When receiving a manuscript, “The Animal Biology” guarantees for the author(s) confidentiality during the peer-review procedure and preparation to publication because it can affect their reputation and scientific career. The editor is not allowed to disclose any information about the manuscript (its submitting, content, pending state, critical remarks of reviewers and the final decision about the publication) to anyone except the authors themselves and the reviewers.
When forwarding a manuscript for a peer review, the editor demands confidentiality from the reviewer. It means the reviewers are prohibited to discuss the work publicly, to own or use for any purposes data or ideas from the manuscript until it is approved; to make copies of manuscript for personal use or share them to the third parties except cases when it is allowed by the editor. The peer reviews can not be published in any way without the agreement of all parties — the reviewer, the author(s) and the editor. However, the reviewer’s comments can be forwarded to another reviewer examining the same manuscript to make the peer-review procedure more clear. Reviewers can also be informed about the editorial decision on paper publication or rejection.
After sending a peer review, the reviewer is obliged to destroy his copy of the manuscript. The editorial office also should not keep the copies of rejected manuscripts and share information about rejected articles and the authors.
