Editor's Guidelines
These guidelines support Editors in delivering a fair, rigorous, and timely double-blind peer-review process at the Archives of Surgery and Clinical Research (ASCR; ISSN: 2576-9537). They translate the journal’s policies into practical steps—from first triage through post-publication updates—while safeguarding research integrity and editorial independence.
Editorial Roles & Accountability
Editor-in-Chief / Senior Editor
- Upholds editorial independence and policy alignment.
- Assigns submissions to handling Editors and oversees difficult cases (appeals, ethics).
- Approves retractions and major notices; liaises with publisher for post-publication updates.
Handling Editor
- Conducts initial triage for scope, integrity, and completeness.
- Selects unbiased expert reviewers; manages review and revisions to decision.
- Ensures decisions map to reviewer evidence and journal criteria, not to payment ability.
Confidentiality: Editors must keep reviewer identities, manuscript content, and deliberations confidential, in line with the journal’s double-blind policy.
Step 1 — Editorial Triage
Within the first screening window, verify the essentials before inviting reviewers. Use this checklist to record triage outcomes in the editorial system.
Check | What to look for | Action |
---|---|---|
Scope fit | Surgical/clinical relevance; study type fits journal remit | Proceed / Transfer suggestion |
Ethics | IRB/IACUC approval, consent, trial registration for interventional studies | Request documentation / Reject |
Integrity | Similarity report, image/data concerns, authorship completeness | Clarify / Investigate per COPE flowcharts |
Blinding | Separate Title Page vs Blinded Manuscript; scrubbed file metadata | Request corrected files |
Reporting | CONSORT/PRISMA/STROBE, etc.; data availability statement | Request checklist / Proceed |
Competing interests | Declarations from authors; funding statement | Request updates |
Step 2 — Selecting & Inviting Reviewers
- Nominate at least two experts with complementary methods/clinical domains; avoid close collaborators, recent coauthors, or same-department colleagues.
- Screen for conflicts (financial, academic rivalry, personal relationships) and confirm availability and expertise in the invitation.
- Encourage constructive, evidence-based critique focused on methods, statistics, ethics, and clarity—never on identities or affiliations.
Reviewer invitation template
Subject: ASCR review invitation – [Short Title] – [ASCR-YYYY-XXXX] Dear Dr. [Name], We invite you to review the manuscript “[Title]” for ASCR. We use double-blind review. Please confirm by [date]. Abstract: [paste 3–5 lines] Conflicts: Please decline if any conflict exists (financial, recent collaboration, shared affiliation, personal). Timeline: Initial review due [date]. If you accept, you’ll receive structured prompts covering methods, statistics, ethics, and limitations. Thank you for supporting rigorous surgical research. Sincerely, [Editor Name], Handling Editor, ASCR
Step 3 — Managing the Review Process
- Timelines: Request reviews in 14–21 days; send courteous reminders at 7 days overdue; reassign after 10–14 days if needed.
- Anonymity: Preserve blinding in reviewer comments; redact identifying statements before sharing with authors.
- Quality control: Decline unsubstantiated “accept/reject” recommendations; ask reviewers to cite evidence, quantify concerns, and suggest actionable revisions.
- Civility: Remove ad hominem language and any sensitive author information before forwarding to authors.
Structured reviewer prompts (use/adapt)
- Methods appropriateness and reproducibility (design, statistics, registration).
- Risk of bias (allocation, blinding, missing data, selective reporting).
- Ethics/consent adequacy and patient confidentiality.
- Data presentation (effect sizes, CIs, exact p-values; figures/tables clarity).
- Conclusions proportional to results; limitations acknowledged.
Step 4 — Decisions & Communications
Base decisions on reviewer evidence and journal criteria, recorded transparently in the editorial system. Do not consider APC/waiver status.
Decision types
- Accept — minor editorial polish; proceed to production.
- Minor revision — targeted changes; no new data required.
- Major revision — substantial changes or added analyses.
- Reject — out of scope, major methodological flaws, or integrity concerns.
Decision letter template (revise)
Subject: Decision – [ASCR-YYYY-XXXX] “[Title]” Dear [Corresponding Author], Thank you for submitting to ASCR. After double-blind review, our decision is: [Minor/Major revision]. Please respond to each reviewer point in a separate letter and upload a tracked-changes file. We look forward to your revised manuscript by [date]. If more time is needed, contact us. Sincerely, [Editor Name]
Appeals & complaints
Handle appeals by assigning an independent senior Editor who was not involved in the original decision. Authors must provide evidence-based arguments addressing reviewer/editor points. Record outcomes in the editorial history and inform all parties politely.
