Submissions

Author Guidelines

Editorial principles

Editorship: All papers submitted to the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics are previewed by a member of the editorial team. Papers that are of sufficient novelty and impact for publication are forwarded for peer review. Other papers are returned without review after editorial decision. If one of the editors has a conflict of interest with a submitted manuscript or with the authors, he or she will abstain from the editorial board decision process.

Invited Editors: Invited Editors are appointed by the Editors to coordinate the compilation of a special chapter of the Journal dedicated to a particular subject. They choose the topics of the chapter; they contact the authors with expertise in the field and protect the expected deadlines for the reviews. In addition, they write an editorial letter for the special chapter.

Manuscript submission: Guidelines for preparing and submitting manuscripts are described in the section ‘Instructions for authors’. No publication fee is charged, neither for the manuscript nor for illustrative figures whether or not in colour. The editors will ensure the confidentiality of the author’s work.

Authorship criteria: Authors should meet the criteria for authorship according to the recommendations of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) available at www.icmje.org. Only persons that have substantially contributed to all of the following are considered as authors: conception and design, acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data; drafting the article or revising it critically; final approval of the version published. The corresponding author should declare in the online submission that these criteria have been satisfied. Persons who have contributed to the study or manuscript but who do not fulfil the criteria for authorship have to be listed under a heading ‘acknowledgments’. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged. Any change in authors after initial submission must be approved by all authors and must be explained to the Editor. The Editor may contact any of the authors and / or contributors to verify whether they agree to any change. The authors are fully responsible for the propositions and statements in their article. Although the Editors try to recognize and reject misconduct to the best of their ability, neither the Editorial Board of the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics, nor the Executive Board of the Belgian Paediatric Society are responsible for malpractice by authors.

Misconduct: Reviewers of the manuscripts and readers of the journal are encouraged to report malpractice. Whenever misconduct is effectively established, the Editors will notify the author's institution and inform the readers of the Journal.

Copyright: By accepting publication in the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics authors automatically transfer copyright to the journal.

Ethical standards: Human subjects research requires ethics committee approval. This should be documented in the ‘methods’ section of the paper. It is the author's responsibility to ensure that a patient's anonymity is carefully protected. Information that could possibly identify patients should not be included in the paper, unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and a written informed consent for publication was obtained from patients and/or both their parents or guardians. This should be added as a separate page(s) to the manuscript. Even when consent was given, identifying details should be omitted if not essential. Special attention should be given to patient’s images, names, initials, hospital numbers. The registration number and the site of registry of clinical trials should be provided in the ‘methods’ section of the manuscript.
When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether the institutional rules and/or national legislation for the care and use of laboratory animals was respected.

Negative studies: The Belgian Journal of Paediatrics agrees with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors statement regarding the obligation to publish negative studies.

Duplicate or prior publication: Only original manuscripts that have not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or a thesis) can be accepted.
Reproduction of material from other sources: any written or illustrative material that has been or will be published elsewhere must be duly acknowledged and accompanied by the written consent of the copyright holder and credit the source(s) in the article.

Publication embargo: Every submission accepted for publication in the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics is under embargo until it is published. This means that until then it may not be disclosed to third parties. However, prior presentation of study data as an abstract or poster at a scientific meeting is acceptable, as well as publication of abstracts in print and online conference proceedings, but authors should not distribute copies of the original manuscript.

Peer review: All received papers will be peer reviewed after editorial approval by at least two external and independent reviewers solicited by the Editors. In order to avoid conflicts of interest, these reviewers cannot belong to the same institution as the authors. Following the review process, a decision will be made to accept as such or with minor or major revisions, or to reject. In case of controversy or strong disagreement regarding the merits of the work, an additional review may be solicited or one of the journal’s editors might give an evaluation. The reviewers’ names will be blinded to the authors. Manuscripts will be resubmitted to the reviewers after revision by the authors if the manuscript satisfactorily addresses the comments from the reviewers and editors. The editors are responsible for the final decision to accept or reject a manuscript. Authors will be notified about the decision and, if the manuscript is accepted, the timing of publication. Roles and responsibilities of peer reviewers are described in the section ‘Instructions for peer reviewers’.

