The peer-review process

Peer review - what is it?
Peer review is the process through which the quality of a manuscript is determined before publication. Independent researchers with expertise in the relevant field evaluate submitted manuscripts for originality, validity, and importance to help editors decide whether to publish them in the journal.

How does it function?
When a manuscript is submitted to a journal, it is evaluated to see if it fits the journal's submission guidelines. If it does, the manuscript is passed to the Editors-in-Chief, who assign it to suitable editors responsible for the peer-review process. The editors will identify potential peer reviewers in the relevant field of research to conduct a peer review and provide recommendations. Natural Products and Translational Medicine (NPTM) uses three types to identify potential reviewers. A minimum of two reviewers' comments is required to make a decision on the submission, and NPTM encourages editors to use the Web of Science Reviewers Locator service to identify potential reviewers.

• Invite reviewers who do not have an account
• Use the Web of Science Reviewer Locator to get recommendations.
• Select reviewers suggested by the author; in this case, our editors will select reviewers only if they are experts in the subject area of the work and will not select more than one reviewer from the provided list.

Natural Products and Translational Medicine (NPTM) uses a double-blind mode of peer review, which means the reviewers are unaware of the authors' identities, and the authors are unaware of who evaluated their manuscripts.

Natural Products and Translational Medicine (NPTM) follows a double-blind peer review. Authors will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout the peer review process. When preparing manuscripts, author(s) are advised to check the following common areas where manuscripts and submission files may reveal an author's identity.
1) Do not include names or affiliations anywhere in the manuscript or supplementary information.
2) Use the third person to refer to work the Authors have previously undertaken. Cite papers published by the Author in the text as follows: ‘[Anonymous, 2007]’.
3) Please confirm that the Figures do not have the names of any authors.
4) Do not include acknowledgements, references to funding sources, or author information in the article; such information shall be shown in the cover letter.
5) Ensure those document properties are also anonymized eg. File names

Why should peer review be conducted?
Peer review is an essential component of scientific publishing since it verifies the manuscript's legitimacy. Peer reviewers are subject-matter experts who volunteer their time to help authors improve their articles. Manuscripts that have undergone peer review should become:


• Stronger
- peer reviewers may identify inconsistencies in a study that require extra explanation or experimentation

• Streamlined reading
- if any sections of your article are difficult to comprehend, reviewers can make suggestions for improvement

• More importantly
- peer reviewers consider the significance of your article to others in your area