Peer review is a crucial part of the editorial process, ensuring the quality of scientific publications.

Nascer e Crescer - Birth and Growth Medical Journal is for several decades one of the leading national scientific journals in Maternal-Fetal, Neonatal, and Pediatric Health, and the contribution of reviewers has been key for its continuity and development. 

Before accepting or declining a review invitation, please consider the following aspects:

• Does the subject of the manuscript fall within your area of expertise?
• Do you have potential conflicts of interest? Please report that information to the Editor.
• Are you available to review the manuscript in a timely manner?

We kindly ask you to respond to the invitation as soon as possible (either accepting or declining it), enabling a swift process. In case of declining the invitation, we appreciate that you suggest alternative reviewers.

 

The role of reviewers

• Assist the Editors, as a specialist in a given area, in appraising the originality and quality of a manuscript.
• Identify clinical, methodological, or structural gaps in the manuscript.
• Objectively and independently comment on the work, suggesting improvements where applicable.
• Contact the Editor in case of suspected plagiarism/self-plagiarism.

 

Peer-Review Procedure

Potential reviewers are invited via email, but the review process will take place through the online editorial system, Scientific Journal Hosting Service/Serviço de Alojamento de Revistas Científicas (SARC).

If you accept the invitation to serve as a reviewer, you must ensure the confidentiality of the documents under review, as Nascer e Crescer – Birth and Growth Medical Journal operates double-blind peer review.

Reviewers are requested to return their reviews within 15 days of accepting the invitation. If you are unable to meet this deadline, please let us know by e-mail.

 

How to log in to start the review

The journal's editorial procedure is managed through SARC platform, which can be accessed through the following link: https://revistas.rcaap.pt/nascercrescer/.

If this is your first time as a reviewer for Nascer e Crescer – Birth and Growth Medical Journal, you will need to start by registering on the platform. A Registration Guide has been created to assist you in this task should you experience difficulties.

To access and review the manuscript, please click on the link in the invitation e-mail, which will direct you to your desktop and to the manuscript in question.

After accepting the review assignment, you will need to access the full text, as well as the guidelines for reviewers and rating guide.

 

What should be considered when reviewing an article?

Manuscripts should be rated according to the relevance and originality of the work, methodological soundness, statistical validity of results, and overall merit.

Start by reading the whole manuscript. This will help you form a general impression of the work and the direction of your final recommendation (accept, reject, or suggest revisions).

 

At the end of the first reading, you should be prepared to answer the following questions:

• Are the conclusions consistent with the evidence and arguments presented? Do they answer the research question?
• Is the manuscript well-written? Is the text clear and easy to read?
• If the manuscript includes tables or figures, what do they add to the article? Are they easy to interpret and understand?

The answer to these questions will serve as a starting point for further analysis of the manuscript.

 

Guides

Guide for Appraisal of Original Articles
Guide for Appraisal of Review Articles
Guide for Appraisal of Clinical Cases

 

Review Report

Nascer e Crescer - Birth and Growth Medical Journal enables reviewers to organize their report according to the method that most suits them.

The most common methods are:

1. sending suggestions directly as comments on the body of the manuscript;
2. writing a free text in a separate document, sequentially commenting on the manuscript, asking questions about aspects that should be clarified by the authors, and identifying the places in the text where changes are suggested (should the reviewer consider them necessary);
3. a combination of the previous two.

We emphasize that your revision is crucial for the Editor's final decision to publish or reject the manuscript and that your contribution will improve the final quality of the manuscript. Please be demanding in your revision. The review will be sent to the authors while keeping your anonymity.

After completing the review, you should log in to the journal's system and submit it in one of the following formats:

• Upload the manuscript with comments and suggestions;

and/or

• upload a document in Word or PDF format with comments and suggestions;

and/or

• fill in a free text field available in the review with your comments and suggestions;

and/or

• start a conversation (field available in the system) with the Editor, sending your comments and suggestions.

The review of a manuscript should be constructive and use polite and respectful language, bearing in mind that the purpose of the review process is to help authors improving their work.

After reviewing the article, please indicate whether it should be:

1. Accepted without changes
2. Accepted pending proposed revisions
3. Rejected

 

Acknowledgement to Reviewers

Nascer e Crescer - Birth and Growth Medical Journal acknowledges the crucial role of reviewers through the annual publication of the Acknowledgements to Reviewers in the journal, and interconnects with Publons platform.