Confidentiality

Reviewers need to keep all peer review documents confidential, and not reveal any information about the manuscripts to anyone unless preauthorized by the editor.

The papers' contents and ideas cannot be used, referenced, or included in the works of the reviewers before publication. Until then, the information in the papers should be treated as confidential and must not be used for any potential purposes uncorrelated to the review process.

Anonymity

When reviewing a manuscript on a double-blind basis, reviewers should be careful not to reveal the identity to the authors.

Conflict of interest

A conflict of interest is a situation in which the reviewer can be viewed as being able to benefit personally from the outcome of a review, or in which the reviewer cannot remain objective for personal reasons. If a conflict of interest exists, the reviewer should decline to review the paper. The specific conflicts may be related to the following situations:

1. The reviewer is the author or co-author of the paper.

2. The reviewer works in the same institute/affiliation as one of the authors.

3. The reviewer is the supervisor, adviser of one of the authors.

4. The reviewer’s unpublished work is studying the same issue and used the same research approaches.

5. The reviewer recognizes the authors of the paper.

6. The assignments are trying to avoid most conflicts, but if you recognize that your reviewing will be related to the conflict of interest, please turn down the paper and write back the refusing mail for the request.