HEALING
Official Journal of IICAT Kolkata
Open Access Journal
Open Access Journal
Welcome to the editorial team of the Healing Journal, published by SPJ Publications. As a member of the editorial board, you hold a key responsibility in supporting the journal’s mission to publish high-quality, peer-reviewed, and open-access research that contributes meaningfully to advancements in medical imaging and related health sciences. These guidelines are designed to ensure clarity in responsibilities and to promote a consistent, ethical, and professional editorial approach.
Editors play a central role in managing the entire lifecycle of a manuscript, starting from submission to the final publication decision. Your primary responsibility is to ensure that every manuscript published in Healing meets high standards of scientific quality, originality, and relevance. This requires maintaining fairness, consistency, and objectivity in the evaluation process while safeguarding the academic credibility of the journal.
Editorial Assessment and Manuscript Triage: At the initial stage, editors are responsible for screening submitted manuscripts to determine whether they are suitable for further review. Before proceeding with peer review, consider whether the manuscript aligns with the journal’s scope, presents original and meaningful research, follows appropriate and well-explained methodology, and adheres to the required formatting guidelines. Submissions that do not meet these basic requirements may be returned to authors for revision or rejected at this stage. Clear and timely communication with authors is essential throughout this process.
Managing the Peer Review Process: The Healing Journal follows a double-blind peer review system to ensure fairness and impartial evaluation. Editors are responsible for selecting qualified reviewers who have relevant subject expertise and no conflicts of interest. It is important to provide reviewers with clear instructions and reasonable timeframes, typically two to three weeks, for completing their evaluations. Editors should monitor the review process closely, send polite reminders when needed, and ensure that the identities of both authors and reviewers remain strictly confidential.
Making Editorial Decisions: Once reviewer comments are received, editors must carefully assess the scientific merit, strengths, and limitations of the manuscript. Editorial decisions should be based on academic quality and reviewer input. The possible decisions include acceptance without changes for manuscripts that fully meet standards, acceptance with minor revisions for those requiring small corrections (to be resubmitted within 5–7 days), major revision for manuscripts needing substantial improvement before reconsideration, rejection with encouragement to resubmit for work requiring significant restructuring, and rejection for manuscripts that fall outside the journal’s scope or quality expectations.
Editors are expected to uphold the highest standards of research ethics and publication integrity. This includes being alert to issues such as plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, unethical research practices, or undisclosed conflicts of interest. Any suspicion of misconduct should be addressed in accordance with COPE guidelines, and the Editor-in-Chief should be consulted when necessary. All manuscript-related information must be treated with strict confidentiality.
Professional and respectful communication is essential at every stage of the editorial process. Feedback provided to authors should be constructive, clear, and supportive, even in cases of rejection. The aim is to improve the quality of scholarly work while maintaining a positive and transparent review experience. Timely responses also contribute to building trust among authors and reviewers.
As part of an open-access publishing model, Healing is committed to ensuring that scientific knowledge is freely accessible. Editors are encouraged to support authors in adopting open science practices, including data transparency, ethical sharing of research materials, and awareness of preprints and evolving publishing standards. Staying updated with modern scholarly communication practices is important for maintaining journal relevance and integrity.
All submitted manuscripts must be handled with strict confidentiality. Editors should not share manuscript details outside the editorial process or use unpublished data for personal advantage. Editorial decisions must be based solely on scientific merit and relevance, without any influence from personal, institutional, financial, or demographic biases.
Editors are encouraged to continuously enhance their professional knowledge by participating in academic workshops, webinars, and training sessions related to peer review, editorial ethics, and publication standards. SPJ Publications may also provide structured training opportunities to support editorial development and strengthen journal quality. Your role as an editor is vital in maintaining the academic strength and reputation of the Healing Journal. By following these principles, you contribute to ensuring that the journal remains a trusted platform for researchers, clinicians, and imaging professionals worldwide. Your commitment to quality and ethics is deeply valued.
For any queries or clarifications, please contact the Editor-in-Chief at editor@spjinternational.co.
Last Updated: 11/12/2025