Editorial Policies
PEER REVIEW PROCESS
Peer review in all its forms plays an important role in ensuring the integrity of the scholarly record. The process depends to a large extent on trust, and requires that everyone involved behaves responsibly and ethically. Peer reviewers play a central and critical part in the peer-review process, but too often come to the role without any guidance and may be unaware of their ethical obligations. The COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers set out the basic principles and standards to which all peer reviewers should adhere during the peer-review process.
COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers
Received manuscripts are first examined by the Our Dermatology Online journal.
Manuscripts are evaluated according to the following criteria: material is original, writing is clear, study methods are appropriate, data are valid, conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data, and information is important and interesting.
Manuscripts clearly not suitable for publication are rejected and returned to the first author without further review. Incomplete work or manuscripts not prepared in the required style (see below) will be sent back to the authors without scientific review, but may be resubmitted as soon as they have been corrected. The first author will notified e-mail when the manuscript is registered at the Editorial Office, and the registration number will be indicated. The responsible editor will make the decision either to send the manuscript to another reviewer to resolve the difference of opinion or return it to the authors for revision. The ultimate decision to accept, accept subject to correction, or reject a manuscript lies within the prerogative of the of the Editor-in-Chief and is not subject to appeal.
Manuscripts are sent to expert consultants for peer review. Peer reviewer identities are kept confidential, but author identities are made known to reviewers. The existence of a manuscript under review is not revealed to anyone other than peer reviewers and editorial staff. Peer reviewers are required to maintain confidentiality about the manuscripts they review and must not divulge any information about a specific manuscript or its content to any third party without prior permission from the journal editors. Information from submitted manuscripts may be systematically collected and analyzed as part of research to improve the quality of the editorial or peer review process. Identifying information remains confidential. Reviews and decisions on manuscripts in which the editor or an associate editor is a coauthor are managed independently by an associate editor or editor from another institution. Final decisions regarding manuscript publication are made by the Editor, who does not have any financial relationships with any biomedical company.
For the evaluation of each publication shall be appointed at least two independent reviewers from outside the unit. Authors and reviewers do not know their identity („double-blind review proces”). Review must end with an explicit request for approval to publish the article or its rejection. Once a year the journal shall publish a list of reviewers co-operating in web.
Authorship
It is the responsibility of every person listed as an author of an article published in Our Dermatology Online to have contributed in a meaningful and identifiable way to the design, performance, analysis, and reporting of the work and to agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
In the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations, credit for authorship requires:
-Substantial contributions to conception and design; or acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data
-Drafting of the article or critical revision for important intellectual content
-Final approval of the version to be published
-Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the article are appropriately investigated and resolved
CORRESPONDING AUTHORS
Our Dermatology Online permits only one corresponding author per manuscript submission. This person is solely responsible for all correspondence with the Journal and will receive all emails regarding forms, authorship issues, manuscript files, etc. Our Dermatology Online editors will speak only with authors regarding manuscript submissions. However, after acceptance for publication, authors may designate more than one person to be contacted by readers.
Financial Associations/Conflicts of Interest
The Our Dermatology Online is committed to publishing articles that are free from commercial influence.
Our Dermatology Online policy requires that none of its editors have any financial relationships with any biomedical companies.
Disclosure of financial associations of authors of articles published in biomedical journals has become common practice. The information provided in these disclosures helps the reader to understand the relationships between the authors and various commercial entities that may have an interest in the information reported in the published article.
The form now posted on the ICMJE Web site (www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/) includes instructions to help authors provide the information. Authors can download the form from the Internet, add the requested information, and save the completed form on their computer.
Manipulation of Figures
When submitting new and revised manuscripts, authors must describe and clearly indicate all modifications, selective digital adjustments, and electronic enhancements made to any digital images. Authors must also ensure that all submitted figures meet the following criteria:
For all research articles published, the Our Dermatology Online requires that:
-No specific feature in an image has been enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced
-Any adjustments to brightness, color, or contrast have been made to an entire image and do not misrepresent any features of the original image
-No image has been duplicated within the manuscript or published elsewhere
-Original image metadata is available and can be provided to Our Dermatology Online editors on request
Identifiable Patients
Authors should remove information from photographs and manuscripts that might identify a patient. Where this is impossible, submissions must be accompanied by a written release from the patient.
The Release Form for Photographs of Identifiable Patients
No Prior Publication
The articles it publishes will not have been published or released elsewhere. Known as the Ingelfinger Rule, this policy exists to:
Allow time for independent peer review of scientific findings before public dissemination
Protect originality of the content
The rule also requires that author-researchers not release details of their research findings to mass media before the work can undergo peer review and be published.
Copyrights/Permissions
Material published in the Our Dermatology Online (2956-7904 (previous 2081-9390) is covered by copyright. All rights are reserved.
Our Dermatology Online is the owner of all copyrights to any work it publishes. The Our Dermatology Online and its licensees have rights to use, reproduce, transmit, derive works from, publish, and distribute the contribution.
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