Editorial Responsibilities
At the Annals of Clinical Hypertension (ACH), the editorial team plays a central role in maintaining the scientific quality, ethical standards, and transparency of the publishing process. This section outlines the responsibilities of editors in managing submissions, safeguarding the integrity of peer review, and upholding international guidelines such as those of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
Editors must maintain fairness, confidentiality, and impartiality in every decision. Their work should serve the best interests of authors, reviewers, readers, and the wider research community.
1. Fair and Unbiased Decision-Making
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Editorial decisions must be based solely on scholarly merit, originality, and relevance to the field of hypertension and cardiovascular sciences.
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Personal, institutional, or financial interests must never influence editorial judgment.
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Editors should provide constructive, respectful, and transparent communication with authors regarding decisions.
2. Peer Review Oversight
Editors are responsible for ensuring the peer review process is rigorous, fair, and timely. They must appoint reviewers with appropriate expertise and monitor the quality of reports.
- Ensure reviewer anonymity (single-blind or double-blind, depending on policy).
- Protect confidentiality of all manuscripts and reviewer identities.
- Intervene in cases of unprofessional or inadequate reviews.
If plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate submission, or authorship disputes are suspected, editors must follow COPE guidelines for investigation. They should ensure transparency in corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when misconduct is confirmed.
3. Conflict of Interest Management
- Editors must declare and avoid conflicts of interest in handling manuscripts.
- If a conflict exists, the manuscript should be reassigned to another editor.
- Editors must ensure authors and reviewers disclose their conflicts of interest clearly.
4. Confidentiality
Editors must treat all manuscripts and associated communications as strictly confidential. Information must not be shared beyond those directly involved in peer review and publication. Unpublished material must not be used by editors for personal research or gain.
5. Timeliness and Efficiency
Editors are responsible for ensuring manuscripts move through the review process promptly. Clear communication of timelines to authors and reviewers is essential. Delays must be minimized to support authors’ needs for timely dissemination of their research.
- Editors must keep records of editorial decisions and ensure accountability for their actions.
- Decisions must be communicated in writing with clear reasoning.
- In case of appeals, editors should provide an independent and fair review of the case.
6. Continuous Learning
Editors are encouraged to engage in ongoing training on publishing ethics, research integrity, and peer review practices. Participation in COPE webinars, workshops, and editorial board discussions ensures alignment with evolving global standards.
Editorial responsibilities extend beyond managing manuscripts—they involve protecting the scholarly record, supporting authors and reviewers, and upholding the credibility of ACH.