Essential Area Definition
Integrity Peer review addresses the integrity of the work under review when it focuses on ensuring that researchers publish an accurate, verifiable, and complete representation of how they did their work and the outcome.
Ethics Peer review addresses the ethics of the work under review when it establishes that the work was conducted responsibly. Journals use peer review to check that the work they consider publishing was conducted in a way that treated participants (people, animals), the environment, and colleagues responsibly, in a way that minimizes harm and meets community expectations (self‐regulation) and regulatory requirements.
Fairness Peer review is conducted fairly when it considers papers on their own merit, without regard for the identity of the author(s) or the reviewers’ and editors’ own interests. Fairness is also rooted in a straightforward moral axiom (‘treat others as you would like to be treated’).
Usefulness Peer review is useful when it benefits all stakeholders in the process. It means providing constructive feedback to authors so that they can improve the clarity and accuracy of their research article and report their work in the best possible way. It means providing reviewers with concise and easily accessible guidance on assessing papers. It means a final article that makes an important addition to the literature.
Timeliness Peer review is conducted in a timely manner when an outcome is reached quickly, without compromising the focus on integrity and ethics or the usefulness and fairness of the review process. Timely publication means research results are published when they are most relevant for further research.