Editor Guidelines
Standards and responsibilities for editorial board members.
Editorial Excellence in Fetal Surgery
Fetal Surgery editors play a vital role in maintaining our publication standards and advancing the field. These guidelines outline responsibilities, expectations, and best practices for editorial board members contributing their expertise to manuscript evaluation and journal development.
Core Responsibilities
Manuscript Evaluation
Assess manuscripts assigned within your expertise for scientific merit, clinical relevance, and methodological rigor. Provide timely initial recommendations within agreed deadlines.
Reviewer Selection
Identify and invite qualified peer reviewers for manuscripts in your specialty area. Maintain a network of reliable reviewers with relevant fetal surgery expertise.
Decision Making
Synthesize reviewer feedback and make fair, well-reasoned publication recommendations. Communicate decisions constructively with clear guidance for authors.
Ethical Standards
Confidentiality
Maintain strict confidentiality of manuscript content, reviewer identities, and editorial deliberations. Never share unpublished information without authorization.
Conflict Management
Recuse yourself from manuscripts involving personal relationships, competitive interests, or institutional conflicts. Disclose potential conflicts proactively.
Impartiality
Evaluate manuscripts based solely on scientific merit regardless of author nationality, institution, gender, or previous publication history.
Editorial Support: Our editorial office provides comprehensive support including manuscript management systems, reviewer database access, and administrative assistance. Training resources and COPE guidelines are available through the Editor Resources page.
Editors are expected to handle assigned manuscripts within two weeks of assignment. Extended absences should be communicated to the editorial office so workflow can be adjusted accordingly.
