Reviewer Guideline

Reviewers assess whether the work falls within scope and contributes something; whether the methods are described in enough detail to reproduce and are appropriate to the question; whether the statistics are sound and uncertainty is represented honestly; whether the conclusions follow from the data; whether citations are accurate and support the claims attached to them; and whether the required declarations are present.

Recommendations are accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject, each with specific reasons.

Manuscripts under review are confidential. They are not shared, cited, or used to advance a reviewer's own work.

Decline the invitation where a competing interest exists: recent collaboration with the authors, shared institution, financial interest, or a competing manuscript in preparation.

Reviews assess the work, not the author. Suspected misconduct goes to the editor rather than to the author.