If you are interested in becoming a reviewer for the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, please visit the Elsevier Editorial System (EES) homepage. Click on the "Register" link to create a reviewer account and be sure to identify your areas of expertise in the "Personal Classifications" section.
General Procedures
Each manuscript is assigned to at least three registered reviewers. The "Personal Classifications" system is used to match reviewers with manuscripts that are most likely to be of interest to them. (Authors specify relevant areas of expertise when they submit a manuscript through EES.)
Reviewers are selected by a manuscript's handling editor and are invited by e-mail to comment on the manuscript. Alternates are assigned for reviewers who do not respond to an invitation within 7 business days. The Journal attempts to prevent conflicts of interest by not inviting reviewers from the same institutions as authors. However, previous relationships or places of employment may not be apparent to the Journal's editors. In these cases, we ask reviewers to assume the burden of acknowledging the conflict of interest and to decline to review.
Reviewers who accept invitations are given access to manuscripts through their EES accounts. Once reviewers have evaluated a manuscript, they log in to their accounts to complete a brief rating scale and post comments for authors. They also may post confidential comments to the editor, which are not forwarded to the author. Confidential comments for editors may include candid comments, specification of key factors determining acceptability, or particular reservations the reviewer wishes to express.
Reviewers who agree to evaluate a manuscript are allowed 21 days to return comments. Reviewers may request an extension of the deadline for comments by contacting the Managing Editor (managingeditor@jneb.org).
Reviewers who agree to evaluate a manuscript but do not return comments by the due date may be replaced with alternates to keep the review process moving along. All reviewers replaced by alternates receive an e-mail indicating that they have been replaced on the panel.
The Review
Our primary task is to determine the acceptability of a manuscript, considering its interest, quality, and value to JNEB readers. To the extent possible, we are also interested in providing feedback to authors for the purpose of improving the quality of future research and publications.
Number each comment so that authors can respond on a point-by-point basis and reviewers can easily determine, during subsequent reviews, whether each comment was adequately addressed. Begin each comment with the page and line number(s) to which the comment refers.
Comments for authors go directly to authors without editing. Please be as clear and concise as possible. Provide justification for recommendations: these comments form the basis for manuscript revision or help authors understand why the manuscript is not acceptable. Please do not include in comments for authors any statement concerning whether the paper should or should not be accepted. These are reserved for the editor.
In cases where revisions are recommended, please indicate with an asterisk those you consider critical to make the manuscript suitable for publication.
Reviewers do not need to take time to correct grammar, punctuation, or sentence structure. If, however, there are problems with these issues or with general writing style, please tell the authors and recommend that they obtain editorial assistance during manuscript revision.
Revised manuscripts and author responses to reviewer comments are returned to those from the original panel of reviewers who have agreed to review revisions of the manuscript. At that point, the task is to determine whether reviewer concerns have been resolved through author responses and corresponding manuscript revisions. New concerns should not be raised unless they emerge from clarification in the revised manuscript.
A manuscript submitted for publication is a privileged communication from the authors to the Journal. Keeping this in mind, you may consult with colleagues in preparing your review. If such consultation contributes substantially to your review, please indicate the name of the colleague in your confidential comments to the editor.
If you accept an invitation to review a manuscript, and then realize on closer inspection of the manuscript that you may have a conflict of interest, please contact the Editor-in-Chief at Editor@jneb.org. We avoid inviting reviewers from the same institution or work group as a manuscript's authors, but may be unaware of other potential conflicts that could exist.
Reviewer Tools
A tutorial in using EES for reviewers is available under the "Reviewer Information" heading at JNEB's EES homepage. Reviewers are encouraged to contact their manuscript's handling editor with questions or comments about the manuscript itself. Questions about submitting comments through EES may be directed to the Managing Editor at managingeditor@jneb.org.
Thank you for sharing your expertise with JNEB's authors and editors. We appreciate your contribution to the Journal and to the field. We also welcome your comments on our review process, which may be sent to managingeditor@jneb.org or editor@jneb.org.
