Primates - Primates, Guidelines for Reviewers

General notes

Primates, the oldest international primatological journal, has published original papers since 1957, collaborating with many generous reviewers and editors. Conscientious and fair peer review, based on trust and clear communication between the journal and reviewers, is essential not only for the scientific assessment of manuscripts, but also for enhancing them, thereby furthering the development of primatology.

Primates adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers (https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.9 (this opens in a new tab)). (this opens in a new tab)Here we provide basic, transparent policies for peer review for Primates, following COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Notes on the review process

1. When invited to review a manuscript, please consider the following points and indicate whether you accept or decline to review as soon as possible. If Primates receives no response from you, then you may no longer be considered as a potential reviewer.

・Whether you have appropriate expertise to assess the manuscript.

・Whether you have potential conflicts of interest. 

・Whether you can return a review within the proposed time frame (usually within 4 weeks).

2. If you cannot review a particular manuscript, it is helpful to suggest alternative reviewers. 

3. Reviewers should respect the confidentiality of the peer review process and remain unbiased throughout the process. 

4. If reviewers become aware of any competing interests or ethical concerns concerning a manuscript, please notify the journal.  

5. Reviewers’ reports should include objective, unbiased and constructive comments that can help the authors to improve their manuscript. Reviewers are asked to make a recommendation such as acceptance, revision, or rejection. The report should never contain hostile, aggressive, or scientifically inappropriate criticisms. 

6. Reviewers are anonymous, but they may reveal their name to authors if they wish. However, reviewers should never contact authors directly about a manuscript. 

7. Reviewers are always informed about the editor’s decision. They can view the decision letter and the reviewers' comments by accessing the URL provided.

8. Reviewers should be prepared to review revised manuscripts that they previously commented on.

9. Primates encourages authors to include color photographs of target species in their manuscripts; reviewers may remind authors about this.