PeerJ

PeerJ is a peer-reviewed journal with the belief that it shouldn't cost many thousands to publish Open Access or maintain high scientific integrity.

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Aims & Scope

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PeerJ is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal. It considers articles in Medicine, Health, Science, Engineering & Technology. Articles are published on a continuous schedule with new articles being published Monday-Friday.
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PeerJ does not publish in the Social Sciences or Humanities (except where articles in those areas have clear applicability to the core areas of science and engineering).
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PeerJ considers Research Articles, Bioinformatics Software Tools, Systematic Review/Meta-Analyses, Literature Review Articles, Method Articles, Data Reports and Registered Reports. It does not accept Hypothesis Papers, Commentaries, Opinion Pieces, Case Studies, Case Reports, etc.
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PeerJ evaluates articles based on an objective determination of scientific and methodological soundness, not on subjective determinations of 'impact,' 'novelty' or 'interest'.
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PeerJ applies the highest standards to everything it does - specifically, the publication places an emphasis on research integrity; high ethical standards; constructive peer-review; exemplary production quality; and leading-edge online functionality.
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If you are unsure whether or not your article meets our requirements for a particular submission type, please see our discipline standards.
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PeerJ reserves the right to decline to consider, or publish, any submissions for any reason at any time. This can include those studies that do not have a grounding in established scientific knowledge, or that conflict with PeerJ's core values; or that are found to be outside our scope; or that fail to satisfy any of our technical or editorial policies etc.
Read the Instructions for Authors

Peer Review Criteria

Articles are peer reviewed against criteria which aim to judge whether or not an article should join the Scientific Literature. These criteria are grouped into 3 broad categories:
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Basic Reporting
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Experimental Design
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Validity of the Findings
The specific guidelines for each of these categories can be found on the Editorial Criteria page.

Role of the Academic Editor

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All submissions which pass our basic submission checks are peer reviewed and the peer review process is overseen by an Academic Editor on our Editorial Board .
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Academic Editors are experienced scientists in their field. They act independently from PeerJ and make independent decisions on submissions.
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Individual Academic Editors take on responsibility for individual submissions. They solicit expert peer reviewers to comment on the article and they make an editorial decision based on their knowledge of the field utilizing the input of those reviewers.
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Academic Editors are not permitted to accept a submission unless it has been reviewed by at least one external reviewer. On average, we expect that all submissions will be reviewed by two peer reviewers (in addition to the Academic Editor).
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Academic Editors are required to treat all submissions confidentially; to declare any potential conflicts of interest; and to adhere to the highest prevailing standards of publication ethics.
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The Academic Editor who made the Acceptance decision is named on all published articles.

Role of the Reviewer

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Reviewers are expected to provide unbiased and constructive feedback in a timely manner.
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Reviewers are required to maintain the confidentiality of the review process. Material under review should not be shared or discussed with third parties. Under no circumstances should any manuscripts or other submission files be uploaded to generative AI tools.
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Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and the use of AI-assisted technologies when writing their report.
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Reviewers are encouraged to provide their names. All reviews (anonymized or not) of published articles are made public.