Guideline for Reviewer

Peer review is an important step in the publication process that guarantees papers of the highest caliber. The major goal of a review process is to help improve the overall quality and performance of the item being evaluated.

The Managing Editor of the Journal will conduct a technical pre-check on the paper immediately upon submission. The Editorial Office will coordinate the peer review, which will be carried out by impartial subject experts. Experts from the respective discipline meticulously peer-review every paper that is submitted to JOSS for publication. Before making a final decision, we ask writers for adequate modifications. The final decision about the publication of manuscript stays with the Editor-in-Chief/Editorial Board Member of the Journal. Accepted manuscripts are then copy-edited and English-edited internally.

To Become a Reviewer

Maintaining the integrity of the academic record is a major obligation of the reviewer's position. It is required of every reviewer to evaluate the manuscripts in an ethical, transparent, and timely manner.

Reviewers should have a Ph.D. in any discipline connected to JOSS, relevant expertise, and a documented publication record in the field of the submitted article (Scopus, ORCID). Reviewers who accept to evaluate a paper are assumed to have the appropriate competence to determine the scientific accuracy of the manuscript. Capable of producing quality review reports and being responsive throughout the peer review process, they are required to maintain high levels of professionalism and integrity. They will be given a "reviewer confirmation certificate" after successfully evaluating a paper.

To join the JOSS family as a reviewer, please send us an email at joss@iisuniv.ac.in with a brief CV.

General Guidelines for Reviewers

Manuscripts submitted to JOSS are assessed by subject experts following a preliminary quality check by the editor. Reviewers are required to assess the quality of the manuscript and provide a suggestion on whether it should be accepted, revised, or rejected.

We ask invited reviewers for:

  • Acceptance or denial of any invites as quickly as possible (depending on the title and abstract of the paper);
  • If an invitation must be denied, propose alternate reviewers.
  • If extra time is needed to complete a full report, request a deadline extension as soon as feasible.

Review Reports

Reviewer report should consider the following guidelines:

  • Read the text in its entirety, including any additional material, giving special attention to the figures, tables, statistics, and methodology.
  • Analyze the entire article as well as each section critically.
  • Verify that the author has comprehended the comments in order to integrate ideas.
  • The reviewer's primary responsibility is to offer authors helpful criticism in an unbiased manner so they may improve their work. When pointing out areas for improvement, provide constructive criticism. Offer suggestions or alternative approaches to help the person or team improve.

 

Review report should contain the following:

  • A brief overview (one short paragraph) summarizing the purpose, major contributions, and primary implications of the paper.
  • General concept comments
  • Article: pointing out flaws in the methodology, hypothesis, lacking controls, etc.
  • Review: providing feedback on the extent to which the review issue has been addressed, its applicability, the knowledge gap that has been found, the suitability of the references, etc. These remarks should be detailed enough for the authors to be able to response, with an emphasis on the manuscript's scientific content.
  • Specific comments referring to line numbers, tables, or statistics that highlight flaws in the text or confusing words. These comments should also focus on the scientific substance rather than spelling, formatting, or English language issues, since these may be corrected by our internal team at a later point.
  • Rating the manuscript for novelty, scope (journal scope), significance, quality, scientific soundness, overall worth, and English level.