Instructions for Reviewers

August 2013

The goal of The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary & Critical Care is to publish manuscripts that advance the knowledge of clinical pulmonary and critical care and improve the management of disease. The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary & Critical Care Editors utilize the opinions of at least two reviewers in judging each manuscript's quality and merits. Reviewers are chosen for their expertise in the subject matter of the manuscript—their opinions are therefore valued. The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary & Critical Care reviewers are active and enthusiastic experts in the fields of pulmonary and critical care, and the continuing strength of the Southwest Journal of Pulmonary & Critical Care depends greatly on their commitment and expertise.

The manuscripts sent by the Editorial Office for review contain privileged information and are confidential documents. They are not to be shared or discussed with others, unless to solicit assistance in reaching an editorial decision from an appropriate colleague who can be trusted to respect confidentiality. Reviewers are not to communicate directly with authors. It is important to remember that papers that challenge conventional wisdom often provide new insights. They should be judged on their scientific merit and not on whether their conclusions conflict with the opinion of the review. Papers should be rated on the following:

• Novelty and originality
• Importance of the topic
• Quality of the abstract
• Strength of the experimental design and statistical analysis
• Clarity and quality of the writing and appropriate length of the report
• Adequacy of the references
• Relevance and priority of the information to the Journal's readership

The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care uses a rating scale of 1-5 for evaluating manuscripts: 1 is the highest rating; 5 is the lowest. After reviewing the manuscript and formulating comments, the reviewer should prepare his/her review in a word processing program using the Southwest Journal of Pulmonary and Critical Care Review Form Template. We ask that reviewers provide a numeric rating of the manuscript quality using the Evaluation form in the Reviewer Confidential Comments to Editors. This will be seen only by the Editors. There is also space to include a confidential critique, recommendation for or against publication, and suggestions for shortening or restructuring the paper. This evaluation should be completed in full.

PDF version of Instructions for Reviewers