Peer Review Policy

The peer-review process is the most important part of the publication workflow. PMDJAS uses a double-blind peer-review model when the reviewers do not know the names of the authors, and the authors do not know who reviewed their manuscript. This model has been implemented thanks Open Journal System that the editorial team successfully uses for the workflow.

Manuscripts will be subjected to internal peer review at first. A manuscript that contains plagiarism or is of poor quality will be rejected internally, and appropriate articles will be sent for double-blind external peer review by two subject experts. Any violations/ infractions of the COPE guidelines regarding publication will be dealt with.

1. The journal’s editorial office checks the manuscript to ensure that it is suitable for the peer-review process. In particular, the editor's assistant carries out the first verification for plagiarism and checks that the manuscript is prepared according to the publisher's requirements and the journal's scope. Manuscripts that don’t match these criteria, as well as scientifically poor manuscripts, should be rejected without further peer reviewing.

2. After the first checking of the manuscript by the editorial office, it is transferred to the journal's Editorial Board. All manuscripts will have to be peer-reviewed, therefore Editor makes negotiations with potential reviewers and makes decisions about their appointment to review the manuscript.

3. After submitted reports by reviewers the Editor examines them and makes one of the following recommendations:
· Reject
· Consider after Major Changes
· Consider after Minor Changes
· Publish Unaltered
In the case of “Reject,” the corresponding author is sent any review reports that have been submitted and is notified that his manuscript will not be considered for publication in the journal.
In the case of “Consider after Major Changes,” the corresponding author will be notified that he has to update the version and resubmit a new version of his manuscript with the necessary changes suggested by the reviewers. This might require the collection of new data or major changes in the text. The manuscript is then reassessed by one or more of the original reviewers before the Editor makes a new recommendation.

In the case of “Consider after Minor Changes,” the corresponding author will be notified that he has to update the version and resubmit a final copy of his manuscript with the required minor changes suggested by the reviewers. After that, the Editor can recommend “Publish Unaltered”.

In the case of “Publish Unaltered,” the manuscript will undergo a final check by the editorial office in order to ensure that the manuscript adheres to the journal’s policies. The corresponding author will be notified of the manuscript’s acceptance.