authors improve their manuscripts. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate and unacceptable.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any significant similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and any other manuscript should be reported to the editors. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest that could affect their impartiality and decline invitations to review when such conflicts exist. Unpublished material from a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the authors’ explicit consent. Privileged information obtained through peer review must remain confidential and not be used for personal advantage.