Al-Azhar International Medical Journal (AIMJ) - Peer Review Process

Home Peer Review Process

Peer Review Process is double-blind process for all articles (Reviewer does not know the identity of the author, and vice-versa) to guarantee unbiased reviews. However, in some cases and according to editor in chief decision Peer Review Process rarely could be single-blind (The author does not know the identity of the reviewer) but it is absolutely forbidden to be an Open Peer review (The identity of the author and the reviewer is known by all participants, during or after the review process).

AIMJ encourages Transparent Peer review (The review report is posted with the published article. the Reviewer can choose if they want to share their identity) if he/she declared that in comment to editor section.

Authors are responsible for preparing the articles before submission to the editorial office. Articles not meeting the required criteria (mentioned in authors' instructions) will be rejected immediately without going through to peer review.

All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor's decision is final. 

Notice:

  • ·         The average time from Authors ‘submission till Editorial decision is around 3- 4 weeks, unless immediate rejection or time consumed in return of the article for Authors’ resubmission.

Instruction for Reviewers:

I. General Tips: Agreeing & Submitting

The following reminders and strategies will help us to continue to provide the best.

possible peer reviews to the authors and your peers.

  • Agree to review or decline to review within 2-3 business days when possible.
  • There is no need to agree to review every paper.
  • It is better to get a “no” quickly, rather than no response.
  • If you find yourself declining more reviews than you accept, let us know so that we can better match papers to your areas of expertise.
  • When declining the invitation to review, please include a reason especially if we have misjudged your areas of interest or expertise.
  • If you do agree to write the review, continue to submit it on time or ahead of time.
  • If you accept the assignment, then you have 14 days period as time for revision and submission. So please submit the review before the 14-day period expires.
  • When an article’s status changes to “Required Reviews Complete” it indicates that 3 reviews have already been submitted. This status is a good indicator that Dr. Helmy might be able to decide on the paper soon. In case, if you have revised already but did not submit your revision yet, please submit your review soon after that status change to make us able to include your revision at: aimj@azhar.edu.eg
  • If you need more time, please let the editorial staff know at aimj@azhar.edu.eg
  • If 7 days have passed after you accept the assignment, and you still plan on submitting the review after the 14-day period expires, contact the editorial staff at aimj@azhar.edu.eg so we can give you more time. 
  • The average time provided to a reviewer in the invitation for any article’s revision usually 14 days, after that the system will automatically move the reviewer status to (Reviewers Not Reviewed Manuscript in Review Due Date). In this case reviewer could receive a letter from the editorial board that his/her services are no longer required to review manuscript.

 

II. Content of the Review

Peer review is essential and is the cornerstone of AIMJ. A good review offers a summary to the editor-in-chief and more importantly, critiques the merits of the article. Included below are some key questions to consider:

  • Is this appropriate for AIMJ?
  • Is the topic interesting or original?
  • Are the methods well designed and ethical?
  • Does the article go in logic flow?
  • Can you suggest a better way to address the issue than what the authors did?
  • Do the figures/tables of high quality and add to the paper?
  • Would you cite this paper if published?
  • Does the data back up the author’s findings?
  • Does the conclusion base on proper findings?
  • Are there fatal flaws in the paper?
  • Comments are Key: Please note that a review without any ‘comments to the editor’ or ‘comments to the author’ is not useful in the decision-making process for the editor or the revision process for the author.

• Meaningful, Constructive Comments: Be sure to posit your critiques to the author in a constructive manner. There is no purpose for negativity or mean spiritedness. Constructive comments should aim to help the author improve their paper, whether it winds up in AIMJ or another journal. Inflammatory, insulting comments are not allowed. Reviewer should declare that; there is not any conflict of interest.

III. Earning Revision Certificate Credit by reviewing for AIMJ.

You can earn Revision Certificate credits by reviewing for AIMJ and immediate record at Publons profile This feature goes together with providing a good review. Here is how the process works:

  1. Agree to a review invitation from AIMJ.
  2. Submit your review by the deadline provided in the invitation.
  3. Follow the keys to providing a great review in the specified Automated page which generates upon starting submission of revision.
  4. Once your review has been submitted, it is sent to your Publons profile and graded by the editorial staff and the Editor-in-Chief before the comments are sent to the authors.
  5. You can download your Revision Certificate from your page at Get Review Certificate. You can download all or per year.
  6. Also, at the end of each year, Reviewers who receive a score > 70 are eligible for an honor appreciation certificate offer from faculty of Medicine council Board to best Reviewers. "Yearly Best Reviewers' Award"