Reviewer Guideline
Role of Reviewers
Reviewers play a crucial role in maintaining the scientific quality and publication ethics of Usadha. They are expected to provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations of manuscripts, following the official review checklist provided by the journal.
Confidentiality and Ethics
- Reviewers must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents and should not share or discuss their contents with others.
- The review process is double-blind, ensuring anonymity for both authors and reviewers.
- Reviewers should decline the assignment if they have a conflict of interest, including close collaboration, institutional affiliation, or participation in the same research project.
- The use of AI tools is permitted only for drafting comments or improving language clarity, not for assessing manuscript content, and confidentiality must be strictly maintained.
Evaluation Process and Criteria
Manuscripts must be evaluated using the official Reviewer Checklist, which can be downloaded from the link below:
[Download Reviewer Checklist (Word format)]
Reviewers are required to complete the checklist, which covers both technical and substantive aspects, including:
- Title and author information
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Materials and Methods
- Results and Discussion
- Conclusion
- References
The checklist also includes a recommendation section (Accept Submission, Revisions Required, Resubmit for Review, Resubmit Elsewhere, or Decline Submission) and space for additional comments to the editor or authors.
Review Tone and Comments
Comments should be clear, respectful, and constructive, highlighting both strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript. Reviewers are encouraged to provide suggestions that can improve clarity, argumentation, or scientific accuracy. Any suspicion of plagiarism, data manipulation, or ethical misconduct must be reported confidentially to the editor.
Timeliness
Reviews should be completed within three (3) weeks from the date of assignment. Reviewers who need additional time must inform the editorial office as early as possible.
Recognition
Reviewers who complete their reviews diligently will receive an official certificate of appreciation and may be acknowledged annually in the Acknowledgement to Reviewers section of the Usadha website.
