10-6 Writing and Publishing Scientific Articles
Reviewer Confidentiality Rule #1 Do not divulge or discuss the content of a manuscript with anyone or tell anyone that you have done a review of the manuscript. The issue of confidentiality is an important one. The information being reviewed is privileged — confidential. The contents of the article should not be discussed or revealed to anyone without the journal’s permission. Now, what if the reviewer is busy or has a fellow or colleague working in his or her lab who knows the topic, or maybe some aspect of the topic, very well — maybe even better than the reviewer does? The Department of Health and Human Services says that getting help with a review is acceptable but that “the names of those with whom the information is shared should be made known to those managing the review process.” Journal editors do not generally object to reviews being done by someone other than the originally assigned reviewer or to reviewers asking for the assistance of others — if this is solely to enhance the thoroughness and scope of the review. Indeed, such involvement contributes to the worth of the review. In addition, journal editors are always looking for new reviewers with valuable expertise. However, the original reviewer should always contact the journal office beforehand and let the staff know who he or she would like to involve in the review and find out if that is acceptable. That person’s name should also appear on the review. Furthermore, any consultant reviewers should be reminded of the confidentiality requirements. Reviewer Confidentiality Rule #2 Do not use findings reported in a manuscript to redirect your research in any way . Reviewing a manuscript is also not an opportunity to use that unpublished information to your or your colleagues’ advantage. That means that reviewers cannot let the content of the article allow them to change the direction of their research in any way, until after the article is published and is available to the research community as a whole.
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