JoSH follows a double-blind peer review model. Accordingly, it’s review process does not involve author-suggested (recommended) reviewers, as do reviewers based at the same institution and funding agency of the author/s and paper/project, respectively. Nevertheless, the reviewers are experts in their fields and expected to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript with zero-tolerance to publication ethics issues including, but not limited to: plagiarism, data falsification, image manipulation, and inappropriate authorship credit, among others.
Peer Review Process
Preliminary Checking
All submitted manuscripts submitted to the Editorial Office will be examined by the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Manager to determine whether manuscripts received are properly prepared, meet the standards; fit the aim and scope; and follow the ethics policy of the journal. Consequently, manuscripts that do not meet these criteria shall be rejected before peer-review. Manuscripts that have formatting issues and are not properly prepared may be returned to the authors for revision and resubmission.
Peer-Review
Manuscripts that meet the initial appraisal will be assigned to at least two independent experts for peer-review following a double-blind review. Peer review comments include constructive feedback and confidential comments for the authors and editor, respectively.
Editorial Decision
Comments received from the reviewers shall be collated by the Editor-in-Chief to guide decision making and recommendations which include:
Accept
The manuscript is accepted in its current form. Although minor revisions can be made following the corrected proof.
Minor Revisions
The manuscript requires minor revisions in order to be accepted. Authors are given five to seven days to revise the paper and address the comments. All revisions made shall be written in red text.
Major Revisions
The manuscript needs to be substantially improved in order to be accepted. Authors are expected to revise and submit the manuscript along with a point-by-point response to the reviewer comments the rebuttal form within a suitable time frame. Accordingly, the revised manuscript will be sent back to the reviewers. Failure to address all the comments in a satisfactory manner, warrants further revisions, resubmission, or possible rejection.
Reject
The manuscript is seriously flawed, and/or makes no original significant contribution.
Production and Publication
Once accepted, the manuscript professional copy-editing, English editing, proofreading shall be employed by the authors. The Editorial Office for its part, shall perform the final corrections, pagination, and publication on the JoSH website.