Peer Review Process

All submissions are initially assessed by a senior Editor, who decides whether the article is suitable for peer review. Submissions considered suitable for peer review are assigned to two or more subject experts, who assess the article for clarity, validity, and sound methodology. If suitable experts external to the journal cannot be found then members of the Editorial Board may be asked to complete a review task.

Authors are asked to recommend potential peer reviewers.  All reviewers must be independent from the submission and will be asked to declare all competing interests.

The journal operates an anonymous peer review process for research manuscripts, meaning that authors and reviewers of original research do not know each other's identities during the review process. For short correspondence (such as Letters to the Editor and View from the Field manuscripts) the peer review process is not blinded to better support authors in meeting aims of the IJFAE. The review period is expected to take around six to eight weeks, although this can vary depending on reviewer availability. Reviewers are asked to provide formative feedback, even if an article is not ultimately deemed suitable for publication in the journal.

Based on the reviewer reports the editor will make a recommendation for rejection, minor or major revisions, or acceptance. Overall editorial responsibility rests with the journal’s Editor-in-Chief, who is supported by an expert, international Editorial Board.

Members of the editorial team/board are permitted to submit their own papers to the journal. In cases where an author is associated with the journal, they will be removed from all editorial tasks for that paper and another member of the team will be assigned responsibility for overseeing peer review. A competing interest must also be declared within the submission and any resulting publication.

New Reviewers

The IJFAE is keen to welcome new peer reviewers. Elsevier offers an online course that provides modules on the Fundamentals of Peer Review and Becoming a Peer Reviewer, which we recommend for all new reviewers. Understanding the value that you bring as a peer reviewer to the IJFAE is part of the responsibility and contribution that you accept for the profession and the discipline. If you wish to join our register of peer reviewers, please email the Editor.

Reviewer Guidelines

How to peer review for the IJFAE

Peer review should:

• Provide high-level, constructive feedback on the overall content of the submission.
• Be generous and considerate.
• Aim to improve the work so that the author is publishing the highest-quality version that they can reach, with support from peers.

Peer review should NOT:

• Be unkind, overly critical, or disparaging.
• Include copy editing, proofreading, or layout editing (these come later in the publishing process).

How to read a paper for effective peer review (suggested approach)

1. Skim-read the article – get a high level understanding of what it’s about (~10 minutes)
2. Remind yourself what you’re looking for (these are prompts to help you):
   Is the research original and interesting?  Does it contribute to the body of literature on this topic?
   Is the manuscript written in an understandable way?  Is it well structured and clear?
   Are the methods used appropriate for the research question?  Are they described in  sufficient detail for the study to be replicated?
   Are the results presented in a clear and accurate way?  Are they complete?
   Do the results support the author’s conclusions?
   Do you have any questions about the study?
   Comprehensively read the article – read it thoroughly, making any notes or comments within the manuscript (~1-2 hours)
3. Order your comments for the author: go back through the article to ensure you have no further questions (~30 mins)

What information/feedback must I provide?

1.You must declare any conflict or competing interest with the paper’s topic and/or the authors.
2. You are asked to comment on the quality of the manuscript.  You should consider its originality, appropriateness of research methods used, thoroughness of reporting results, writing quality, clarity and style, and the quality of references.
3. You are asked to indicate your confidence in the results.  Comment on the analysis and identify any challenges you have with the way the results are presented.
4.Having read the paper, you will be asked what questions you have for the authors about the study.  For example, you could ask about any information you think is missing, or for them to provide more detail or clarity. 

