PEER-REVIEW PROCESS

Peer-review process

All manuscripts received by the editors are subject to mandatory double-blind peer review (the reviewers do not know the authors of the manuscript; the authors of the manuscript do not know the reviewers). 

The editors recommend that the reviewer, when analyzing manuscripts, follow the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (Ethics Publishing Committee), the Publishing Ethics Resource Kit of Elsevier (Ethics Resource Book). The reviewer must respect the confidentiality when working with the submitted materials of the original study.

1. Members of the editorial board of the journal, researchers and specialists of the Ryazan State Medical University and other organizations with professional knowledge and experience in a specific scientific area serve as reviewers. The co-authors of the manuscript and employees of the department in which this work was performed cannot be reviewers.

2. The reviewer is obliged to submit to the editorial board a review of the manuscript no more than one month after he/she received the manuscript for review. This period is controlled by the executive secretary. Depending on the situation and at the request of the reviewer, it can be extended.

3. Each reviewer has the right to refuse reviewing if there is a clear conflict of interest that affects the perception and interpretation of the manuscript materials. In this case, the reviewer reports his/her refusal to the executive secretary of the journal.

4. Based on the results of reviewing the manuscript, the reviewer gives recommendations on the future fate of the paper (each decision of the reviewer is justified):

• To accept for publication;
• To accept for publication after the author’s minor revision;
• To accept for publication after the author's significant revision and re-review;
• To reject;
• To recommend to another journal.

5. If the review contains recommendations for correcting or finalizing the manuscript, the executive secretary of the journal sends the depersonalized text of the review to the team of authors with a proposal to consider them when preparing a new version the manuscript. Finalization of the manuscript should not take more than 2 months from the date of sending a notification to the authors about the need to make changes.

6. In case of disagreement with the opinion of the reviewer, the authors of the manuscript has the right to provide a reasoned answer to the editors of the journal.

7. If necessary, the manuscript modified by the authors is re-sent for review. The manuscript can be sent for re-reviewing by the same or another reviewer, or for discussion by the editorial board for a final decision.

8. If the authors refuse to finalize the manuscript they must notify the executive secretary of the journal of their decision in writing. If the authors do not return the revised version after 3 months from the date of sending the review, even in the absence of information from the authors with a refusal to finalize the manuscript, the manuscript is removed. In such situations, the authors are sent an appropriate notification of the removal of the manuscript due to the expiration of the time allotted for revision.

9. The decision to refuse to publish the manuscript is made at a meeting of the editorial board in accordance with the recommendations of the reviewers. The manuscript that is not recommended for publication by the decision of the editorial board is not accepted for reconsideration. A notice of refusal to publish is sent to the authors by e-mail.

10. After the editorial board of the journal makes a decision on the admission of the article for publication, the executive secretary of the journal informs the authors about this and indicates the terms of publication.

11. The presence of a positive review is not a sufficient reason for publishing an article. The final decision on publication is made by the editorial board of the journal. In conflict situations, the decision is made by the editor-in-chief of the journal.

12. The period of initial review of the manuscript by the reviewers and the editorial board is up to 6 months from the date of its receipt by the editorial board of the journal.

13. The original reviews are stored in the editorial office of the journal for 5 years from the date of publication and are provided at the request of the expert councils of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation.