Guideline
|
The review process is an important aspect of the publication process of an article. It helps an editor in making decision on an article and also enables the author to improve the manuscript. The Applied Food Biotechnology (AFB) operates an open peer review system. Before accepting to review a manuscript, reviewers should ensure that the manuscript is within their area of expertise and they can dedicate the appropriate time to conduct a critical review of the manuscript. Conflict of Interest “Conflict of interest (COI) exists when there is a divergence between an individual’s private interests (competing interests) and his or her responsibilities to scientific and publishing activities such that a reasonable observer might wonder if the individual’s behavior or judgment was motivated by considerations of his or her competing interests”. WAME “Reviewers should declare their relationships and activities that might bias their evaluation of a manuscript and recuse themselves from the peer-review process if a conflict exists”. ICMJE Confidentiality Manuscripts are confidential materials given to a reviewer in trust for the sole purpose of critical evaluation. Reviewers should ensure that the review process is confidential. Details of the manuscript and the review process should remain confidential during and after the review process. “Respect the confidentiality of the peer review process and refrain from using information obtained during the peer review process for your own or another’s advantage, or to disadvantage or discredit others”. COPE Fairness Reviews should be honest and objective and not be influenced by the origin of the manuscript, as well as gender, race, ethnicity or citizenry, religious, political or cultural viewpoint of the authors. Review reports In evaluating a manuscript, reviewers should focus on the following:
Reviewers should also observe that the author(s) have followed the instruction for authors, editorial policies and publication ethics. The report should be accurate, objective, constructive and unambiguous. Comments should be backed by facts and constructive arguments with regards to the content of the manuscript. Reviewers should not rewrite the manuscript; however necessary corrections and suggestions for improvements should be made. Timeliness Reviewers should only accept a manuscript when they are confident that they can dedicate appropriate time in reviewing. Thus, reviewers should review and return manuscripts in a timely manner. Recommendations Reviewers’ recommendation should be either: Accept, Requires minor corrections, Requires major revision, Reject. Recommendation should be backed with constructive arguments and facts based on the content of the manuscript. You can also find basic training for reviewer tasks and step by step guide to reviewing a manuscript in the journal’s website through this link. Resources |
Instruction with OJS
After receiving a review request Email and going to the submission URL provided in it, 6 easy review steps should be followed:
1. Accepting the review invitation by clicking on "will do the review" and sending or skipping the Email, which will open automatically.
2. Reading this reviewer guideline.
3. Downloading the manuscript and its supplementary file(s) by clicking on file names (e.g. 9923-36449-1-RV.DOC).
4. Filling the review form by clicking on its icon and saving it. Please note that the review form is only activated once you accept the review request and send or skip its automatic Email. You may make changes to the form at any time before completing the steps (submitting the review to the editor).
5. This is an optional step for reviewers who wish to upload one or more files in addition to the review form.
6. Selecting the final recommendation from the drop down menu and submit it to the editor by clicking on “submit review to editor” button and sending the email that appears automatically to notify the section editor that you have completed the review. Please note that the drop down menu will be activated only when you complete and save the review form.