Template:WikiJournal/Draft of duties of the peer reviewers

Duties of the peer-reviewers

Potential peer reviewers should provide the peer review coordinator or corresponding editorial board member with personal and professional information that is accurate and a true representation of their expertise. Peer reviewers should only agree to review submissions for which they have the subject expertise required to make a proper assessment, and for which they can review in a timely manner. Peer reviewers should not use information obtained during the peer review process for their own or any other person's or organization’s advantage, nor should they use it to disadvantage or discredit others. Peer reviewers should declare all potential conflicting interests, and should seek advice from the peer review coordinator or the editorial board if they are unsure whether something constitutes a relevant conflict of interest. Peer reviewers should not allow their reviews to be influenced by the origins of a submission, by the nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender or other characteristics of the authors, or by commercial considerations.

Assessment aspects

When processing submissions to the journal, the guidelines for peer reviewers for research articles includes the following ethical aspects:

• Is patient consent commented?
• Have risks of harm for participants been minimized?
• Is there appropriate protection of research subjects, including animals?
• Was there approval by an ethics committee or institutional review board?

• If not, is there an adequate explanation whether this was done or not?

The reviews should be objective and constructive, with avoidance of hostile, libellous or derogatory personal comments.

A peer reviewer who suspects research misconduct should notify the peer review coordinator or the editorial board about this issue, and should personally perform an investigation unless the journal asks for additional information or advice.

Confidentiality

Editors and reviewers must keep the confidentiality of works and author identities unless permission has been granted to disclose such material or information. Editors and reviewers must not retain such works for their personal use.

Open peer review

WikiJournal uses an open peer review process. Reviewers comments and author responses are published alongside the manuscript under an open access license. The version of the manuscript at the time of review is also indicated. If the reviewer chooses to waive their confidentiality, their name is included on the peer review reports.

Further reading

• Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers, by COPE
• Guidance for Editors: Research, Audit and Service Evaluations, by COPE