Editor's Guidelines

The Journal of Novel Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation (JNPR) relies on its editorial team to ensure the quality, integrity, and academic relevance of published content. Editors play a vital role in safeguarding ethical publishing practices, supporting peer review, and fostering transparency. These guidelines provide editors with best practices aligned with COPE, ICMJE, and OASPA standards.

Core Responsibilities of Editors

• Maintain editorial independence and base decisions solely on scholarly merit.
• Ensure that the peer review process is fair, unbiased, and confidential.
• Promote diversity and inclusivity in authorship, reviewers, and editorial board membership.
• Uphold transparency by publishing corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when required.
• Act promptly on allegations of misconduct, following COPE flowcharts and procedures.

Editorial Decision-Making

Editors must ensure that manuscripts are evaluated based on originality, clarity, validity, and relevance to physiotherapy and rehabilitation. Commercial considerations or personal biases must not influence editorial outcomes.

Peer Review Oversight

Editors are responsible for selecting qualified reviewers, monitoring review quality, and ensuring timely completion. Confidentiality of submitted manuscripts must always be preserved.

Conflict of Interest

Editors must declare and avoid conflicts of interest. For manuscripts where an editor has a conflict, the paper must be reassigned to another editorial board member to ensure impartiality.

Handling Misconduct

Editors must investigate suspected cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, authorship disputes, or unethical research practices. In all cases, COPE guidelines should be followed.

Communication with Authors and Reviewers

Editors must ensure professional, respectful, and constructive communication. Authors should be informed of editorial decisions with clear reasoning and feedback.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts under review are confidential documents. Editors must ensure that unpublished material is not used for personal research without the author’s consent.

Editorial Board Responsibilities

• Contribute to the strategic development of the journal.
• Advise on ethical and policy-related matters.
• Support outreach, visibility, and journal promotion within professional networks.

Reviewer Engagement

Editors are expected to maintain a diverse and competent reviewer pool. Constructive reviewer feedback is essential for manuscript improvement and maintaining academic rigor.

Transparency and Corrections

If errors are identified in published work, editors must ensure appropriate corrective action. This includes issuing errata, corrigenda, or retraction notices where necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can editors publish in JNPR?

Yes, but submissions from editors undergo the same double-blind peer review process and are handled by independent editors to prevent bias.

How should editors handle unethical reviewer behavior?

Instances of unethical behavior by reviewers (e.g., breach of confidentiality) must be reported, and such reviewers may be excluded from future assignments.

What should an editor do if an author disputes a rejection?

Editors should consider appeals fairly and may involve an independent reviewer or editor-in-chief to resolve disputes.

Can editors reject a manuscript without peer review?

Yes. Desk rejections are appropriate if manuscripts fall outside the scope or fail to meet basic quality standards.