All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening before peer review. This stage is intended to assess whether a submission meets the journal’s basic editorial and ethical requirements and whether it is suitable for further consideration.
During initial screening, editors evaluate the manuscript for relevance to the journal’s scope, compliance with submission guidelines, and adherence to ethical and integrity policies. This may include preliminary checks related to originality and similarity, completeness of required materials, and overall clarity and scientific presentation.
The initial screening is conducted by members of the editorial team and does not constitute peer review. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s criteria at this stage may be returned to authors without external review. Such decisions are made to ensure an efficient review process and to avoid unnecessary delays for authors and reviewers.
Manuscripts that successfully pass initial screening are assigned to a handling editor and proceed to the peer-review stage. Authors are informed of the outcome of the initial screening through the journal’s submission system.