Editor Guidelines
Editors are responsible for maintaining fairness, confidentiality, consistency, and scientific integrity throughout editorial screening and peer review. Editorial decisions should be based on scholarly merit, scope fit, methodological strength, ethical compliance, and usefulness to the cardiology community.
Editors should avoid conflicts of interest, protect confidential submissions, ensure that reviewers are appropriate and independent, and handle allegations of misconduct according to journal policy.
Editorial duties
- Assess scope fit, reporting clarity, and policy compliance before peer review
- Check authorship, ethics, conflict, and consent statements for completeness
- Select suitable reviewers with relevant expertise and no apparent conflicts
- Request clarification when declarations or reporting are incomplete
- Communicate decisions clearly and professionally
- Document key decision points and revision expectations
Editorial independence and integrity
- Fees, membership, sponsorship, or advertising must not affect editorial decisions
- Editors should recuse themselves when conflicts exist
- Potential misconduct should be escalated in line with journal process
- Corrections, retractions, or editorial notes should be handled transparently
- Special issue content should meet the same standards as regular submissions
- Confidential manuscripts should not be exposed to insecure external tools or systems
Manuscript Withdrawal Policy
Clinics Cardiology does not impose any charges at the time of manuscript submission. Authors may submit their manuscripts for editorial consideration without any initial payment obligations.
Upon successful submission, the corresponding author receives an automated acknowledgment confirming receipt of the manuscript. This acknowledgment serves as an official confirmation of submission and marks the initiation of the editorial assessment process, ensuring transparency, accountability, and adherence to internationally accepted publishing standards.
After acknowledgment, all submitted manuscripts undergo preliminary administrative evaluation, including plagiarism screening, technical formatting review, scope verification, and compliance assessment, prior to being forwarded for peer review.
Before Editorial Processing
No withdrawal fee will be charged if the manuscript is withdrawn before plagiarism screening and initial editorial assessment have commenced.
After Technical Processing
If the manuscript is withdrawn after plagiarism screening, formatting checks, and initial editorial processing (typically after 24 hours of submission), a withdrawal fee will apply to cover administrative and editorial expenses.
After Peer Review & Acceptance
If the manuscript has successfully completed peer review and has been accepted for publication, a withdrawal charge applies due to the extensive editorial, reviewer coordination, and production work completed.
Withdrawal After Publication
Requests for withdrawal, removal, or retraction of an article after online or final publication will incur a charge equivalent to 70% of the applicable Article Processing Charge (APC), reflecting the publication, indexing, archiving, hosting, and production services already rendered.
Publication Ethics & Compliance
Clinics Cardiology is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and editorial integrity. The journal follows internationally recognized publishing guidelines and ethical practices, including recommendations established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
All withdrawal and refund-related decisions are handled with fairness, transparency, and consistency. Editorial and processing charges incurred during manuscript handling are non-refundable, as they correspond to completed administrative, editorial, peer review, and production services.
All withdrawal requests are subject to review and approval by the editorial and accounts departments. Authors are strongly encouraged to review the journal’s submission and withdrawal policies carefully prior to manuscript submission.
Reviewer Guidelines
Reviewers provide confidential, objective, and constructive evaluation of submitted work. Their role is to help editors assess scientific quality, originality, reporting clarity, clinical significance, and ethical compliance.
Scientific review
Assess methods, analysis, data presentation, interpretation, and whether conclusions are supported by results.
Ethical review
Identify missing disclosures, questionable reporting, originality concerns, or issues that require editorial attention.
Constructive feedback
Provide practical, respectful recommendations that help authors improve quality and clarity.
Review focus areas
- Originality and contribution to the field
- Study design and methodological appropriateness
- Clarity of data, tables, figures, and interpretation
- Consistency between findings and conclusions
- Clinical or scholarly value to journal readership
Reviewer conduct
- Maintain strict confidentiality
- Do not use manuscript content for personal advantage
- Disclose conflicts promptly
- Raise major ethical concerns privately to editors when necessary
- Avoid sharing confidential content with external AI or public tools
Article Processing Charges
As an open-access journal, Clinics Cardiology may recover publication costs through Article Processing Charges. APC information should be available before submission and should state clearly what is charged, when payment is due, what services are covered, and whether waivers or discounts are available. Editorial decisions must remain independent from payment status at all times.
| Article Type | Suggested APC (USD) | What It Covers | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research Article/Video Article | $2699 - $3620 | Editorial screening, peer review, production, hosting, metadata deposit support | Main full-length research article |
| Review Article | $2530 - $3340 | Editorial handling, peer review, copyediting, production | Narrative or invited review |
| Mini Review / Short Communication/ Case Reports | $1700 - $1920 | Editorial handling, detailed review, production and publication support | Higher methodological complexity |
| Clinical Images/Opinion/Perspectives/Editorial | $ 900 - $1200 | Editorial review, peer review, technical formatting, hosting | Single or limited clinical cases |
| Letter to the Editor | $900 | Editorial review, peer review, production | Concise original findings |
Membership
Membership can be used as an engagement and service model for individual authors, reviewers, academic partners, or institutions. Membership may include APC discounts, communication support, educational access, or reviewer development resources. Membership should never imply guaranteed publication or preferential editorial handling.
| Membership Type | Suggested Annual Fee (USD) | Suggested Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Individual Author Membership | $3990 | Expanded publishing support, priority assistance, dedicated individual communication contact |
| Departmental Membership Premium – Standard | $7,500 | Expanded publishing support, priority assistance, dedicated departmental communication contact |
| Institutional Membership – Premium | $11,000 | Comprehensive publishing partnership support, institutional visibility, dedicated account management and premium communication benefits |
Thanks to Reviewers
Clinics Cardiology values the contribution of reviewers who support manuscript quality, editorial decision-making, and the integrity of the scientific record. Reviewer service is an important form of academic contribution and professional leadership within the cardiology research community.
Submission Checklist
Authors should use the following checklist before submission to reduce avoidable delays and improve editorial efficiency.
Formatting Template
A consistent formatting template supports peer review, copyediting, production quality, and indexing readiness. Authors should organize the manuscript in a way that allows smooth handling across editorial and publication workflows.
Special Issue Guidance
Special issues should follow the same editorial, ethical, peer-review, and transparency standards as regular issues. The role of guest editors, review procedures, deadlines, sponsorship arrangements, and any fee differences should be stated clearly to authors and readers.
Licensing & Copyright
Open-access publication requires clear copyright and licensing information. The journal should state whether authors retain copyright, which license applies, and what reuse is permitted with attribution.
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