Confidentiality of the review process

It has been a long-standing practice of the IEEE Electron Devices Society to treat all manuscripts submitted for publication to our journals as privileged information. This information is provided to reviewer(s) solely to assess the quality of the submission for publication. Hence, the sharing of the contents of the manuscript for informational purposes outside or even within one´s organization is strictly prohibited. In the event that the designated reviewer is unable or unwilling to review the submission, the designee may pass on the manuscript, for review only, to a professional colleague. A corollary to the privacy of manuscripts is the privacy of reviews themselves. Reviews are also confidential communications provided to the author(s) for the sole reason of giving feedback regarding the technical and other publishing aspects of the manuscript. Hence, the sharing of these reviews is also an inappropriate use of information. Please note that members of the editorial board are also required not to share either the manuscript or the reviews with anyone except with individuals involved in the editorial process. While the reasons for treating both aspects of the review process as confidential may be different, the goal is to make the process fair and equitable. The purpose of this announcement is to sensitize all stakeholders to these practices to promote strict adherence. Please note that the responsibility of compliance lies solely with technical professionals, editors, reviewers, and authors alike and not with their respective organizations. Submission, reviewing, and handling of a manuscript will be interpreted as an implied consent to the above.