1. Editorial Process, Peer-Review and Production

Articles submitted to JBRHA are subject to strict peer review. JBRHA operates double-blind peer review (i.e., the authors do not know the reviewers’ identities, and the reviewers do not know the authors’ identities until the paper has been published). JBRHA uses an online submission system that incorporates online tools for manuscript submission, peer-review and editorial decision making. Reviewers and external editors can complete the tasks assigned to them by logging onto the submission system. Authors can read the "Author Instructions" page to prepare and submit their manuscripts.

Once a manuscript is submitted, the submission will be first reviewed by the journal’s editorial office for compliance with provided guidelines for preparation of articles. Articles that do not comply with the guidelines will be sent back to the authors. Once a manuscript passes these initial checks, editors will subsequently coordinate the entire editorial process for the manuscript including overseeing peer review, decision making regarding suitability for publication, soliciting potential author revisions, manuscript acceptance, copyediting, proofreading, and final publication.

Authors may be asked for adequate revisions, with a second round of peer review if necessary, before a final decision regarding publication is made. Apart from exceptional circumstances, we allow a maximum of two rounds of major revision per manuscript. The final decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief and/or Editorial Members recognized by the Editor-in-Chief.

JBRHA carries out production on all manuscripts, including copy editing, layout and conversion to XML. We recommend authors edit their articles for language by professional English editing editors prior to publication or during revisions.

2. Editor-in-Chief Responsibilities

The Editor-in-Chief together with the editorial team strive to provide a better experience for authors and readers. The Editor-in-Chief will supervise operations and policies during the publication process.

The responsibilities of the EiC include but are not limited to the following:
• Defining the Aims and Scope of the Journal.
• Understanding journal’s editorial procedure and overviewing the editorial process.
• Attending meetings with the publisher or publication board to promote the journal.
• Maintaining connection to the Editorial Board and assisting the Editorial Office in the smooth management of the journal.
• Providing suggestions for editors when needed.

3. Editorial Board Member Responsibilities

An Editorial Board Member will be responsible for:
• Working closely with the editors and other Editorial Board members to develop the Journal’s editorial vision, policy and practices.
• Providing expertise, advice, and assessment assistance to the Editors.
• Promoting the Journal to authors and readers, and soliciting or contribute high quality manuscripts each year.
• Assisting the Editors in identifying potential reviewers.

Pre-screening and making decisions on new submissions within their research expertise, suggesting whether they should be sent out for peer review.

The initial term for an Editorial Board membership is one year, renewable. An Editorial Board member may also step down from the position at any time if he or she feels overloaded by the requests from the journal’s Editorial Office.

4. Guest Editor Responsibility/Guest Editing a Special Issue

We appreciate collaborations with scholars all over the world. Special issues are normally edited by a Guest Editor who invites colleagues from the same research field to contribute an article on a topic within their area of expertise.

The responsibilities will include but are not limited to the following:
• Working together with the Editorial Office to prepare a description and keywords for the special issue webpage.
• Preparing an Editorial to open or close the special issue.
• Making decisions on the acceptance of manuscripts submitted to the special issue.
• The acceptance or rejection of Guest Editor's own papers will be decided by other Editor-in-Chief or Section Editor-in-Chief.

5. Editorial Independence

Editorial independence dictates that decision to accept or reject a manuscript is based on the scientific merit of the article but not to any other relations for example pressure from the publisher to the journal editor. This means that Editor is independent in his/her decision and will not be under pressure of any influential body or organization.

Our editorial policy is consistent with the principles of editorial independence presented by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

6. Process for in-House Submissions

JBRHA requires that editorial staff or editors not be involved in processing their own academic work. The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the journal. In these cases, the peer-review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board. Submissions will be assigned to at least two independent outside reviewers. The submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process. Decisions will be made by other Editorial Board Members who do not have a conflict of interest with the author.

Guest Editors should not hold conflicts of interest with authors whose work they are assessing (e.g., from the same institution or collaborate closely). In this case, the Editor-in-Chief or a suitable Editorial Board member will make final acceptance decisions for submitted papers.

This section is required for all papers. If there are no interests to declare, please use the following wording: "Given his/her role as [Guest] Editor [in Chief], <NAME of Editor> had no involvement in the peer-review of this article and has no access to information regarding its peer-review. Full responsibility for the editorial process for this article was delegated to <NAME of delegated editor>".

Updated on 25 May 2022