Peer Review Process

KHD Production is committed to ensuring the integrity, quality, and validity of the academic monographs and edited volumes we publish. To maintain our high academic standards and fulfill the requirements for international indexation, all manuscripts submitted to our academic catalog undergo a rigorous Double-Blind Peer Review process managed entirely through our Open Monograph Press (OMP) system.

1. Initial Desk Review (Editorial Screening)

Upon submission through the OMP system, the Managing Editor and the Editor-in-Chief conduct an initial screening. This stage evaluates:

  • Aims and Scope: Whether the manuscript aligns with our focus on Health and Medical Sciences.

  • Basic Requirements: Adherence to the author guidelines, structural formatting, and completeness of the manuscript.

  • Originality Check: All manuscripts are subjected to a strict similarity check using professional plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin/iThenticate). Manuscripts exceeding our maximum similarity threshold will be immediately returned or rejected.

Manuscripts that do not meet these initial criteria are rejected at the desk without being sent out for external review.

2. Double-Blind Peer Review

If the manuscript passes the initial screening, it is assigned to a Handling Editor (Section Editor) who will oversee the peer-review process.

  • Double-Blind Policy: We employ a strict double-blind review system. The identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers are concealed from the authors throughout the evaluation process.

  • External Reviewers: The Handling Editor selects a minimum of two independent, external experts with specialized knowledge in the manuscript’s subject area.

3. Evaluation Criteria

Reviewers are asked to evaluate the manuscript based on the following criteria:

  • Originality and novelty of the contribution to the field.

  • Methodological rigor and scientific soundness.

  • Clarity, organization, and quality of writing.

  • Relevance of the literature review and accuracy of citations.

  • Compliance with ethical standards in health and medical research.

4. Editorial Decision

Based on the comprehensive feedback and recommendations from the peer reviewers, the Handling Editor makes one of the following decisions:

  • Accept Submission: The manuscript is accepted for publication without any changes.

  • Revisions Required (Minor): The manuscript is accepted conditional upon minor corrections.

  • Resubmit for Review (Major): The manuscript requires substantial revisions and will undergo a second round of peer review after the authors resubmit.

  • Decline Submission: The manuscript is fundamentally flawed, lacks originality, or falls outside the academic scope of the press.

(The typical timeframe from initial submission to a first editorial decision is approximately 6 to 8 weeks, depending on the length of the manuscript and the availability of reviewers).

5. Submissions by Editorial Board Members (Conflict of Interest)

To ensure absolute transparency and objectivity, any manuscript submitted by an Editor, Section Editor, or member of the Editorial Board will be handled independently. The submitting editor will be completely blinded to the review process within the OMP system. The manuscript will be assigned to a neutral, independent Handling Editor who has no conflict of interest, and the evaluation will be conducted exclusively by external reviewers outside of KHD Production's editorial team.

6. Exemption for General/Trade Books

Please note that titles published under KHD Production’s General Books division (such as popular fiction or non-academic trade books) are exempt from this formal peer-review process. These titles are managed outside the OMP system and are not submitted for international academic indexation.