Editorial Screening, Publication Ethics, and Peer Review

All manuscripts submitted to the journal are subject to an initial editorial assessment to determine their suitability for publication. At this stage, the editorial team evaluates each submission against the journal’s Focus and Scope, Author Guidelines, academic standards, and basic requirements for scholarly publication. Manuscripts are expected to demonstrate academic relevance, originality, methodological soundness, and a meaningful contribution to the field covered by the journal.

Language and Manuscript Quality

Manuscripts must be submitted in clear, accurate, and academically appropriate English. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts meet acceptable standards of grammar, terminology, readability, and overall language quality. Authors who are not native English speakers are encouraged to obtain professional language editing or proofreading prior to submission. Language correction, however, does not guarantee acceptance, as manuscripts must also satisfy the journal’s academic and editorial requirements.

Originality and Similarity Screening

The journal only considers manuscripts that constitute original scholarly work. A manuscript must not have been published previously and must not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal or publication. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions comply with accepted standards of research integrity, authorship, citation, and publication ethics.

All manuscripts may undergo similarity screening during the editorial process. Authors are strongly encouraged to conduct a preliminary similarity assessment before submission using recognized tools such as Turnitin or iThenticate. The editorial office may independently verify the originality of submitted manuscripts using appropriate similarity-detection software. Manuscripts identified as containing substantial unattributed overlap or other forms of plagiarism may be returned to the authors, subjected to further investigation, or rejected in accordance with the journal’s publication ethics procedures.

Peer Review Process

Manuscripts that pass the preliminary editorial assessment are forwarded for external peer review. Each manuscript is normally assessed by at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise in the subject area. Reviewers evaluate the manuscript with regard to its originality, scientific or scholarly contribution, theoretical foundation, methodological rigor, quality of analysis, interpretation of findings, and overall presentation.

The journal applies a double-blind peer-review system. Under this procedure, the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other throughout the review process to support an objective and impartial assessment. Where the editorial team determines that additional expertise is required, a third reviewer or other qualified expert may be invited to provide an additional evaluation.

Reviewers are expected to provide evidence-based, constructive, and professional recommendations. Their comments should assist authors in strengthening the scholarly quality, clarity, validity, and contribution of the manuscript.

Editorial Decision

Following the completion of peer review, the assigned editor evaluates the manuscript together with the reviewers’ reports and recommendations. Editorial decisions may include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, resubmission for further evaluation, or rejection.

The final decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief or the designated Handling Editor, with involvement of the Editorial Board when necessary. In reaching a decision, the editorial team considers the reviewers’ evaluations alongside the manuscript’s originality, academic quality, methodological appropriateness, relevance to the journal’s scope, ethical compliance, and overall contribution to the field. Reviewer recommendations are an important component of the decision-making process but are not, in isolation, determinative of the final outcome.

Publication Scheduling

Manuscripts that receive final acceptance proceed to the editorial production stage. The editorial team determines the issue in which an accepted article will appear based on its readiness for publication, production requirements, publication schedule, and, where applicable, the thematic composition of a particular issue.

The sequence of publication is determined by editorial and production considerations and does not depend solely on the date of initial submission, the authors’ institutional affiliation, or their geographical location. The journal reserves the right to organize accepted articles according to its established publication schedule and editorial policies.