Editorial Process (Peer Review)

Submissions should be prepared in accordance with the Author Guidelines. The manuscript may be returned to authors without a scientific assessment if they do not meet all submission requirements, if they are not in the correct format, or cannot be downloaded reliably.

Submissions must represent the original and independent work of the authors. Each new submission is assessed by one or more editors to determine whether it falls within the general remit of JSOCMED. We will reject a manuscript without review if it contains insufficient content; it exceeds our word limit or is incorrectly formatted; it is poorly presented and unclear.

Manuscripts that pass the initial assessment will be handled by Principal Editor or Associate Editor to oversee the review process for contribution, originality, relevance, and presentation. All manuscripts are subject to peer review and authors can expect a decision, or an explanation for the delay, within 2 months of receipt. If a revision is invited, the corresponding author should submit the revised manuscript within 2 weeks. The final decision is taken by Principal Editors based on the information gained through the peer-review process.

Once a manuscript passes the initial checks, it will be assigned to at least two independent experts for peer-review. A double-blind review is applied, where authors' identities are known to reviewers. Peer review comments are confidential and will only be disclosed with the express agreement of the reviewer.
We ensure that the reviewed manuscript is treated confidentially prior to being published, as explained in publication ethics.

1. Manuscript Submission:
   The author submits the manuscript along with any supporting documents to the journal. The manuscript is anonymized by removing all author identifiers (such as name, affiliation, etc.) to maintain anonymity.

2. Initial Check by Editor:
   The journal editor performs an initial evaluation to ensure the manuscript aligns with the journal's scope and meets basic quality standards. If it passes, the manuscript proceeds to the peer review stage.

3. Reviewer Selection:
   The editor selects at least two independent experts in the relevant field of the manuscript. The identities of the reviewers are kept confidential from the authors.

4. Peer Review Process:
   Reviewers evaluate the manuscript based on the quality of research, methodology, findings, and relevance. During this process, the authors' identities remain anonymous to the reviewers, and vice versa.

5. Providing Comments and Suggestions:
   Reviewers provide feedback and recommendations, such as acceptance, revision, or rejection. These comments are confidential and will not be shared with the authors without the express consent of the reviewer.

6. Editor’s Decision:
   Based on the reviewers' feedback, the editor makes a decision regarding the manuscript, whether it will be accepted, revised, or rejected. If revisions are requested, the authors are asked to revise the manuscript according to the feedback and resubmit it for further review.

7. Revision Process:
   If revisions are necessary, the authors revise the manuscript and resubmit the updated version to the editor for further evaluation.

8. Final Decision:
   After all revisions are completed and reviewers' feedback is considered, the editor makes a final decision regarding the manuscript’s acceptance for publication or rejection.

9. Disclosure of Reviewer Comments:
   After the final decision, the editor sends a summary of the reviewers' comments and suggestions to the authors, but the reviewers’ identities remain confidential unless they agree to be disclosed.

Decline submission
Following peer review, the paper is judged not to be acceptable for publication in JSOCMED and resubmission is not possible.

Resubmit for Review
The submitted version of the paper is not acceptable and requires major revision, but there is clear potential in the work, and JSOCMED is prepared to consider a new version. Authors are offered the opportunity to resubmit their paper as a new submission. Concerns will remain regarding the suitability of the paper for publication until the editors are convinced by the authors that their paper fits the scope and standards of JBK. The resubmitted manuscript will be returned to the original associate editor if at all possible.

Revision
The paper requires changes before a final decision can be made. Authors are asked to modify their manuscript in light of comments received from referees and editors and to submit a new version for consideration within 2 weeks of receiving the decision letter. A point-by-point explanation of how comments have been addressed must be supplied with the revised version of the paper. Revisions may undergo further peer review and papers may undergo more than one round of revision. If the authors do not revise their papers to the satisfaction of the editors, the paper can still be declined from publication in JSOCMED.

Accept submission
The paper is accepted for publication, subject to conditions that need to be addressed in producing a final version of the manuscript. These may include sub-editing changes and the minor amendment to ensure the paper fully matches our criteria. After final checking in the editorial office, acceptance is confirmed and the paper is forwarded to the publishers for publication.

Galley proof
Page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author for final checking. Corrections to the proofs must be restricted to printer’s errors: any other changes to the text, in equations or grammar, may be charged to the author. Proofs should be returned to the editors within three days of receipt to minimize the risk of the author’s contribution having to be held over to a later issue. The editors do not accept responsibility for the correctness of published content. It is the author’s responsibility to check the content at the proof stage.