Editor's Guidelines

Editors of the Annals of Dermatological Research (ADR) play a central role in maintaining the integrity and quality of the journal’s scholarly content. These Editor’s Guidelines outline responsibilities, ethical standards, and workflows that ensure ADR adheres to the best practices set forth by COPE, ICMJE, and WAME.

Editors are entrusted with independence, impartiality, and transparency in handling manuscripts while fostering a fair and constructive peer review process.

Editorial Responsibilities

  • Ensure submitted manuscripts are evaluated based on scientific merit, without bias related to author identity, affiliation, or geography.
  • Oversee the peer review process, ensuring timeliness and fairness.
  • Safeguard confidentiality of all manuscript-related communications.
  • Identify and manage conflicts of interest for themselves and reviewers.
  • Make decisions in alignment with ADR’s Publication Ethics Policy.

Manuscript Handling Workflow

  1. Initial Screening: Assess manuscripts for relevance, quality, and adherence to author guidelines.
  2. Reviewer Assignment: Select qualified reviewers with relevant expertise, ensuring conflict-of-interest checks.
  3. Decision-Making: Evaluate reviewer feedback and make a fair editorial decision (accept, revise, reject).
  4. Communication: Provide constructive, respectful feedback to authors.
  5. Final Approval: Ensure only manuscripts meeting ADR’s quality standards proceed to publication.

Confidentiality

Editors must treat manuscripts as confidential documents. They may not share details with anyone outside the editorial process without authorization. Manuscript content cannot be used for personal research advantage.

Conflict of Interest

Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist (e.g., personal, financial, or collaborative ties to authors). Such cases should be reassigned to another editor.

Ethical Oversight

Editors are responsible for addressing ethical concerns raised during submission or post-publication. Allegations of plagiarism, data manipulation, or misconduct should be handled per COPE flowcharts.

Peer Review Management

  • Ensure reviewers are qualified, unbiased, and respectful.
  • Encourage diversity in reviewer selection to reflect global dermatological research.
  • Monitor reviewer performance and provide feedback when necessary.

Decision Transparency

Editorial decisions should be clearly communicated, with justification based on reviewer reports and ADR’s policies. Appeals from authors must be reviewed by an independent editorial member.

Post-Publication Duties

Editors are responsible for ensuring corrections, retractions, or updates are issued when needed, preserving the integrity of the academic record.

Editor Training

ADR provides training resources and access to COPE webinars, ICMJE updates, and editorial best practices to strengthen editorial skills and awareness.

FAQs

Can editors publish in ADR?

Yes, but submissions must undergo independent peer review and be handled by an editor with no conflict of interest.

How are disagreements among editors resolved?

Disputes are resolved by consultation with the Editor-in-Chief or the editorial board.

What should editors do if reviewers delay feedback?

Editors may assign additional reviewers or make decisions based on available reviews to avoid unnecessary delays.