5. You will be asked to add any further comments that could help the author to improve their manuscript.

6.  You then have the opportunity to provide any confidential remarks for the Editors to consider (these will NOT be made available to the authors).  These may include:

•Ethical concerns
•Concerns regarding any disclosed conflict of interest
•Concerns about plagiarism or publication ethics

7.Finally, you are asked whether you recommend that this article proceeds towards publication.  You will have these options:
• Yes - this article is fit for publication
• Yes - but revisions are needed
• No - this article is not of sufficient quality for publication in the IJFAE

Improve your peer review 

We encourage all peer reviewers to refresh their knowledge and skills for peer review.  These resources could be helpful:

•https://www.equator-network.org/toolkits/peer-reviewing-research/peer-review-training-and-resources/
•https://researcheracademy.elsevier.com/navigating-peer-review/fundamentals-peer-review
•https://researcheracademy.elsevier.com/navigating-peer-review/becoming-peer-reviewer

 

Prior Publication

The journal is happy to accept submissions of articles that have been loaded onto preprint servers or personal websites, have been presented at conferences, or other informal communication channels. These formats will not be deemed prior publication. The journal accepts submissions that have been published within formal conference proceedings, provided that the article provides substantially more data, analysis and/or discussion than the original conference publication. If the article was presented but not formally published then more overlap is permitted. The accepted manuscript may also be uploaded to an open platform, under a CC BY licence. Authors must retain copyright to such postings.

Authors are encouraged to link any prior posting of their article to the final published version within the journal if it is editorially accepted and published.

Authorship

All listed authors must qualify as such, as defined in our authorship guidelines, which have been developed from the ICMJE definitions. All authors must have given permission to be listed on the submitted article.

ORCID

The journal strongly recommends that all authors register an account with Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID). Registration provides a unique and persistent digital identifier for the account that enables accurate attribution and improves the discoverability of published articles, ensuring that the correct author receives the correct credit for their work. As the ORCID remains the same throughout the lifetime of the account, changes of name, affiliation, or research area do not effect the discoverability of an author's past work and aid correspondence with colleagues.

The journal encourages all corresponding authors to include an ORCID within their submitting author data whilst co-authors are recommended to include one. ORCID numbers should be added to the author data upon submission and will be published alongside the submitted article, should it be accepted.

Reproducibility

Open Data

The journal strongly encourages authors to make all data associated with their submission openly available, according to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable). Data should be cited and referenced within the manuscript and should be linked to from a Data Accessibility Statement, which must describe how the data underlying the findings of the article can be accessed and reused. If data is not being made available with the journal publication (e.g. legal constraints) then a statement from the author should be provided within the submission to explain why. Data obtained from other sources must be appropriately credited. All data should be curated in a format that allows easy understanding and analysis (e.g. sensible column headers, descriptions in a readme text file). This help will ensure its reuse potential.

Structured Methods

As the traditional Materials and Methods section often includes insufficient detail for readers to wholly assess the research process, the journal encourages authors to publish detailed descriptions of their structured methods in open, online platforms such as protocols.io. By providing a step-by-step description of the methods used in the study, the chance of reproducibility and usability increases, whilst also allowing authors to build on their own works and gain additional credit and citations.

Ethics and Transparency

Conflict of Interest Policy

The International Journal of First Aid Education is committed to maintaining the highest level of integrity in the content published. This Conflict of Interest policy complies with international, national and/or institutional standards on research involving Human Participants and/or Animals and Informed Consent.

The journal utilizes the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and subscribes to its principles on how to deal with acts of misconduct and we hereby thereby commit ourselves to investigate allegations of misconduct in order to ensure the integrity of research (including undeclared Conflicts of Interest, plagiarism, or falsification of data). The Editor-in-Chief and/or the majority of the Editorial Board may conduct and inform each other of actions taken when allegations of misconduct occur.

The journal may use plagiarism detection software to screen the submissions. If plagiarism is identified, the COPE guidelines on plagiarism will be followed.

Any person (reader, author, reviewer, editorial board member) may raise concerns of misconduct or formally complain through the editor-in-chief (editor@firstaid-revolution.org) or Aperio in the case of misconduct includes the Editor-in-chief.

A Conflict of Interest exists if a person or an institution has a relationship, which has the potential to compromise or in any way interfere with professional objectivity or judgement in issues related to the relationship.

A Conflict of Interest is actual if a relationship exists, or apparent if the possibility for a relationship could be inferred by others. In either case, it is the responsibility of IJFAE Editors, Associate Editors, Editorial Board members, authors and reviewers to declare Conflicts of Interest, actual or apparent, in order that appropriate mitigating action is taken.

