Reviewers are essential to ensuring the quality, integrity, and fairness of the peer-review process. All reviewers are expected to uphold the following ethical standards:
Appropriate Expertise: Reviewers should accept review assignments only when the manuscript falls within their field of knowledge and expertise. If they are not sufficiently qualified to evaluate the work, they should promptly inform the editorial board and decline the invitation.
Confidentiality: Manuscripts submitted for peer review, together with any supplementary materials, must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not disclose, distribute, or use unpublished information obtained through the review process for personal or professional benefit.
Timely Review: Reviewers should complete their evaluations within the agreed timeframe. If circumstances prevent a timely review, they should notify the editorial board immediately so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Ethical Responsibility: Reviewers should be attentive to potential ethical concerns, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation, or other forms of research misconduct. Any concerns should be reported confidentially to the editorial board with supporting information whenever possible.
Objective and Constructive Assessment: Reviews should be conducted impartially and based solely on the scientific quality, originality, methodology, significance, and clarity of the manuscript. Feedback should be respectful, evidence-based, and aimed at improving the quality of the work.
Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must decline to review any manuscript if they have a financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationship that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their judgment. Any potential conflict of interest should be disclosed to the editorial board before the review begins.
Failure to comply with these ethical principles may result in the reviewer being removed from the journal's reviewer database and may affect future invitations to participate in the peer-review process.