Zoological Records and Reviews (ZRR) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and publishing excellence. Editors play a crucial role in ensuring the quality, credibility, and ethical integrity of the journal. The following guidelines outline the responsibilities and expectations for editors.
1. Editorial Responsibility
Editors are responsible for overseeing the entire editorial process, from manuscript submission to final decision. They must ensure that all submissions are evaluated fairly, objectively, and in a timely manner.
2. Decision-Making
Editors should make publication decisions based on:
- Scientific merit and originality
- Relevance to the journal's scope
- Methodological soundness
- Clarity and quality of presentation
Editorial decisions must not be influenced by the authors' nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, or personal beliefs.
3. Peer Review Management
- Assign a minimum of two independent, qualified reviewers for each manuscript.
- Ensure the integrity of the double-blind peer review process.
- Monitor the timeliness and quality of reviewer reports against the journal's 12–14 week target for first editorial decision.
- Resolve conflicts in reviewer recommendations, including assigning additional reviewers if needed.
4. Confidentiality
Editors must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. Information about a manuscript should not be disclosed to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and publisher as appropriate.
5. Ethical Oversight
Editors are responsible for identifying and addressing ethical issues, including:
- Plagiarism
- Data fabrication or falsification
- Duplicate or redundant publication
- Authorship disputes
- Non-compliance with taxonomic/nomenclatural requirements (e.g., missing ZooBank registration for new species descriptions), per the journal's Scope of the Journal
Appropriate actions, such as rejection, correction, or retraction, should be taken when necessary, in accordance with COPE guidelines.
6. Conflict of Interest
Editors must avoid handling manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest. In such cases, the manuscript should be reassigned to another qualified editor, per the journal's Conflict of Interest Policy.
7. Transparency and Fairness
Editors should ensure transparency in the editorial process and provide clear, constructive feedback to authors. All decisions should be well-justified and communicated professionally.
8. Timeliness
Editors should strive to complete the review and decision-making process within the journal's target of 12–14 weeks from submission to first editorial decision, ensuring efficiency without compromising quality.
9. Communication
Editors must maintain effective communication with authors, reviewers, and the publisher. Queries should be addressed promptly and professionally.
10. Continuous Improvement
Editors are encouraged to stay updated with best practices in scholarly publishing and contribute to improving the journal's policies, processes, and overall quality.
By adhering to these guidelines, editors help uphold the reputation and academic standards of Zoological Records and Reviews, ensuring the publication of reliable and impactful scientific research.