Editorial Board

The all-volunteer Editorial Board takes responsibility to identify and prevent academic misconduct. We proactively work with authors to encourage ethical and valid research. The Editor-in-chief may be made aware of any allegation of misconduct by reviewers and other editorial board members and will facilitate any recourse including, but not limited to, the public retraction of a manuscript, updating of manuscript with corrections, publish apologies, and, where appropriate, denial of future submissions. The IJFAE has procedures in place by which potential conflict-of-interest information is obtained from all Editors and Associate Editors on a regular basis; annually, or upon appointment or re-appointment. Such information includes identification of editorial service with related or competing journals, institutional affiliations, identification of frequent collaborators, etc.

Editors, in consultation with the IJFAE Editorial Board, manage their own conflicts of interest as well as those of their Associate Editors, staff, authors, reviewers and Editorial Board members. They maintain a summary of relevant interests (financial, academic and other kinds) of all editorial staff and members of editorial boards (which is updated at least annually). Article submissions from the Editors or Editorial Board members are managed so that no details of the review process, other than the anonymous reviews and decision, are accessible to the section Editor.

Authors

All manuscripts should be original works, not previously published nor simultaneously submitted to another journal. Each author has the obligation to reveal any personal interest or relationship that has the potential to be affected by publication of the submitted manuscript. Sources of funding must be acknowledged in the manuscript. All authors must report any financial interest in corporate or commercial entities dealing with the subject matter of the manuscript. On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author has the responsibility to advise the Editor of an actual or apparent conflict of interest at the time of submission of the manuscript. Such conflicts will be acknowledged in the Acknowledgement section of the published article. Authors must also submit corrections if conflicts of interests are revealed after publication.

Peer Reviewers

All journal content is subject to peer review. Peer reviewers are entrusted by readers and the editorial board to provide an unbiased assessment of the scientific merit of a manuscript under review. Any situation or relationship (intellectual, moral, or financial) that could bias or be construed to bias this assessment must be reported to the Editor. These include personal relations to the authors, any research on the same subject in the manuscript, or professional or financial ties to an organization with interests in the subject under review. In such cases where an actual or apparent Conflict of Interest is disclosed, the Editor-in-Chief will discern a course of action, which may include rescinding an invitation to review.

Peer reviewers are provided with clear guidance and rubrics to support their review. Their judgements are required to be objective, and they are required to treat manuscripts with confidentiality.

Copyright and Access

Access to all articles published in the IJFAE is free. Authors are requested to indicate copyright and licensing preferences on acceptance of their article.

Corrections and Retractions

The publisher handles different kinds of error in accordance with guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (where applicable). All articles have their proofs checked prior to publication by the author/editor, which should ensure that content errors are not present. Please contact your the journal or publisher if an article needs correcting.

Post-publication changes are not permitted to the publication, unless in circumstances relating to factual inaccuracies that affect the data or conclusions being drawn. If an error is discovered in a published article then the publisher will assess whether a Correction article or Retraction is required. Visit our Correction Policy page for more information.

Appeals, Complaints & Misconduct

Appeals, complaints, or allegations of misconduct will be taken with utmost seriousness, regardless of whether those involved are internal or external to the journal, or whether the submission in question is pre- or post-publication. If an allegation is made to the journal, it must also be passed on to the publisher, who will follow guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on how to address the nature of the problem.

Should an individual wish to submit an appeal, complaint or raise an issue of potential misconduct regarding the journal or its content, they should first read the full Appeals, Complaints, and Misconduct policy and then contact the journal's Editor-in-chief to explain their concerns. If the complaint is against the Editor-in-Chief then the individual should escalate their complaint to Aperio.

Expected behavior

The journal does not tolerate abusive behaviour or correspondence towards its staff, editors, authors, or reviewers. Any person engaged with the journal who resorts to abusive behaviour or correspondence will have their contribution immediately withdrawn and future engagement with the journal will be at the discretion of the editor and/or publisher.