Contributing to Editorial Decisions

The review conducted by referees assists editors in making editorial decisions and, through communication with the author, may also help improve the submitted article.

Punctuality

Any reviewer who feels unqualified to assess a manuscript or knows, upon initial reading, that timely review will be impossible must notify the editors immediately.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and should not be shown to or discussed with others.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviewers must conduct themselves objectively, expressing their views clearly and supporting them with reasoned arguments.

Source Identification

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. They should alert the editors to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and any other published work of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not evaluate manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest due to competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the submission.