Reviewer Guidelines

The Role of the Reviewer

Peer reviewers are the cornerstone of scientific publishing. By contributing your expertise to the review process, you help ensure that only scientifically sound, ethically conducted, and meaningfully written research reaches publication. JBRES deeply values the time and expertise our reviewers invest.

Review Process Overview

• 1

  Invitation

  You receive an email invitation with a link to the manuscript abstract. You have 3 days to accept or decline.

• 2

  Access Manuscript

  On accepting, you receive access to the full manuscript. Author identities are concealed (double-blind review).

• 3

  Complete Review

  Complete your review within 14 days. Use our structured review form covering: scientific soundness, methodology, results, discussion, ethics, and originality.

• 4

  Submit Recommendation

  Submit your review with a recommendation: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject. Your comments go to the editor; selected comments are forwarded to the author.

What to Assess

When reviewing a manuscript, evaluate the following:

• Scope & relevance — Does the work fall within the JBRES aims and scope?
• Originality — Is this a genuine novel contribution? How does it advance the field?
• Scientific soundness — Are the methods appropriate, rigorous, and reproducible?
• Data & analysis — Is the data credible, the statistical analysis correct, and the results well-presented?
• Discussion & conclusions — Are conclusions supported by the data? Are limitations acknowledged?
• Ethics — Is ethical approval stated? Is consent declared where required?
• Writing quality — Is the manuscript clear, well-organized, and free from major language issues?
• References — Are citations appropriate, recent, and correctly formatted?

Reviewer Ethics & Responsibilities

• Confidentiality — Manuscripts under review are strictly confidential. Do not share, discuss, or use the content in any way before publication.
• Conflict of interest — Decline the review if you have a conflict of interest with the authors, institution, or topic. Inform the editor immediately.
• Objectivity — Base your review on scientific merit only. Personal opinions about the authors or institution are not relevant.
• Constructive criticism — Provide specific, actionable comments that help authors improve their work, even if you recommend rejection.
• No AI-generated reviews — Reviews must be written by you personally. Using AI tools to generate review content violates our review integrity policy.
• Timeliness — If you cannot complete the review on time, notify the editor immediately so an alternate reviewer can be found.

Decline Gracefully

If you must decline a review invitation, please:

• Respond within 3 days of the invitation
• Briefly state the reason (conflict of interest, outside expertise, time constraints)
• If possible, suggest an alternative reviewer with relevant expertise

Recognition for Reviewers

JBRES recognizes and values every reviewer's contribution:

• Acknowledged on our annual Reviewer Recognition page
• Annual Reviewer Certificate issued to all reviewers who complete ≥ 2 reviews
• APC waiver credit — 3 completed reviews = 1 free JBRES submission