Reviewing of the manuscript

Assessment

Reviewers should begin with a brief summary of the manuscript and then assess whether its question, methods, evidence and conclusions are coherent and appropriate for the journal. Reports should identify reproducibility concerns, missing ethical information, unsupported claims, material citation omissions and presentation problems that prevent reliable evaluation.

Recommendation

The recommendation should follow from the written assessment. Reviewers advise the editor; the final decision belongs to the journal. A reviewer should not request citations for personal benefit or require changes unrelated to the validity, clarity or scope of the work.

Suspected misconduct

Concerns about plagiarism, fabrication, image manipulation, undisclosed conflicts or unethical research should be reported confidentially to the editor with specific evidence. Reviewers should not investigate or contact authors independently.