Peer Reviewing Process

Peer Review

Peer Review Policy

Archives of Pediatric Neurosurgery (APN) employ a rigorous peer-review process to confirm the validity and ensure scientific accuracy of published articles. Independent researchers with relevant expertise assess submitted manuscripts to help journal editors determine whether a manuscript should be published in their journal.

 

Peer Review Type

APN uses a double blind blind peer review system where reviewers do not  know the names of the authors, and the authors do not know who reviewed their manuscript.

 

Revision Procedure

  • The Desk Review process comprises three stages. The first is to check if the submission was made correctly: to verify if the authors have sent all the documents needed, according to our journal's rules listed in the guide for authors and verify if all authors provided their ORCID register. APN also checks the presence of plagiarism (the journal uses the software "Turnitin TM" to screen for plagiarism), which will result in the immediate rejection of the paper at the Desk Review phase. The second stage is an overview evaluation performed by the Journal Editors and Management Editors. In the third stage, the article is sent to the Associate Editors, according to the area of knowledge and expertise. After approval by the Associate Editors, the paper will be sent to the reviewers, who will perform an in-depth evaluation.

Peer Reviewing Process

  • The journal follows double-blind peer-review process where neither the author nor the reviewer gets to know each other's identity. This process is ensured by masking the separate front-page file to the reviewers having author details.
  • At least three random reviewers based on their technical and clinical expertise are assigned by the Chief Editor on each manuscript, and the decision is taken based on the comparative reviews which the manuscript receives during the review process.
  • The reviewer team is appointed based on individual expertise and experience in publishing in the subject category. Individual publishing history as the first and last authors is being considered before sending the invite to the individual. A mix of experienced and young researchers are being chosen to construct the reviewer panel.
  • All manuscripts will be screened for similarity and/or plagiarism by a professional Software, TurnitIn. The authors who submit manuscripts with more than 30% of duplicated or similar content, excluding the reference text, will be notified asking for text revision by the Archives of Pediatric Neurosurgery’s Editorial Board.

 Possible Results and Further Steps

After the reviewers submit their evaluation of the paper, the Editors of APN will review the comments made by each reviewer and provide the authors with an editorial decision, which can be the following: (i) accepted; (ii) minor revisions; (iii) major revisions; (iv) rejected.

Should the editors decide that your article requires a revision (minor or major), you will need to make the changes via a word-processing program and resubmit it electronically. Log In to the submission system and find your article, which will be marked for revision.

The best way to make revisions to your manuscript is by enabling the Track Changes mode in Microsoft Word, which will automatically highlight and mark up the revised text. Please submit both a marked-up copy and a clean copy of your revised manuscript to the submission system.

Your original files will still be available after you upload your revised manuscript, so you should delete any redundant files before completing the submission. You will also be provided space in which to respond to the reviewers’ and editors’ comments. Please be as specific as possible in your response.

After you resubmit your revised paper, the Editors will decide whether or not it is necessary to send it back to the reviewers (second review round) or if the paper has complied with all the requirements and is ready to be accepted for publication.

 

Appeals and Complaints

Any appeal on a decision or complaint during peer-review, or post-publication, must be submitted in writing to the corresponding APN editorial office (editorialoffice@sbnped.com.br). All cases will be handled in line with COPE guidelines.