01

The rule

A manuscript under review is a confidential document. Editors, reviewers, and staff may use it only to evaluate it for the journal. They must not share it, quote it, copy it, use its ideas or data, or discuss it with anyone who is not authorised by the journal.

02

Anonymity

—  The journal uses double-anonymous review. The reviewers do not know who the authors are, and the authors do not know who the reviewers are.

—  The identity of a reviewer is not disclosed to the authors, also after publication. The names of the reviewers of an issue are listed together, without any link to individual manuscripts.

—  Authors submit an anonymised manuscript and a separate title page.

03

Who may see the files

—  The handling editor, the Editor-in-Chief, the editorial staff who need access to manage the process, and the reviewers who have accepted the invitation.

—  Access to files is restricted by role in the journal system.

—  Files are not exported or shared outside the journal system, except as the next section allows.

04

Exceptions

Information may be shared beyond the usual editorial team only when it is necessary, and only to the extent that it is necessary, for peer review, technical checks such as similarity screening, legal advice, an investigation into research integrity, or another legitimate function of the journal. The editors may need to tell an institution or another journal about a serious concern. See Institutional Cooperation.

05

AI tools

Manuscripts, reviews, and decision letters are not uploaded to AI tools. See AI in Peer Review.

06

Related

Peer Review Policy  ·  Reviewer Guidelines  ·  Privacy Statement  ·  Records Retention

07

Sources

This policy is based on the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):