How to Ensure That All Files Have Been Anonymized

To ensure the integrity of the anonymous peer review process, every effort must be made to prevent authors from learning the identities of the reviewers, and vice versa. To this end, authors, editors, and reviewers who upload documents as part of the review process must verify that the following steps have been followed regarding the text and file properties:

• The authors of the document have removed their names from the text and have used “Author” and the year of publication in references and footnotes instead of the author’s name, the article title, etc.
• The authors of the document have removed personal information from the file properties by following these steps:

• Microsoft Word for Windows:

• Go to “File”
• Select “Info”
• Click “Check for Issues”
• Click “Inspect Document”
• In the “Inspect Document” dialog box, select the checkboxes to choose the type of hidden content you want to inspect.
• Click “Remove All”
• Click “Close”
• Save the document

• Microsoft Word for macOS:
  • Go to “Tools”
  • Click “Protect Document”
  • Select “Remove personal information from the file when saving”
  • Click OK and save the file
• PDF:

• • Go to “File”
  • Select “Properties”
  • Remove any name from the “Author” field
  • Click OK
  • Save the document