Reviewer Conduct

Peer-Reviewed · Open Access · Multidisciplinary

Reviewer Conduct

The International Journal of Social World (IJSW) expects reviewers to handle every manuscript with professionalism, discretion, and respect. Reviewers are trusted with unpublished academic work and should take appropriate care when reading, commenting on, and handling material received during the review process. This responsibility is particularly important for manuscripts involving social research, surveys, interviews, community studies, human participants, and potentially sensitive personal or social information.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts under review and information associated with them should be treated as confidential. Reviewers should not share a manuscript, reviewer report, editorial correspondence, or other review-related material with colleagues, students, or other individuals unless the editorial team has given permission.

Information obtained through peer review should not be discussed outside the review process. Reviewers should also take reasonable care when storing or accessing manuscript files and other confidential material.

Where manuscripts contain interview transcripts, survey responses, case descriptions, observations, or information relating to identifiable individuals or communities, reviewers must take particular care to protect confidentiality and avoid unauthorized disclosure of such information.

Use of Unpublished Information

Reviewers must not use unpublished ideas, findings, data, methods, interpretations, or other information obtained from a manuscript for their own research, publication, teaching, or other purposes.

A reviewer should not take advantage of information obtained through the review process before it becomes publicly available.

This restriction also applies to unpublished social research findings, survey results, interview material, community-level observations, and other information that could provide an improper personal, academic, or professional advantage.

Reviewer Comments

Review comments should be written in a professional and respectful manner. Criticism should address the manuscript and its academic content rather than the author.

Comments should be clear enough for the editor to understand the reviewer's concerns and, where appropriate, for authors to understand what may need clarification or improvement.

Reviewers should avoid comments that are offensive, dismissive, discriminatory, or unrelated to the academic assessment of the manuscript.

When assessing research in sociology and related social sciences, reviewers should provide constructive feedback on the research design, methodology, interpretation of evidence, and conclusions where relevant. Concerns about surveys, interviews, participant selection, data interpretation, or research ethics should be explained objectively and supported by clear reasoning.

Reviewers should distinguish between legitimate academic criticism and personal disagreement with an author's social, cultural, or political perspective. Assessments should remain focused on scholarly quality, methodological appropriateness, research integrity, and relevant ethical considerations.

Independent Review

A reviewer should prepare their own assessment of the manuscript and should not allow another person to review the manuscript on their behalf without prior permission from the editorial team.

Reviewers should not attempt to influence the editorial process or communicate directly with authors about a manuscript under review unless the editorial team specifically authorizes such communication.

Reviewers should disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest that could affect their impartiality, including relevant personal relationships, professional collaborations, institutional affiliations, or competing research interests.

Handling Review Materials

Review materials should be handled carefully and should not be copied, circulated, or retained for purposes unrelated to the review.

When a review assignment has ended, reviewers should follow any instructions provided by the journal regarding access to or handling of review materials.

Particular care should be taken with confidential research data, interview records, survey responses, participant statements, and other materials that may contain personal or sensitive information. Reviewers should not independently contact research participants, attempt to identify anonymized individuals, or use confidential participant information for purposes unrelated to the editorial assessment.