Advertising: Advertisers are not allowed to influence or modify the content of accepted articles before publication. Advertisement of products like alcohol, tobacco or products known to be harmful for children’s health are not allowed in the journal. Editors have the final authority to accept advertisements in each published issue of the Journal. Each advertisement is clearly identified as such and is not inserted in the body of the manuscript. The Belgian Society of Paediatrics oversees the advertising policy of the Journal. The Editors are not responsible for the advertising on linked sites of the electronic version of the journal.

Complaints: Complaints regarding Editorial decisions have to be addressed to the Editorial Office bjp@belgjpaediatrics.com . All complaints will be analysed by the Editorial Team and a detailed answer will be provided.

Journal Sections

The Belgian Journal of Paediatrics publishes the following types of manuscripts:

Research Articles: Research articles are papers reporting the results of original research (clinical study, clinical trial, meta-analysis). Articles are limited to 250 words for the Abstract, 500 words for the Introduction, 1500 words for the Discussion and overall 4500 words (excluding abstract and references), 30 references and eight figures or tables. Note that BJP does not permit supplementary material, hence all of the methods and results must be described in the body of the manuscript. We ask authors to aim for accuracy, clarity and brevity and not to repeat results in detail that are clearly shown in a table or figure. We encourage the use of the EQUATOR reporting guidelines (https://www.equator-network.org). For clinical trials and clinical studies the number and place of approval by an ethical committee has to be mentioned in the ‘methods’ section, as well as the registration number and the site of registry for clinical trials.

Review Articles: Review articles are broadly based and should sum up the current state of the research on a particular topic in an authoritative way. Reviews should include an abstract of no more than 250 words and have a main text range between 1500-4000 words (excluding abstract and references), with up to 30 references, three figures and three tables.

• Systematic Review: A systematic review aims to answer a research question by a systematic literature search based on specific in and exclusion criteria and an evaluation of the methodological quality of the included articles. A systematic review may possibly be accompanied by a meta-analysis of the results. Authors are encouraged to use the PRISMA checklist (available from https://www.prisma-statement.org). A PRISMA style flow diagram has to be included (https://www.prisma-statement.org//PRISMAStatement/FlowDiagram).
• Scoping review: A scoping review shares similarities with a systematic review as it also addresses a research question but with less strict inclusion criteria than a systematic review. Scoping reviews focus on nature, characteristics and number of studies with the purpose to identify knowledge gaps. Authors are encouraged to use the PRISMA checklist for scoping reviews available from https://www.prisma-statement.org/Extensions/ScopingReviews.
• Narrative Review: A narrative review gives an update on the current understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of a disease, in a descriptive format. A narrative review may be illustrated by one or more case descriptions.

Case Reports: Case reports are limited to an abstract of 100 words, main text of 1500 words (excluding abstract and references), three tables and/or figures, and 10 references. Authors are encouraged to follow the CARE Case Report Guidelines (https://www.care-statement.org).

Photo quiz: The aim of this section is to stimulate visual recognition of clinical images that paediatricians may encounter in their practice. Clinical images include photographs of visible clinical signs, medical imaging, procedures, histological or cytological preparations. Submissions to this section should consist of 2 separate parts. The title of the manuscript should not mention the diagnosis. Manuscripts should be submitted without abstract. Keywords may be descriptive but must not contain the diagnosis. Make sure to remove any information that could identify a patient.

A first part with maximum 2 high quality figures without legends and a brief clinical history of maximum 500 words, but no mention of diagnosis. The last sentence should be ‘What is the diagnosis?’. Second part: maximum 800 words for diagnosis, description of figures and short discussion and maximum 5 references. Written informed consent for publication of the images should be obtained from the patient (if possible) and both parents or guardians. This should be added to the manuscript as a separate page(s).

Short Communications: Short Communications are limited to an abstract of 100 words, main text of 1500 words (excluding abstract and references), 1 table and/or 1 figure, and 10 references. They should be approved for publication by the editors.

• Brief communication: Contains reports of original research. Can include any of the study types listed under Research Articles.

