- For reviewers
- ISSN 2689-5773
- Open access · CC BY 4.0
Reviewer Guidelines
How to respond to an invitation, protect confidentiality, assess a manuscript and write a report for the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Pathology.
Responding to an invitation
Expertise
Accept when the manuscript falls within your expertise, or tell the editor which parts you can assess.
Conflicts of interest
Decline, or consult the editor, if you have a competing interest such as recent collaboration with an author, a shared institution, a personal relationship or a financial interest in the work.
Availability
Each invitation states the date by which the report is requested. Accept when you can meet it, and tell the editorial office promptly if you need more time.
Reply
Accept or decline promptly. When declining, suggestions of independent alternative reviewers are welcome.
Confidentiality, files and AI tools
Manuscripts under review are confidential documents. Reviewers do not share them, discuss them with others, or contact the authors, and consult a colleague only with the editor’s permission.
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. For double-blind manuscripts, reviewers must not attempt to identify the authors.
After submitting the review, reviewers should securely delete downloaded manuscript files and must not retain or use unpublished material.
Reviewers must obtain journal permission before using AI to assist with a review. Any permitted use must be disclosed, and confidential manuscript content must not be uploaded where confidentiality cannot be assured.
What to assess
Questions apply where applicable to the study design and article type. A reviewer may assess only part of a manuscript, such as the statistical analysis, if the editor is told.
| Aspect | Questions to consider |
|---|---|
| Relevance | Does the manuscript address a question in diagnostic pathology or laboratory medicine within the journal’s Aims and Scope, and is its contribution clear? |
| Study design | Is the design appropriate to the question, for example a diagnostic accuracy, clinicopathologic, method-comparison, evidence-synthesis or case-based design? |
| Methods and analysis | Are specimens, reagents, instruments, controls and statistical analysis described in enough detail to be evaluated and reproduced, where applicable? |
| Results | Are the findings presented clearly and consistently with the data, tables and figures, including the photomicrographs? |
| Interpretation | Are the conclusions proportionate to the evidence, with limitations and alternative diagnoses or explanations discussed? |
| Ethics and reporting | Are ethics approval and informed consent, or a waiver documented by the ethics committee, reported where applicable? Is the relevant reporting guideline, such as STARD, REMARK, STROBE, CONSORT, PRISMA or CARE, followed where applicable, and does empirical research include a data-availability statement? |
| Presentation | Do the title and abstract reflect the content accurately, and are the writing, tables and figures clear? |
Points of emphasis by article type
Expectations follow the format of the manuscript. Structure and statistical analysis are assessed where they apply.
| Article type | Emphasis |
|---|---|
| Original Research | The research question, design, analysis, and whether the conclusions follow from the results. |
| Review | Search strategy and protocol or registration where available, study selection, risk-of-bias assessment, synthesis methods and PRISMA reporting for systematic reviews; scope and balance for narrative reviews. |
| Case Report | Diagnostic lesson, completeness of the account, quality of the images, consent, and CARE reporting where applicable. |
| Technical Note | Validity and usefulness of the method, comparison with existing methods, and enough detail for another laboratory to apply it. |
| Short Communication | A focused finding reported with sufficient methods to judge it. |
| Letter | Pertinence to published work or a current question, and accuracy of its claims. |
Structure of the report
Comments to authors are specific, constructive and courteous. Reviewers make a recommendation; the editor makes the decision.
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.
- Summary. The manuscript’s question, approach and main claims, in a few sentences.
- Overall assessment. Strengths of the work and whether the conclusions are supported.
- Major points. Issues of design, analysis or interpretation that affect the conclusions, numbered for reference.
- Minor points. Clarity, presentation, references and other corrections.
- Confidential comments to the editor. Concerns about ethics, overlap with other work or competing interests.
- Recommendation. Accept, minor revision, major revision or reject.
Joining as a reviewer
Researchers and practitioners with expertise in diagnostic pathology or laboratory medicine are welcome to join the journal’s reviewer panel. Write to the editorial office at info@openaccesspub.org with your areas of expertise. Reviewing confers no advantage in the review of the reviewer’s own submissions.