Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to this journal must comply with the journal’s Focus and Scope as well as the Author Guidelines. Submissions should demonstrate scientific rigor, originality, and a clear contribution to the advancement of knowledge within the journal’s disciplinary areas. Manuscripts must be written in clear and grammatically correct English. Authors whose first language is not English are encouraged to seek professional language editing prior to submission. Submitted manuscripts must not have been previously published or be under consideration by any other journal or publication.

Plagiarism Screening

The journal maintains a strict policy against plagiarism and academic misconduct. Authors are encouraged to screen their manuscripts using similarity-checking software such as Turnitin or iThenticate before submission. All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial plagiarism screening by the editorial office using plagiarism-detection software. Manuscripts with unacceptable levels of similarity or evidence of unethical publication practices will be rejected without further review.

Initial Editorial Assessment

Upon submission, each manuscript is assigned to the Editor-in-Chief, who conducts a preliminary assessment of its suitability for the journal. At this stage, the manuscript is evaluated for:

• Relevance to the journal’s aims and scope;
• Originality and scientific contribution;
• Compliance with author guidelines and ethical standards;
• Quality of presentation and language.

Based on this assessment, the manuscript may be:

• Accepted for peer review;
• Returned to the author for technical revisions;
• Rejected without external review (desk rejection).

Double-Blind Peer Review

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial screening are assigned to a Handling Editor or Managing Editor and proceed to a double-blind peer-review process. In this system, the identities of both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process.

Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent expert reviewers with relevant subject expertise. Reviewers assess the manuscript based on several criteria, including:

• Originality and novelty;
• Scientific quality and methodological rigor;
• Relevance and significance of findings;
• Clarity of presentation and organization;
• Adequacy of references and literature engagement.

Reviewers provide constructive comments and recommendations to improve the quality of the manuscript. In cases where reviewer recommendations differ substantially or additional expertise is required, the editor may invite a third reviewer to provide further evaluation.

Editorial Decision

The final publication decision rests solely with the Editor-in-Chief, based on the reviewers’ recommendations and the editor’s independent assessment. Reviewer recommendations serve as an essential component of the decision-making process but do not determine the final outcome.

Possible editorial decisions include:

Accept

The manuscript is accepted for publication without further revisions.

Minor Revision

The manuscript is accepted subject to minor modifications. Authors are required to address reviewer comments before final acceptance.

Major Revision

The manuscript has publication potential but requires substantial revisions. Authors must revise the manuscript and provide a detailed response to reviewer comments for further evaluation.

Revise and Resubmit

The manuscript requires significant restructuring or additional work before it can be reconsidered. A revised version may be submitted as a new round of review.

Reject

The manuscript is not suitable for publication in the journal and will not be considered further.

Revision and Re-evaluation

Authors receiving a revision decision are expected to submit a revised manuscript accompanied by a point-by-point response to reviewer comments. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers for further evaluation or assessed directly by the handling editor, depending on the extent of revisions required.

Production and Publication

Once a manuscript is accepted, it enters the production stage, which includes copyediting, typesetting, proofreading, and final author approval. Following completion of these processes, the article is scheduled for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal.

Commitment to Inclusivity and Diversity

The journal is committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable, and diverse scholarly publishing environment. Editorial decisions are made solely on the basis of academic merit, without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, institutional affiliation, career stage, or proficiency in English. Reviewers are encouraged to focus on the scientific quality and contribution of the research rather than language proficiency alone.

Detailed information about the flow from the manuscript submission (author) to the acceptance by the editor is shown in the following figure.