Form letter H: To reviewer's institution

Form letters are examples of appropriate letters for various situations. Please find below the text of Form letter H: To reviewer's institution. You can copy this text and adjust it to your needs. The template is also available in Word opens in new tab/window or PDF opens in new tab/window format.

This form letter is used in the following decision tree:

8. Reviewer bias or competitive harmful acts by reviewers

Form letter H: To reviewer’s institution

[letterhead of the journal editorial office or the editor’s general contact information]

[date]

[title of article, date of publication]

[institutional address name or title of executive]

Dear [executive],

Concern has been raised about the publication of the article listed above, in connection with which a reviewer employed at your institution, [reviewer name], provided peer referee services. As I am sure you are aware, the [scientific/medical] community depends on the objective review and principled behaviour of reviewers.

[The substance of the complaint is that {description}, which if true, would violate our publishing policies.]

OR

[Attached you will find a copy of the communication which raises the concern noted.]

I have separately written to [reviewer name] and have asked for a timely and substantive response to the allegations.

[To date no such response has been forthcoming.]

OR

[I have received a response from the author [the substance of which is ______ / OR a copy of which is enclosed]. As the allegations are matters of which your institution will have significant concerns, I am asking your institution to initiate the appropriate investigation and to keep me informed about your progress.

Sincerely yours,

[editor name]

[editor-in-chief]

Copy: [reviewer]