Reviewer

Roles and Responsibilities of Reviewers in Maintaining Publishing Standards

• Reviewers play a pivotal role in the peer-review process and in improving the quality of manuscripts, upon which the decision to publish or reject is based.
• A reviewer must be an expert in the relevant field to enrich and enhance the manuscript through critical analysis and constructive suggestions. Therefore, reviewers should be honest in their assessment of the manuscript's quality.
• Reviewers should remain up to date with developments in their field of expertise to provide valuable feedback. Their qualifications and experience are critical to maintaining the highest standards of peer review. Reviewers must disclose their ability—or inability—to evaluate a manuscript.
• Reviewers must meet the specified deadlines and submit their reviews in a timely manner to avoid delays in the publication process.
• Reviewers must maintain confidentiality by keeping their assessments private and only sharing their evaluations with the relevant editorial board.
• Reviewers should remain objective in their evaluations by adhering strictly to research standards. They must critically assess issues such as redundancy, copyright violations, and breaches of ethical conduct, including those involving human, animal, or environmental rights.
• Reviewers are expected to add value to the final outcome of the manuscript by sharing and enhancing knowledge through the review process.
• Reviewers must refrain from evaluating manuscripts where there is a competitive, collaborative, institutional, or personal conflict of interest with any of the authors.