Reviewer's Responsibilities
Reviewers play a pivotal role in maintaining the intellectual and ethical standards of the Annals of Civil and Environmental Engineering (ACEE). Your evaluations should be thorough, unbiased, and constructive, supporting both editorial decision-making and authors’ improvement.
Objective Evaluation
- Assess the originality, relevance, and scholarly contribution of the manuscript.
- Evaluate methodological rigour, data interpretation, and reproducibility of results.
- Advice authors on clarity, structure, and technical accuracy to enhance the manuscript’s quality.
Constructive Feedback
- Provide respectful and actionable comments, specifying strengths and areas for improvement.
- Use a structured format: summary paragraph, major concerns, minor issues, and recommendations.
- Avoid unfounded criticisms or personal remarks; focus on evidence and logic.
Timely Response & Commitment
Agree to the review assignment only if you can meet the deadline (typically 15 days). If circumstances change, decline promptly or request an extension to facilitate reassignment.
Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Declare any personal, financial, or institutional conflict before accepting. Recuse yourself from reviewing if you have recent collaborations or relationships with the authors.
Confidentiality
- Treat all manuscript files and review materials as strictly confidential.
- Do not share, quote, or reuse any unpublished content for personal use or external publication.
- Under no circumstances contact authors directly or involve others in the review without prior permission.
Ethical Vigilance
- Inform the editor if you suspect plagiarism, redundant publication, or ethical violations.
- Ensure that cited sources are appropriate and identify missing or duplicated citations.
- Avoid justifying citation of your own work unless genuinely relevant and necessary.
Recommendation to Editor
Provide a clear recommendation—Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject—with rationale aligned with manuscript quality, scope, novelty, and ethics.
Ongoing Professionalism
Maintain academic integrity in reviews. Unprofessional tone, nonconstructive feedback, or dismissive language may result in removal from ACEE’s reviewer pool.