Our standards, in the open.
We publish what we stand by and document how we got there. Our standards are public, our policies versioned, and every editorial decision recorded in an auditable trail.
The Technical Integrity Standard
What every manuscript undergoesBefore a submission reaches peer review, it passes an automated technical screening — a service to authors and a safeguard for the literature:
- Scope fit — alignment with the journal's aims and scope.
- Reporting standards — the right checklist per article type (CONSORT, TRIPOD-AI, STARD-AI, PRISMA).
- Statistical reporting — effect sizes and confidence intervals alongside p-values; complete model-evaluation metrics.
- Figure quality — resolution, legibility and colour accessibility.
- Data & code availability — transparency statements present.
- Integrity checks — plagiarism, duplicate & reference screening, double-blind compliance.
Editorial decisions remain entirely human and are recorded in a tamper-evident audit trail, in line with COPE guidance.
Governance & policies
Public · versionedEditorial independence
Editorial decisions are free from commercial influence. Author-suggested reviewers are screened for conflicts of interest and never determine the outcome.
AI & generative tools
Use of generative AI by authors must be disclosed. AI tools never serve as authors and never make editorial decisions.
Corrections & retractions
We follow COPE procedures for corrections, expressions of concern and retractions, and maintain the scholarly record transparently.
Full per-journal policies — peer review, ethics, data sharing, AI, authorship, appeals — are published on each journal site and versioned with a change log.