Guide to Reviwers

When a manuscript is sent to you for review you will receive

- A Review copy of the Manuscript
- An Assessment form - Parts A to D to be compelete

Guidelines – For Comments and Criticism to the Author/Editor
Please address the following key points, noting that some sections (marked *) apply only to reviews of Original Studies.

Topic
Is the topic of interest and relevant for the Journal?

Title
Does the title reflect the content of the article?

Originality
Is the work original, new and important? If not, please give references

Abstract
Does it contain the essential information of the article and cover the various aspects of the work: objective, methods, results and conclusion?

*Advances in Knowledge
Has this section been included? Does it clearly state how the paper contributes to Advances in Knowledge? This section should be max. 250 words

*Application to Patient Care
Has this section been included? Does it clearly state the paper’s Application to Patient Care? This section should be max. 250 words

Introduction
Is the study rationale adequately described?

Objectives
Are the objectives and hypothesis clearly stated? Is the work relevant and new? Have significant part of the paper already been published elsewhere?

Methodology
Is the work scientifically interesting, rigorous, accurate and correct?

Is the study design appropriate for the objectives?
Is the sample size appropriate and adequately justified?
Is the sampling technique appropriate and adequately described?
How well are the methods and instruments of data collection described?
How well are the techniques to minimize bias/errors documented?

Ethical considerations
For studies including human or animal subjects, has the study been approved by the relevant research and ethics committee?

Has consent been obtained for studies including patient data?
Have any conflicts of interest (financial or other) been clearly stated?

Analysis and Results

Did the study test the hypothesis?Is the study design appropriate for the objectives?
Was the study adequately controlled?Is the sample size appropriate and adequately justified?
Are the methods of data analysis appropriate? Is the sampling technique appropriate and adequately described?
Are the findings presented logically?How well are the methods and instruments of data collection described?
Are the diagrams, tables, figures and captions appropriate and clear?How well are the techniques to minimize bias/errors documented?

Statistics

Are appropriate statistical methods used?
Is the statistical significance well documented (e.g. as confidence intervals or p-values) or correlation coefficient)? Is it correct and appropriate?

Discussion
Is the discussion relevant to the study? Is it easy to understand and read? Is the work set well in the context of previous work?

How well are the key findings discussed?
To what extent have differences or similarities with other studies been discussed and reasons for these given?
Are the implications of the findings clearly articulated?

Conclusion

Do the results justify the conclusion/s?
Is the conclusion carefully written, summarizing what has been learnt and why it is interesting and useful?

References

Are they appropriate and relevant?
Are they up to date?
Are there any errors

Writing Style

Is the overall balance and structure of the paper good?
Is the paper clearly written?
Are there language errors?
Is the paper presented logically (e.g. correct information in each section, logical flow of arguments)?

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