Before Writing the Review zt

• Before
  

  　　To which manuscript category does this manuscript, best conform?
  　　Are there any potential biases in reviewing this manuscript?
  　　Does the manuscript address an important problem?
  　　Has the manuscript been previously published?
  　　
  

• The Abstract
  　　Does the Abstract appropriately summarize the manuscript?
  　　Are there discrepancies between the Abstract and the remainder of the manuscript?
  　　Can the Abstract be understood without reading the manuscript?
  　　
  
• The Introduction
  　　Is the Introduction concise?
  　　Is the purpose of the study clearly defined?
  　　Do the authors provide a rationale for performing the study based on a review of the medical literature? If so, is it of the appropriate length?
  　　Do the authors define terms used in the remainder of the manuscript?
  　　If this manuscript is Original Research, is there a well-defined hypothesis?
  　　
  
• The Methods Section
  　　Could another investigator reproduce the study using the methods as outlined or are the methods unclear?
  　　Do the authors justify any choices available to them in their study design (e.g., choices of imaging techniques, analytic tools, or statistical methods)?
  　　If the authors have stated a hypothesis, have they designed methods that could reasonably allow their hypothesis to be tested?
  　　
  
• The Results Section
  　　Are the results clearly explained?
  　　Does the order of presentation of the results parallel the order of presentation of the methods?
  　　Are the results reasonable and expected, or are they unexpected?
  　　Are there results that are introduced that are not preceded by an appropriate discussion in the Methods section
  
• The Discussion Section
  　　Is the discussion concise? If not, how should it be shortened?
  　　If a hypothesis was proposed, do the authors state whether it was verified or falsified? Alternatively, if no hypothesis was proposed, do the authors state whether their research question was answered?
  　　Are the authors' conclusions justified by the results found in the study?
  　　If there are unexpected results, do the authors adequately account for them?
  　　Do the authors note limitations of the study? Are there additional limitations that should be noted?
  
• Figures and Graphs
  　　Are the figures and graphs appropriate and are they appropriately labeled? Would a different figure better illustrate the findings?
  　　Do the figures and graphs adequately show the important results?
  　　Do arrows need to be added to depict important or subtle findings?
  　　Do the figure legends provide a clear explanation that allows the figures and graphs to be understood without referring to the remainder of the manuscript?
  　　
  
• Tables
  　　If there are tables, do they appropriately describe the results? Should one or more tables be added?
  
• The References Section
  　　Does the reference list follow the format for the journal?
  　　Does the reference list contain errors?
  　　Have the authors appropriately represented the salient points in the articles in the reference list? Alternatively, have the authors misquoted the references?
  　　Are there important references that are not mentioned that should be noted?
  　　Are there more references than are necessary?
  　　
  
• Summary Opinion
  　 　The reviewer should provide a short paragraph that summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript. The actual Recommendation (e.g., recommend to Accept, Accept Pending Revisions, Reconsider After Major Revisions, or Reject) should not be stated in this paragraph, which is sent to the authors, but should be indicated separately in the drop-down list. It may also be stated in the separate box called "Confidential Note to the Editor." However, the overall tenor of this paragraph should support the reviewer's recommendation.