Editorial Process

Manuscript Submission (Author & Executive Editor)

All manuscripts submitted for publication are received by the Editorial Board. The Executive Editor/one of the Associate Editors examines all files including cover letter, text files, graphs, charts, and figures. If the files meet the technical and formatting requirements of the journal, authors are sent an acknowledgement of the manuscript. A manuscript ID number will be assigned at the submission. The authors are requested to quote the manuscript ID number in all correspondences with the journal.

Technical Revisions (Executive/Associate Editors)

If the manuscript files do not meet the technical requirements of the journal, authors are sent detailed instructions about the changes required in the manuscript and asked to resubmit the files to the Editorial Board.

First Editorial Review (Section Editor)

After the files pass the initial screening, the review stage will be initiated by Executive/Associate Editor. Then the manuscript is assigned to a Section Editor.

The editor reviews the manuscript (Title, Abstract, and Conclusion only, not the whole manuscript) to confirm the suitability of the article for possible publication.

If not suitable, Section Editor returns the manuscript to Executive/Associate Editor along with editorial comments.

The editorial process gives the editors the authority to make rejection comments on any manuscript if it does not meet the publishing standards or is out of the scope of the journal.

If the manuscript is in the journal scope and proves standards for possible publication, Section Editor assigns reviewers (from the database) for peer-review process.

Peer Review (Reviewers & Section Editor)

The manuscript is assigned for external double-blind peer review, by Section Editor. The manuscript is usually sent to two expert peer reviewers.

In the process of double-blind peer review, the peer reviewer's identities are kept confidential and not revealed to the authors. In the same manner, the author's identities are also not revealed to the peer reviewers. This ensures a fair and unbiased review of every manuscript.

Reviewers will accept the review request within one week time. If not, Section editor will inform the Executive/Associate editors, or Try to contact reviewer other ways or assign another new reviewer.

After acceptance of the review requests by the reviewers, Section Editor will wait until the due date (3 to 4 weeks) to get feedback from reviewers. After the due date, Section Editor will send a soft reminder to the Reviewers to submit the review.

After submission of the two review reports, the second editorial process will begin.

Second Editorial Review (Section Editor)

After the peer reviewers return the manuscript with their comments, the Section Editor reviews the comments and recommends the suitability of the manuscript.

Based on the reviewers' comments, the first decision on acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection of the manuscript is recommended by the Section Editor.

If the opinions of the two reviewers are divided then the manuscript will be sent (assigned) to the 3^rd reviewer by Section Editor.

The recommendation on acceptance or rejection of the manuscript is sent to Executive/Associate Editors based on the comments of the 2 similar review reports.

Manuscript Revision (Author, Section Editor, Executive/Associate Editors)

The authors are promptly informed by the Executive/Associate Editor if any minor/major corrections are required. The editor's and reviewers’ comments are also sent to the authors.

At this stage, based on the comments, the manuscript may need changes to the text, figures, tables, etc. After making necessary corrections, Authors will send "Respond to the reviewer comments" form, updated manuscript, and other relevant documents to the Section Editor.

Third Editorial Review (Section Editor & Executive/Associate Editors)

Section Editor will check all the updates/corrections. If required, Section Editor will discuss with the reviewers.

If all are satisfactory, then Section Editor will send acceptance/rejection recommendation to Executive/Associate Editor.

The final decision about publication of the manuscript is taken only by the Executive Editor. The authors are promptly informed about the decision.

Page Proof & Copy Editing (Copy Editor, Proofreader, & Executive/Associate Editor)

After acceptance of the manuscript, Copy Editing section will be activated.

A copy editor will be assigned by Executive/Associate Editors.

Copy Editor will do an initial check of the manuscript and will assign a proofreader/language editor. Any existing mistakes/typos on grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc., will be corrected by the Language Editor/proofreader.

Proofreader/Language editor will complete the task within 2 to three days and return to the Copy Editor through the online system.

Copy Editor will check the manuscript and will adjust the style of the manuscript according to the Journal Template.

A PDF proof copy will be sent to the author for checking and asking the author to indicate any possible updates or typos corrections in a separate text document. At this stage, it will not possible (not recommended) to make any significant/major changes to the manuscript or add or delete figures. The proof needs to be returned to the Editorial Board within 2 to 3 days (48 to 72 hours).

After the corrected proof is received, the final version of the manuscript is prepared for publication by the Copy Editor.

Manuscript Publication (Production/Executive/Associate Editor)

After preparing the manuscript, Executive/Associate Editor will initiate Production stage and a Production Editor will be assigned.

Production Editor will prepare HTML, PDF, XML, and other formats of the manuscript. A Galley version of the manuscript will be uploaded in the system and the manuscript will be scheduled for publication by assigning an issue, page numbers, and dates.

All manuscripts are published mainly in PDF format, other formats may be used if decided by the editorial board.