• Made in Belgium: Summary of a PhD thesis defended by a paediatrician affiliated with a Belgian institution or working in Belgium. The title of the PhD thesis must be followed by a subtitle “PhD thesis presented on [date¬] at [university or high school], [city], Belgium. The author is the PhD student. Promotors and co-promoters are listed under the author. For this article type, no abstract is requested. 
• Focus on symptoms: A short schematic or algorithmic approach to symptoms with which a clinician is regularly confronted. For this article type, no abstract is requested.

Insights: Insight pieces are written pieces deemed insightful to the work and/or life of paediatricians and can be submitted by everyone. They should be limited to 1500 words and should be approved for publication by the editors. For this article type, no abstract is requested and may include one table or figure, if essential, and five or fewer references. 

Correspondence to the Editor: Correspondence should be limited to 400 words and may include one table or figure, if essential, and five or fewer references. Correspondence relates to a specific aspect of a previously published papers of which the authors of that paper are invited to write a reply that is published together with the letter.

Reviews of books: Book reviews related to paediatrics can be submitted by authors who want to share their experience with the readers of BJP. Book reviews should not exceed 500 words and may include one table or figure, if essential, and five or fewer references. The editors take the decision whether or not to publish.

Submission information

Manuscripts must be submitted online at http://belgjpaediatrics.com/index.php/bjp/submissions.

Outline of the online submission process

The online submission platform consists of five modules: ‘Start’, ‘Upload Submission’, ‘Enter Metadata’, ‘Confirmation’, ‘Next Steps’.

1. ‘Start’
• Make a choice of section and category of the manuscript.
• Check all submission requirements..
• Letter to the editor: provide a brief explanation of why the manuscript should be considered for publication in the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics and mention additional information that may be useful to the editor. Authors are strongly encouraged to provide the names and email addresses of 4 potential reviewers..
• Check author under ‘Submit As’.
• Check ‘Acknowledge the copyright statement’.
2. ‘Upload submission’

• Pay attention please: in this module only the manuscript body and supplementary files, such as figures, tables, authorizations, parental consent, letter to the editor or other supplements) can be uploaded. The title, abstract, authors’ names and affiliations and keywords should be entered in the metadata module.

• Manuscripts should be submitted as single-line spaced Word files in Arial font size 10.
• Please read carefully and apply the editorial rules underneath before submitting your manuscript.
1. ‘Enter Metadata’
• Title, abstract, list of contributors and keywords
• Authors should be entered in the list of contributors. Author’s affiliation, e-mail address, and other personal data can be edited. The order of authors and corresponding author (principal author) can be defined.  
• Authors should pay particular attention to keywords as keywords are used by search engines to retrieve articles. To enhance traceability and impact of their work authors are encouraged to MeSH terms (Medical Subject Headings) as keywords. MeSH provides tools to help authors: MeSH on demand, an automatic identification of terms from the abstract text (available from: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand) and MeSH browser to search terms from an existing list of keywords (available from: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search).
2. Confirmation: go back to review and adjust any of the information you have entered before continuing. When you are ready, click "Finish Submission".

Authors should meet the criteria for authorship according to the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication" available at www.icmje.org. Each person listed as an author is expected to have participated in the manuscript to a significant extent. Persons who have contributed to the study or manuscript but who do not fulfil the criteria for authorship have to be listed under a heading ‘acknowledgments’. Although the editors and reviewers make every effort to ensure the validity of published manuscripts, the final responsibility rests with the authors, not with the Journal, its editors, or the publisher.

Language: Manuscripts must be submitted in English. The chosen English spelling, UK or US spelling must be used consistently throughout the article. It is recommended that authors, who are not very familiar with English, are strongly encouraged to seek assistance in writing the article.

Scientific writing:

• Bacteria names should be italicized, e.g. Staphyloccus aureus. After writing the complete name of a microorganism in the first mention, the genus name can be shortened to just the capital letter, e.g. aureus. When discussing unnamed species the abbreviation ‘sp.’ Is used to refer to a single unnamed species, and ‘spp.’ refers to more than one unnamed species. More information can be found at: https://www.enago.com/academy/write-scientific-names-in-a-research-paper-bacteria/ .
• Virus names (the organism that makes you sick) should not be italicized. Virus species names should be written in italics and should not be abbreviated. More information can be found at: https://talk.ictvonline.org/information/w/faq/386/how-to-write-virus-species-and-other-taxa-names.
• Gene symbols should be italicized, e.g. CFTR Full written gene names should not be italicized, e.g. cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene. Gene products should not be italicized, e.g. CFTR protein. More information can be found at https://insight.jci.org/kiosks/publish/genestyle .

