Peer Review Process

Every manuscript submitted to Liver Research – Open Journal (LROJ) passes through a structured review workflow, from initial submission to final publication decision, as described below.

Step 1: Manuscript Submission

Authors submit manuscripts through the journal's online submission system, following the formatting and content requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.

Step 2: Editorial Screening

Upon receipt, the Editor-in-Chief or an assigned Associate Editor conducts an initial screening to confirm the manuscript falls within the journal's aims and scope, meets basic formatting requirements, and shows no immediate red flags such as suspected plagiarism or incomplete ethical documentation. Manuscripts that do not meet these baseline requirements may be returned to the author or rejected at this stage without proceeding to full peer review.

Step 3: Reviewer Assignment

Manuscripts that pass editorial screening are assigned to a minimum of two independent peer reviewers with relevant subject-matter expertise. Reviewers are selected based on their research background, publication history, and specific expertise relevant to the manuscript's topic.

Step 4: Independent Review

Each reviewer independently evaluates the manuscript against the journal's peer review criteria (see Peer Review Policy) and submits detailed written feedback, including a recommendation of Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject.

Step 5: Editorial Decision

The Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editor considers all reviewer feedback and renders a decision. Where reviewer recommendations diverge significantly, the editor may seek an additional reviewer opinion or make an independent editorial judgment based on the available feedback.

Step 6: Author Revision

If revisions are requested, authors are given a defined period to submit a revised manuscript along with a point-by-point response to reviewer comments. Revised manuscripts may undergo an additional round of review at the editor's discretion.

Step 7: Final Decision

Once all review rounds are complete, the Editor-in-Chief issues a final decision. Accepted manuscripts proceed to copyediting and production; rejected manuscripts are returned to the author with reviewer feedback where appropriate.

Step 8: Publication

Accepted manuscripts are prepared for publication, assigned a DOI, and published either in the current continuous-publication cycle or the next scheduled issue, depending on the journal's publication model.