Editor Guidelines

Maintaining Quality, Integrity, and Credibility in Publications

Editors play a vital role in maintaining the quality, integrity, and credibility of publications. The following guidelines outline the responsibilities and best practices for editors associated with Contusm Publications.

Editorial Responsibilities

• Ensure fair and unbiased peer review process.
• Assign suitable reviewers based on expertise.
• Make publication decisions solely on academic merit.
• Maintain confidentiality of submissions and reviewer identities.

Peer Review Oversight

• Ensure all manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process.
• Communicate clearly with reviewers and authors during the process.
• Follow up on reviews to ensure timely processing.

Ethical Integrity

• Identify and address potential ethical issues including plagiarism, data fabrication, or conflicts of interest.
• Report any misconduct to the editorial board or ethics committee.

Communication

• Provide clear and constructive feedback to authors.
• Inform authors of acceptance, revisions, or rejections in a timely manner.

Editorial Board Involvement

• Participate in board meetings and discussions.
• Promote the journal and invite high-quality submissions from peers.
• Assist in reviewing special issues, conference proceedings, or invited content.

Conflict of Interest

Editors must recuse themselves from handling any manuscript in which they have a personal, financial, or professional conflict of interest.

Decision Making

Editorial decisions must be based on the significance, originality, clarity, and relevance of the manuscript. Editors should not be influenced by race, gender, nationality, religion, or political views of the authors.

Continuous Development

• Stay updated with best practices in academic publishing.
• Encourage training in ethics, reviewing, and editorial duties.

Key Editorial Policies

• Peer-Review Policy: All manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review to ensure fairness and eliminate bias.
• Plagiarism Policy: Submissions are screened with plagiarism detection tools. Direct copying or duplicate publications are strictly prohibited. (Read more)
• Open Access Policy: All articles are published under an open access model, ensuring free availability of research worldwide.
• APC Waiver Policy: Fee waivers and discounts are considered on a case-by-case basis to support authors from low-income regions. (Read more)
• Article Withdrawal Policy: Authors may withdraw articles before publication under specific conditions. (Read more)
• Digital Preservation Policy: All published content is archived in trusted repositories like Zenodo and Internet Archive. (Read more)
• Informed Consent Policy: Authors must obtain consent from patients for case reports or images, though submission of the consent letter is not required. (Read more)
• Conflict of Interest Policy: Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal conflicts. (Read more)

We sincerely appreciate the dedication of our editors in upholding the standards and reputation of Contusm Publications.