REVIEWER ETHICS

REVIEWER ETHICS

Reviewers must adhere to the ethical standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Manuscripts received for review must be treated as strictly confidential.

Reviewers must:

• Conduct reviews objectively and without personal, institutional, or ideological bias
• Declare any actual or potential conflicts of interest and decline reviews where such conflicts exist
• Not disclose, share, or use unpublished material for personal or professional advantage
• Do not contact authors directly regarding the manuscript
• Promptly report suspected ethical concerns, including plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, or duplicate publication, to the editorial office

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TOOLS

Reviewers must not upload manuscripts or any part of the content to generative AI tools or external platforms, as this may compromise confidentiality and intellectual property. AI tools must not be used to generate, write, or substantively alter peer-review reports. Reviewers remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, and integrity of their reviews.