Conflicts of Interest & Editorial Independence
- Editors must recuse themselves from manuscripts with any conflict (recent collaboration, shared grants, institutional ties, financial interests, or personal relationships).
- Do not handle submissions authored by yourself or by your close collaborators; route to an independent Editor-in-Chief delegate.
- Decisions must not be influenced by commercial considerations, advertising, or APCs/waivers.
Editor COI self-check (quick list)
- Have I coauthored with any author in the last 36 months?
- Do I share a current or recent (last 3 years) grant, employment, or supervisory relationship?
- Do I have a financial interest in a relevant product or competitor?
- Could a reasonable reader perceive bias if I handled this paper?
Research Integrity & Misconduct Handling
Editors safeguard the scholarly record by detecting and addressing integrity issues consistently and fairly.
- Similarity screening: Review overlap reports and request clarifications or rewrites as per the journal’s plagiarism policy.
- Image/data checks: Seek original images/data where manipulation is suspected; mark splices; require disclosure of adjustments.
- Ethics concerns: For suspected fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or undisclosed conflicts, follow established flowcharts; document steps and preserve all correspondence.
- Patient privacy: Ensure consent for identifiable images; require robust de-identification otherwise.
Outcomes & updates
- Corrections for honest errors that do not invalidate findings.
- Retractions when results are unreliable, ethics approvals invalid, or misconduct is confirmed.
- Expressions of concern when investigations are ongoing and readers should be alerted.
Publish update notices with their own DOIs and bidirectional links to the affected article. Display status on the article page and PDF.
Special Issues & Thematic Collections
Guest Editors must follow all journal policies and double-blind procedures. The journal may provide official email aliases for outreach. Proposals should define scope, timelines, and editorial independence. Any discounts/waivers linked to special issues are handled transparently by the publisher and must not influence editorial decisions.
Special Issue proposal essentials
- Guest editor details and conflict disclosures.
- Scope and rationale aligned with journal aims.
- Submission window and publication target dates.
- Indicative author list and reviewer pool strategy.
Editor Checklists
Before review
- Scope fit and ethics/registration verified.
- Blinded files and scrubbed metadata confirmed.
- Reporting checklist(s) present; data availability statement present.
- Similarity report verified; no high-risk red flags.
During review
- At least two unbiased reviewers engaged.
- Civility and constructiveness of comments ensured.
- Overdue reviews chased and reassignments made if needed.
At decision
- Decision grounded in evidence and policy.
- Clear, actionable author guidance prepared.
- For rejections, offer transfer suggestions where appropriate.
Templates & Snippets
Request for ethical documentation
Please upload documentation for IRB/IACUC approval [protocol ID, date] and confirm written informed consent procedures. For interventional trials, include the registry name and identifier registered prior to first participant enrollment.
Request for raw images/data
To complete our integrity checks, please provide original, unprocessed images/data for Figures [X–Y], with acquisition details. Disclose any global adjustments; delineate splices with visible demarcations.
Appeal acknowledgment
We acknowledge your appeal regarding [ASCR-YYYY-XXXX]. A senior editor unconnected to the original decision will reassess the file. We will update you by [date].
Equity, Diversity & Bias Mitigation
- Encourage diverse reviewer pools across geography, gender, career stage, and methodology.
- Screen language for bias; ensure critiques address methods and interpretation, not identity.
- Invite authors to suggest diverse, qualified reviewers (with justification) while the Editor retains final choice.
Data, Materials & Transparency
- Ask for persistent identifiers (DOIs) for datasets and code where available; ensure data availability statements are specific.
- For clinical datasets with restrictions, verify governance and de-identification; encourage controlled-access repositories.
- Ensure references include DOIs where possible and that effect sizes and 95% CIs accompany p-values.
Hand-off to Production
- Verify final files (figures at resolution, editable tables, permissions and credit lines).
- Confirm license (CC BY 4.0) and funding metadata; ensure Crossref deposit readiness.
- Ensure the article displays up-to-date status badges and links to any notices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I handle a paper from my institution?
No. Route to an independent Editor to avoid perceived or real conflicts.
May authors reuse figures from other publishers?
Only with appropriate permissions or compatible licenses. Ensure credit lines appear in legends and acknowledgments; verify license compatibility with CC BY where applicable.
What if reviewers strongly disagree?
Seek a third opinion or adjudicate by focusing on methodological points and evidence. Communicate a clear editorial rationale in the decision letter.
What if serious concerns arise post-publication?
Open an investigation, notify the publisher, and consider a notice (correction, expression of concern, retraction) following ethics guidance. Link notices via DOIs and update article pages and PDFs.
Contact
Editorial queries, appeals, and ethics notifications: editorial@clinsurgeryjournal.com · Technical support: support@clinsurgeryjournal.com