How to prepare your manuscript for double anonymized review
August 1, 2026
In double anonymized peer review, neither authors nor reviewers know each other's identities. That confidentiality only works when manuscripts are thoroughly anonymized before submission — and that takes a few deliberate steps.
Please ensure the following items are present in your submission and provided as separate files.
Title page
Your title page stays separate from your manuscript and is never shared with reviewers. Include the following:
The manuscript title
All authors' names and affiliations
A complete address for the corresponding author, including an e-mail address
Acknowledgements
Conflict of interest statement
Anonymized manuscript
Remove all identifying information — names, affiliations, funding sources — before you submit. Beyond the basics, a few less obvious steps can make the difference between a properly anonymized manuscript and one that inadvertently reveals who wrote it.
Refer to your own previous work in the third person. For example: "Black and Hart (2015) have demonstrated" — not "we have previously demonstrated (Black & Hart, 2015)"
Check that figures and tables are free of any author affiliations or institutional references
Leave acknowledgements and funding references off the manuscript — include them on the title page instead, along with any conflicts of interest you need to declare to the editor
Choose neutral file names and anonymize the file's metadata properties
If you're using Microsoft Office, run the Document Inspector Tool before submitting
Double-check every file you upload for identifying information — almost all file types are shared with reviewers
The only exceptions are your title page, cover letter and LaTeX source files