The journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of editorial integrity, transparency, fairness, and publication ethics.
FairAnd Confidential Evaluation
Submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. Access is limited to individuals directly involved in editorial assessment, peer review, editorial administration, technical processing, production, or investigations conducted in accordance with journal policy or applicable law.
Information acquired through the editorial and peer-review process must be kept confidential and must not be used for personal, professional, institutional, or commercial advantage.
Manuscripts are evaluated solely on the basis of their scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical standards, relevance to the journal’s scope, and contribution to the field. Editorial decisions are made without discrimination based on nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, ethnicity, disability, age, political views, religion, career stage, or any other characteristic unrelated to scholarly merit.
Submission of a manuscript confirms that all authors have read and approved the submitted version and agree to comply with the journal’s editorial and ethical policies.
Initial Assessment
The Editorial Office or a designated editor conducts an initial assessment of each submission to evaluate its relevance to the journal’s scope, completeness, originality, scientific quality, reporting standards, research integrity, ethical compliance, authorship information, disclosure of competing interests, and compliance with submission requirements.
Manuscripts that are outside the journal’s scope, incomplete, legally or ethically problematic, scientifically inadequate, or otherwise unsuitable for peer review may be rejected without external review.
Appeals And Complaints
Authors may appeal an editorial decision if they believe a material error occurred during the assessment or editorial process. Appeals must clearly identify the decision being challenged, describe the alleged error, and provide supporting evidence. Disagreement with reviewer opinions alone does not constitute sufficient grounds for appeal.
The journal will consider the appeal, obtain additional input where appropriate, and communicate a reasoned decision. The outcome of the appeal will normally be final unless substantial new information becomes available.
Complaints concerning editorial conduct, conflicts of interest, publication ethics, procedural matters, unreasonable delays, or published content should be submitted to the Editorial Office. Complaints involving the Editor-in-Chief will be handled by an independent senior editor, delegated editor, or the journal’s governing body.
The journal will document complaints, review relevant evidence, seek responses from involved parties where appropriate, and communicate the outcome to the complainant to the extent permitted by confidentiality obligations.
Editorial Conflicts of Interest
Editors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, academic, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their editorial judgment.
Editors must not participate in the assessment or decision-making process for manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest, including their own work, manuscripts authored by close collaborators, current or recent colleagues, competitors, family members, or any submission where impartiality could reasonably be questioned.
Where a conflict of interest exists, editorial responsibility will be assigned to another qualified editor who has no relevant conflict.
Submissions authored by editors or Editorial Board members are subject to the same standards, editorial procedures, and peer-review requirements as all other submissions. Such manuscripts will be handled independently, and the author-editor will not have access to confidential reviewer reports, editorial discussions, or publication decisions concerning their submission.