PEER REVIEW POLICIES

Peer Review Guidelines

• This journal follows a double-blind peer review model. The primary purpose of peer review is providing the Editor with the information needed to reach a fair, evidence-based decision that adheres to the journal's editorial criteria. Review reports should also help authors revise their paper such that it may be accepted for publication.

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• Peer reviewers should adhere to the principles of COPE's Ethical Guidelines for Peer-reviewers.

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• Editor's are expected to independently verify the contact details of reviewers suggested by authors or other third parties. Institutional email addresses should be used to invite peer reviewers wherever possible. Each manuscript should be reviewed by at least one reviewer who was not suggested by the author.

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• Peer reviewers' names are included on the peer review reports. If the manuscript is published, reports with peer reviewer names are published online alongside the article (on rare occasions, information from the pre-publication history may not be available for a specific article).

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• Authors are aware of the peer reviewers names during the peer-review process and vice versa. There should not be direct correspondence between authors and peer reviewers; communication is mediated by the Editor.

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• Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments and references.

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• Reviewers should respect the confidentiality of material supplied to them and not discuss unpublished manuscripts with colleagues or use the information in their own work.

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• Any reviewer who wants to pass a peer review invitation onto a colleague must contact the journal in the first instance.