Manuscripts may only be submitted through the online submission system at http://www.pensoft.net/journals/jhr.

Submitted manuscripts will be sent to peer reviewers, unless they are either out of scope or below threshold for the journal, or the presentation or written English is of an unacceptably low standard. These manuscripts will generally be reviewed by two experts with the aim of reaching a first decision as soon as possible. Reviewers do not have to sign their reports but are welcome to do so. They are also asked to declare any competing interests.

We ask all authors to provide the contact details (including e-mail addresses) of at least three or four potential reviewers of their manuscript. These should be experts in their field of study, who will be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Any suggested peer reviewers should not have published with any of the authors of the manuscript within the past few years and should not be members of the same research institution. Members of the Editorial Board of the journal can be nominated. Suggested reviewers will be considered alongside potential reviewers identified by their publication record or recommended by Editorial Board members.

Reviewers are asked whether the manuscript is scientifically sound and coherent, how interesting it is and whether the quality of the writing is acceptable. Where possible, the final decision is made on the basis that the peer reviewers are in accordance with one another, or that at least there is no strong dissenting view. In cases where there is strong disagreement either among peer reviewers or between the authors and peer reviewers, advice is sought from a member of the journal's Editorial Board. The journal allows a maximum of two revisions of any manuscripts. All appeals should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief. The ultimate responsibility for editorial decisions lies with the Editor-in-Chief.

Reviewers are also asked to indicate which articles they consider to be especially interesting or significant. These articles may be given greater prominence and greater external publicity, and the authors may be asked if they would prefer to have the manuscript published in BioRisk.

Once an article is accepted, it is published in four different formats: (1) high-resolution, full-color print version; (2) PDF version, identical to the printed version; (3) HTML format providing links to external resources and semantic enhancements for interactive reading; (4) XML format (based on the TaxPub schema) providing machine-readable copy for future re-use and digital archiving in PubMedCentral.

Authors will be able to check the progress of their paper through the submission system at any time by logging into the Journal's site, a personalized section of the site.