The Scientific Journal of Dermatology and Venereology (SJDV) is committed to a rigorous, fair, and timely peer-review process that safeguards the scientific and clinical quality and integrity of every article it publishes. All submissions are handled in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Every manuscript passes through three sequential stages: initial (desk) evaluation, double-blind peer review, and editorial decision, followed by production and publication.
Process at a glance:
- Desk evaluation — a decision is reached within 1 week of submission.
- Peer review — normally completed within 2–3 weeks.
- Acceptance to publication — the article is published within 1 week of being declared accepted.
1. Initial (Desk) Evaluation
Upon submission, every manuscript is first assessed by the editorial office together with the Editor-in-Chief. At this stage the manuscript is screened for textual similarity using plagiarism-detection software and evaluated for its suitability to the journal's aim and scope, as well as for compliance with the Author Guidelines and the journal's ethical requirements (including ethical approval and patient-consent documentation). Manuscripts that fall outside the journal's scope, that exhibit an unacceptable level of similarity, or that lack the required declarations are declined or returned to the authors without external review. A decision at this stage is reached within one (1) week of submission.
2. Double-Blind Peer Review
Manuscripts that pass the desk evaluation are assigned to at least two independent expert reviewers and undergo double-blind peer review, in which the identities of the authors and the reviewers are mutually concealed. Reviewers assess the originality, scientific and clinical validity, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, and clarity of the work, and provide constructive, evidence-based recommendations. The peer-review stage is normally completed within two to three (2–3) weeks.
3. Editorial Decision
On the basis of the reviewers' reports, the handling editor formulates a recommendation and the Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision, which is one of: accept; accept with minor revision; major revision; or reject. When revisions are requested, the manuscript is returned to the authors, and the revised version may be sent for a further round of review to confirm that the reviewers' concerns have been adequately addressed. The decision of the Editor-in-Chief is final.
4. Production and Publication
Once a manuscript has been declared accepted, it proceeds to copyediting, layout, author proofreading, and DOI registration. The accepted article is published within one (1) week of the acceptance decision. All articles are published open access under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.
5. Editorial Independence and Confidentiality
Editorial decisions are based solely on the scientific and clinical merit of the work and are independent of any commercial interest or the authors' ability to pay any charge. All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents throughout the process. The journal handles complaints and appeals in accordance with COPE guidance; appeals against an editorial decision should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief.
The timeframes stated above are the journal's targets under normal circumstances and may vary according to reviewer availability and the extent of the revisions required.