Editorial Policies

The policy set

From submission to the published record

• Editorial independence

  Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal. Decisions remain independent of fees, services, memberships, and editorial or reviewer roles.

  Editors recuse themselves from decisions on their own submissions; those manuscripts are handled independently.

• Peer review

  All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal’s scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review. Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.

  Reviewer identities are held in confidence. When double-blind review is requested, editors must ensure that author-identifying information is not shared with reviewers.

• Research ethics

  Submissions must comply with COPE guidance and institutional ethics standards, and must document informed consent and the protection of worker privacy and identifiable data.

  Interventional clinical trials must be registered in an accepted public trial registry at or before the first participant provides consent for enrollment. The registry name, registration number, and registration date must be reported in the manuscript.

• Conflicts of interest

  All authors disclose financial and non-financial interests and funding sources. Conflicts are reviewed and documented during editorial screening, and editors and reviewers declare and step aside from conflicted work.

• Reporting and data

  Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement. Authors describe exposure measurement and calibration, state deviations from protocol, and share analytic code or models where feasible.

  Manuscripts follow the reporting guideline that matches their design: STROBE for observational studies; CONSORT for randomized trials; PRISMA for systematic reviews; CARE for case reports; TREND for non-randomized evaluations.

• Authorship and contribution

  Authorship follows recognized criteria, contributor roles are documented, and the corresponding author verifies the author list. Preprints and prior dissemination are disclosed at submission, and AI-assisted writing or analysis is declared.

• Screening and integrity

  Submissions pass similarity screening and image-integrity checks. A similarity report is read in context by an editor; it is not applied as an automatic threshold.

  Suspected misconduct, plagiarism or data fabrication is investigated under COPE guidance.

• Corrections and the published record

  Corrections, retractions and expressions of concern are issued when the record requires them, and they stay with the article they concern.

• Appeals and complaints

  Authors may appeal a decision with a written rationale; appeals are reviewed by senior editors. Complaints may be sent to the editorial office at [email protected].