For Editors

Guidelines for Editors

The Journal of Pharmacovigilance and Drug Research (JPADR) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of editorial integrity, scientific quality, and ethical publishing. Editors are expected to conduct the editorial process fairly, transparently, confidentially, and in accordance with internationally accepted publishing standards.

Editorial Roles and Responsibilities

Editorial Role Responsibilities
Editor-in-Chief (EiC) Provides overall editorial leadership, establishes journal policies, oversees editorial quality, and makes final publication decisions.
Managing Editor (ME) Coordinates editorial activities, manages manuscript workflow, communicates with authors and reviewers, and ensures timely publication.
Associate Editor (AE) Handles assigned manuscripts, oversees peer review, evaluates reviewer reports, and recommends editorial decisions.
Copy Editor (CE) Edits accepted manuscripts for grammar, consistency, style, and language quality.
Proofreading & Layout Editor (PLE) Performs final proofreading, formatting, typesetting, and layout verification before publication.
Section Editor (SE) Manages manuscripts submitted to assigned subject areas and supervises peer review within those sections.
Review Editor (RE) Coordinates reviewer selection, peer-review activities, and reviewer communications.

Editorial Workflow

1. Initial Editorial Assessment

The Managing Editor performs an initial screening to verify that the manuscript:

  • Falls within the journal's aims and scope.
  • Complies with the Author Guidelines.
  • Includes all required files and declarations.
  • Meets formatting requirements.

Manuscripts failing to meet these requirements may be returned to the authors for technical revision before peer review.

2. Editorial Assignment

Following the technical assessment, the Editor-in-Chief evaluates the manuscript for originality, scientific merit, ethical compliance, and relevance.

The Editor-in-Chief may reject manuscripts that:

  • Fall outside the journal scope.
  • Contain plagiarism.
  • Show insufficient scientific quality.
  • Lack originality.
  • Violate publication ethics.

Suitable manuscripts are assigned to an Associate Editor with relevant subject expertise.

3. Double-Blind Peer Review

JPADR follows a double-blind peer review process.

  • Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two independent reviewers.
  • Reviewer identities remain confidential.
  • Authors remain anonymous to reviewers.
  • Reviewers are selected based on expertise and absence of conflicts of interest.

4. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to evaluate:

  • Originality
  • Scientific quality
  • Methodology
  • Statistical analysis
  • Clinical relevance
  • Presentation quality
  • Ethical compliance

Reviewers provide constructive comments together with one of the following recommendations:

  • Accept
  • Minor Revision
  • Major Revision
  • Reject

5. Editorial Decision

The Associate Editor considers all reviewer reports before making a recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief.

Where reviewer opinions differ substantially, additional reviewers may be invited.

Editorial decisions are based upon:

  • Scientific originality
  • Methodological quality
  • Relevance to readers
  • Ethical compliance
  • Reviewer recommendations

Possible editorial decisions include:

  1. Accept
  2. Minor Revision
  3. Major Revision
  4. Reject and Resubmission Encouraged
  5. Reject

6. Communication with Authors

Following approval by the Editor-in-Chief, the Managing Editor communicates the editorial decision to the corresponding author together with anonymized reviewer comments.

7. Production Process

Accepted manuscripts proceed through:

  1. Copyediting
  2. Proofreading
  3. Layout Editing
  4. Author Proof Approval
  5. Final Publication

Authors are expected to review proofs and submit corrections within 48 hours.

Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by contacting the Managing Editor and providing a detailed explanation together with the manuscript identification number. Appeals are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief, whose decision is final.

Corrections

If significant errors are identified after publication, JPADR may publish:

  • Erratum – Journal error
  • Corrigendum – Author error

Retractions

Published articles may be withdrawn, corrected, or retracted if serious scientific errors or ethical misconduct are identified after publication. Retractions follow the journal's Publication Ethics policy.

Copyright and Permissions

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted materials included in their manuscripts. Submission of a manuscript confirms that all necessary permissions have been obtained.

Confidentiality

Editors must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. Information obtained during peer review must not be disclosed or used for personal advantage.

Conflict of Interest

Editors should recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where financial, professional, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest exist.

Disclaimer

Opinions expressed in published articles are solely those of the authors. Neither JPADR, the Editorial Board, nor the Publisher accepts responsibility for errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of published information.

All manuscripts submitted to JPADR must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere unless fully disclosed to the Editorial Office.