Information that may allow identification of patients: information that could possibly identify patients should not be included in the paper, unless the information is essential for scientific purposes. A signed informed consent from patients and their parents or legal guardians authorizing publication should be added as a separate file to the manuscript.

Abstracts: Abstracts should not contain references. Preferably, abbreviations should not appear in abstracts. However, if important for readability two or three different abbreviations can be accepted. These abbreviations should be spelled out at their first occurrence in the abstract. Abstracts for Research articles must be limited to 250 words and must be structured to the following headings: Objective, Methods, Results, Interpretation / Conclusion. Abstracts for Case reports or Short Communications must be limited to 100 words and should not include subsections.

Abbreviations: Always spell out abbreviations at first mention and place the acronym or abbreviation in parentheses immediately after. All subsequent uses, including tables and figures, should use the abbreviation or acronym. Abbreviations should be limited to terms that are both long and frequently (more than three times) repeated in the text. Try to avoid using more than six abbreviations in a paper, otherwise the text appears to be written in code.

Text: Organise the manuscript according to the instructions in the article type section. Sections must appear in the following order: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements if any, Conflicts of Interest, References, Figure legends. Acknowledgements should include individuals who have contributed to the work (provided materials, technical assistance, etc.), but do not fulfil the criteria for authorship; all such individuals should agree to being included in this way before the manuscript is submitted. The Acknowledgements should also include sources of financial support for the work.

Data Analysis: Description of data analysis should provide the specific methods used, their rationale, the underlying assumptions, whether data met those assumptions, and how any missing data were handled.

Units of measurement and laboratory values: Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other units are mentioned, please give their equivalent in SI. If applicable, normal values should be given in parenthesis when the value is first stated.

Drugs and other products: non-proprietary names of drugs or other products should be used, unless a specific trade name is essential for discussion.

Eponyms and acronyms: Eponyms should be used in their non-possessive form (e.g. Down syndrome and not Down’s syndrome). Acronyms should be avoided. If this is not possible, they should be fully explained when first used.

Tables: Tables should be printable in a single page in portrait orientation. They should be typed in the same font as the rest of the paper, as text tables (rather than as figures). Screen captured tables are not allowed. Tables should be numbered in order of appearance in the text. Tables and their legends should be submitted as separate files.

Figures: All figures must be submitted as separate files in JPEG format. Do not submit your figures embedded in a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF document (i.e., as a .DOC or a .PDF file). The resolution must be at least 600 dpi. Figures should be cited in order of appearance. Each figure must have a legend.  Figure legends should appear after the References, as part of the main document of the paper. Please do not include extra text (including keys and headings) in the artwork, spell out keys and headings in the figure legend instead. Photographs of recognizable persons should be accompanied by a signed release from the patient or legal guardian authorizing publication, as described above. Masking eyes to hide identity is not sufficient.

Patient privacy, informed consent and ethical standards: If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that written informed consent was obtained from the parents or guardians of the children who served as subjects of the study and, when appropriate, assent from the patients themselves. For clinical trials and clinical studies the number and place of approval by an ethical committee has to be mentioned in the ‘methods’ section, as well as the registration number and the site of registry for clinical trials. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed. Race / ethnicity, gender or religion should only be mentioned if relevant to the content or purpose of the article.

Animal rights: All animal experiments should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and should be carried out in accordance with EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Institutes of Health guide for the care and use of Laboratory animals (NIH Publications No. 8023, revised 1978) and the authors should clearly indicate in the manuscript that such guidelines have been followed. The sex of animals must be indicated, and where appropriate, the influence (or association) of sex on the results of the study.

References: Arrange references in order of first appearance in the text. The references must be formatted according to Vancouver style (Quick reference guide available from: https://guides.lib.monash.edu/ld.php?content_id=48260115).

