After receiving a submission, the managing editors check the submission and decide whether it is in compliance with the requirements stated in the author guidelines and whether it fits within the scope of the journal. Submissions are then assigned to two peer reviewers – mostly one member of the Advisory Board and one specialist unconnected to the journal. To ensure the integrity of the blind peer review for submissions to this journal, every effort should be made to prevent the identities of the authors and reviewers from being known to each other. Papers are published after two positive reviews have been obtained. In the event of just one negative review, the article is passed on to a third reviewer.
The following criteria are always considered for each submission in the peer review process:
- originality of the work
- ethical aspects
- importance of the information
- clarity and comprehensibility of the text
- appropriateness of the methods
- interpretation of the results
- reasonableness of the conclusions