Instructions for revievers

Duties of Reviewers

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others unless authorized by the editor. Under double-blind review the identity of the reviewers and the authors are hidden from each other. This level of anonymity is designed to encourage fairness, with papers being considered on their individual merits.

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Once you have read the paper and assessed its quality, you need to make a recommendation to the editor regarding publication. Should it be accepted? Revised and resubmitted? Rejected pending revision? Supply some comments suitable for transmission to the author as an opportunity to seek clarification on any unclear points and for further elaboration. If you have time, make suggestions as to how the author can improve clarity, succinctness, and the overall quality of the presentation. Confirm whether you feel the subject of the paper is sufficiently interesting to justify its length. If you recommend shortening of the paper it is useful to the author(s) if you can indicate specific areas where you think that shortening is required.

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