Reference numbers in the text must be put at the end of the sentence, between brackets and inside the punctuation. Separate by a comma if more than one reference is cited, for example (1,5,8). For sequences of consecutive numbers, the first and last number of the sequence should be separated by a hyphen, for example (1-4). Only published papers or papers in press should be included in the reference list. Personal communications or unpublished data must be cited in parentheses in the text with the author’s names, the source and year.

The reference list, numbered in the order of mention in the text, must appear at the end of the manuscript.

For journal articles:

Authors. Title of the Article. Name of the Journal. Publication year;Volume number (Issue number, if available):pagination. According to the Uniform Requirements the first six authors are named, followed by et al. if there’s more than six. Authors are referenced as their surname followed by initials. Separate authors’ names by a comma if more than one author. Abbreviate journal titles in the style used in the NLM Catalog (available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals/ ). If in a journal a volume page numbering goes uninterrupted, the number of the issue may be omitted. 

Examples:

Less than 6 authors:  Gonzalez-Aguero A, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Gomez-Cabello A, Ara I, Moreno LA, Casajus JA. A combined training intervention programme increases lean mass in youths with Down syndrome. Res Dev Disabil. 2011;32(6):2383-8.

More than 6 authors:  Bervoets L, Van Noten C, Van Roosbroeck S, Hansen D, Van Hoorenbeeck K, Verheyen E, et al. Reliability and Validity of the Dutch Physical Activity Questionnaires for Children (PAQ-C) and Adolescents (PAQ-A). Arch Public Health. 2014;72(1):47.

For an article published online ahead of the print version: Bilal J, Riaz IB, Naqvi SAA, Bhattacharjee S, Obert MR, Sadiq M, at al. Janus Kinase Inhibitors and Risk of Venous Thromboembolism: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Mayo Clin Proc. 2021 Apr 8:S0025-6196(21)00054-9. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2020.12.035. Online ahead of print.

For electronic journal articles:

The word [Internet] in square brackets should be inserted after the abbreviated journal title. The date cited [in square brackets] must be included after the date of publication. The URL (web address) must be included at the end of the reference. For electronic journal articles with a DOI, include the DOI (digital object identifier) at the end of the reference, after the URL

Examples:

Stockhausen L, Turale S. An explorative study of Australian nursing scholars and contemporary scholarship. J Nurs Scholarsh [Internet]. 2011 Mar [cited 2013 Feb 19];43(1):89-96. Available from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/858241255

Kanneganti P, Harris JD, Brophy RH, Carey JL, Lattermann C, Flanigan DC. The effect of smoking on ligament and cartilage surgery in the knee: a systematic review. Am J Sports Med [Internet]. 2012 Dec [cited 2013 Feb 19];40(12):2872-8. Available from: http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/40/12/2872 DOI: 10.1177/0363546512458223

For a book:

Print book: Authors. Title of book. Edition number (if not first). Place of Publication: Publisher; Year of publication. Pagination.

Electronic book: Authors. Title of web page [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher (or sponsor of website); year published [cited YYYY Mon DD]. Number of pages. Available from: URL DOI: (if available).

Examples:

For a book: Carlson BM. Human embryology and developmental biology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2009. 541 p.

For an electronic book: Shreeve DF. Reactive attachment disorder: a case-based approach [Internet]. New York: Springer; 2012 [cited 2012 Nov 2]. 85 p. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1647-0.

For a chapter in a book:       

In a print book: Authors. Title of chapter. In: Editor AA, Editor BB, Editors. Title of book. Edition number (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication. Start and end page (of chapter).

In an electronic book: Authors. Title of chapter. In: Editor AA, Editor BB, Editors. Title of book [Internet]. Place of publication: Publisher, year of publication. [cited YYYYMonDD]. Page or chapter number/. Available from: URL DOI (if available) .

Examples:

In a print book: Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.

In an electronic book: Halpen-Felsher BL, Morrell HE. Preventing and reducing tobacco use. In: Berlan ED, Bravender T, editors. Adolescent medicine today: a guide to caring for the adolescent patient [Internet]. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co.; 2012 [cited 2012 Nov 3]. Chapter 18. Available from: http://www.worldscientific.com/ doi/pdf/10.1142/9789814324496_0018

More examples of other published, particularly material from internet, and unpublished material can be found in the quick Vancouver reference guide (https://guides.lib.monash.edu/ld.php?content_id=48260115) or on the website of the U.S. National Library of Medicine: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html.  

