Peer Review Process
The submitted manuscripts will undergo an initial review by the editors to determine whether they adhere to the submission guidelines and requirements of Bohouth Tarbaweya: International Journal of Educational Research. Manuscripts that align with the journal's style and policies will then proceed to the peer-review process. This journal follows a double-blind peer-review system, involving multiple expert reviewers in the relevant field of education. The final decision regarding the acceptance of a manuscript rests solely with the editors, based on the feedback from the reviewers. It is important to note that both plagiarism and self-plagiarism are prohibited. Bohouth Tarbaweya: International Journal of Educational Research employs a plagiarism checker (Turnitin) to assess articles for any instances of plagiarism, including overlapping or similar text. Authors are expected to use proper quotations and citations as needed in their submissions.
The peer review process generally consists of nine key stages, although the specifics may differ slightly from one journal to another. Delve into the details of these stages below.
1. Paper Submission: The author, either corresponding or submitting, must use the journal's online system to submit the paper.
2. Editorial Office Evaluation: A review is conducted to ensure that the paper adheres to the Author Guidelines regarding its structure and formatting. The paper's quality is not assessed at this stage.
3. Assessment by the Editor-in-Chief (EiC): The EiC examines whether the paper is a suitable fit for the journal, assessing its originality and interest. If not, the paper may be rejected without further review.
4. Reviewer Invitations: The handling editor invites two individuals believed to be appropriate reviewers, with additional invitations sent as responses are received.
5. Response to Invitations: Potential reviewers assess the invitation in light of their expertise, potential conflicts of interest, and availability. They then accept or decline, sometimes suggesting alternative reviewers if they decline.
6. Review Process: The reviewer dedicates time to multiple readings of the paper. The initial reading forms an initial impression, and if significant issues are identified, the paper may be rejected at this stage. Otherwise, further readings are conducted, accompanied by note-taking to compile a detailed point-by-point review. The review, along with a recommendation of manuscript acceptance, revision, or rejection, is submitted to the journal.
7. Journal Evaluation of Reviews: The handling editor considers all received reviews before making an overall decision. In cases of significant divergence in reviews, an additional reviewer may be invited for an extra opinion.
8. Communication of Decision: The editor communicates the decision to the author via email, including relevant reviewer comments. Whether the comments are anonymous depends on the journal's peer review policy.
9. Next Steps: If accepted, the paper proceeds to production. In cases of rejection or requests for major or minor revisions, the handling editor includes constructive feedback from reviewers to assist the author in improving the paper. Reviewers are informed of the review outcome, and if revisions are requested, they may receive a revised version for further assessment, unless they decline further participation. For minor changes, the handling editor may conduct the follow-up review.
Step number 6 involves the editor or editorial board reviewing the input from peer reviewers and making a determination. The subsequent options represent the most frequently encountered decisions:
1. Acceptance without changes: The journal will publish the paper in its original form.
2. Acceptance with minor revisions: The journal will publish the paper but requests the author to make small corrections within a specified timeframe.
3. Acceptance with major revisions: The journal will publish the paper if the authors implement the changes recommended by the reviewers and/or editors within a specified timeframe.
4. Resubmission (conditional rejection): The journal is open to reconsidering the paper in a subsequent decision round after significant revisions are made by the authors.
5. Rejection (complete rejection): The journal will not publish the paper and will not reconsider it, even if major revisions are made by the authors.
