Editorial Process

Manuscript Submission

All manuscripts submitted for publication are received by the Editorial Office. The Managing Editor examines all files including cover letter, text files, graphs, charts and figures. If the files meet the technical and formatting requirements of the journal, authors are sent an acknowledgement of the manuscript along with a Manuscript ID number. Authors are requested to quote the manuscript ID number in all correspondences with the journal.

Technical Revisions

If the manuscript files do not meet the technical requirements of the journal, authors are sent detailed instructions about the changes required in the manuscript and asked to resubmit the files to the Editorial Office.

First Editorial Review

After the files pass the technical and formatting requirements, the manuscript is assigned to a Section Editor or a member of the Editorial Board. The editor reviews the manuscript and returns the manuscript along with the editorial comments. The editorial process gives the editors the authority to reject any manuscript if it does not meet the scientific publishing standards or is out of scope of the journal.

Peer Review

Based on the comments of the editor the manuscript is sent for external single-blind peer review. The manuscript is usually sent to two to four expert peer reviewers. The peer review process followed by the journal is single-blind.

Second Editorial Review

After the peer reviewers return the manuscript with their comments, the manuscript with reviewers’ comments is sent to the editor. The editor reviews the manuscript and the comments and recommends suitability of the manuscript for publication in the journal. Based on the editor's comments the first decision on acceptance, minor revision, major revision or rejection of the manuscript is taken.

Manuscript Revision

The authors are promptly informed of the editorial decision for the manuscript. The editor's and reviewers’ comments are also sent to the authors with the decision email. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors are sent instructions about how to respond to the editorial and reviewer comments and make changes in the manuscript. At this stage, based on the comments, the manuscript may need changes to text, figures, tables etc.

Author Appeal Against Decision

If the authors feel that they are not satisfied with the editorial decision about publication of the manuscript, authors may appeal the decision. The instructions for the appeal procedure are given on “Corrections, Retractions & Expressions of Concern” tab. The average submission to first decision time is about two weeks.

Third Editorial Review

After author's response to editor's and reviewer's comments are received, the manuscript is reviewed by the assigned editor and if required the manuscript is again sent to the reviewers for their comments. After the editor has reviewed the manuscript and the responses, final decision about publication of the manuscript is taken. The authors are promptly informed of the decision.

Page Proof

After acceptance of the manuscript, it may be edited for grammar, punctuation, style and accuracy. An edited, pre-print proof of the manuscript with all figures, table and charts included, is sent to the corresponding author for approval. The proof is sent as a PDF file. The authors are also sent a proof corrections form, which the authors can use to submit any changes required in the manuscript. Please note that at this stage it will not be possible to make any significant changes to the text or add or delete figures. The proof need to be returned to the Editorial Office within two days (48 hours).

Manuscript Publication

After the corrected proof are received by the Editorial Office, the final version of the manuscript is prepared for publication. During preparation for publication, HTML, PDF, XML and other formats of the manuscript are prepared. After receiving page proof, the average time to publication is approximately one day. All manuscripts are published as an “Article in Press” with DOI.

Editorial and Peer Review in Special Cases

International Journal of Medical Reviews and Case Reports follows a policy of single-blind, external peer review. In all cases, reviewers will be asked to declare any conflict of interest based on the contents of the manuscript. If a manuscript is submitted for publication by the Editor-in-Chief (author of the manuscript), the Editor-in-Chief will assign the manuscript to an editor who will, without informing the Editor-in-Chief will transfer the manuscript to another editor. The second editor will make all decisions about the manuscript and communicate the decision to the Editor-in-Chief (author of the manuscript) through the first editor. The first editor will keep the identity of the second editor anonymous from the Editor-in-Chief. If a manuscript is submitted for publication by a member of the Editorial Board, the name of the handling editor will not be disclosed to either the editor (author of the manuscript) or the co-authors. Only the Editor-in-Chief and the Journal editorial staff will be privy to this information. If a manuscript is submitted for publication by a current or past reviewer for the journal, the name of the handling editor will not be disclosed to either the reviewer (author of the manuscript) or the co-authors. Only the Editor-in-Chief and the Journal editorial staff will be privy to this information. If a manuscript is submitted by an author who is at the same institution as one of the editors, the manuscript will be handled by another editor who is not at that institution. If a manuscript is submitted by an author who is a family member of the editor or personally or professionally related to the editor (e.g. friend, colleague or student) the manuscript will be handled by another editor.