Refer to the List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus for abbreviations of journal names, or access the list at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/archive/20130415/tsd/serials/lji.html.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest: The corresponding author must disclose any conflicts of interest on behalf of all co-authors. Co-author enquiries should be recorded and retained by the corresponding author. The disclosure declaration must be written in a separate paragraph after the conclusion and before the references.

After submission

Manuscripts must comply with the guidelines described in the instructions for authors. After submission, the manuscripts are first reviewed editorially. Manuscripts not prepared according to the instructions for authors will be returned to the author(s) before starting the review process.

All manuscripts considered for publication undergo peer review. The editors assign at least two external and independent reviewers. The reviewers’ names are blinded to the authors. Reviewers are requested to maintain the confidentiality of the review process: not sharing, discussing with third parties, or disclosing information from the reviewed paper.

When resubmitting a manuscript after review the authors should indicate clearly their responses to the reviewers’ comments. A document in which the reviewers’ comments are answered point by point should be provided with the revised manuscript and include a copy of the original manuscript with track changes displaying the changes made. All co-authors should approve the revised manuscript version. The corresponding author should confirm approval in the point-by-point answer document. All components of the manuscript (point-by-point response letter, clean revised manuscript, manuscript with track changes, figures, tables, etc.) must be resubmitted even if no changes have been made at revision. To submit a revision, go to bjp@belgjpaediatrics.com and log in as an Author. Your submission record can be found by clicking on "View" → “Revisions” → “Upload file”.

After acceptance

Corresponding authors will receive electronic page proofs to check the copy-edited and typeset article before publication. Portable document format (PDF) files of the typeset pages and support documents will be sent to the corresponding author by e-mail. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that there are no errors in the proofs. Changes that have been made to conform to journal style will stand if they do not alter the authors' meaning. Only the most critical changes to the accuracy of the content will be made, no substantial changes can be made at this point. The publisher reserves the right to deny any changes that do not affect the accuracy of the content. Proofs must be checked carefully, and corrections returned within 1 week of reception.  Any errors found after this time will result in an erratum and not an article correction.

Publication embargo: Publication embargo as described in the editorial policy section applies until effective publication of an accepted manuscript.

Corrections: Requests to publish corrections should be sent to the editorial office. Corrections are reviewed by the editors and published in the next journal issue as an erratum.

Copyright: By accepting publication in the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics authors automatically transfer copyright to the journal.

Reprints: Reprints are available from the website of the Belgian Society of Paediatrcs at http://bvk-sbp.be/bjp/php.

Instructions for peer reviewers

Review of a submitted manuscript by at least two external and independent reviewers who are solicited by the editors. The reviewers’ names will be blinded to the authors. Authors’ identities are not blinded to the reviewers.

Reviewers should only agree if they feel qualified to review a manuscript and are able to return the review within a reasonable time-frame of maximum three weeks. If they cannot review, it is helpful to make suggestions for alternative reviewers.

Reviewers must refuse to review a manuscript in case of any potentially conflicting or competing interest.

Reviewers are requested to maintain confidentiality about the manuscripts and the information they contain.

Reviewers must provide a fair, honest, and unbiased assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript. Comments to the authors will be passed in full to authors. The reviewers can also provide additional confidential comments to the editors, which will not be passed to the authors.

If the reviewer has concerns about misconduct during the elaboration or submission of the manuscript, he must notify the editor. This also applies to the case where the reviewer notices important similarities between the manuscript and a published article.

Instructions for invited editors

Each year, a number of issues address a special chapter dedicated to a particular topic. Two guest editors, a Dutch-speaking and a French-speaking, are responsible for the content of these chapters.

A number of six manuscripts per chapter is expected. If more than six articles are needed to elaborate the topic of the chapter correctly, the editors can decide to spread the chapter over two issues.

The tasks of the invited editors are:

-           To make choices of topics

-           To invite authors

-           To supervise the manuscripts in terms of content

-           To protect the expected deadline for publication

-           To write an editorial introducing the chapter

Editorial review and solicitation of peer reviewers will be done by the editorial team of the BJP.