Article Workflow
How a manuscript moves through IJPR — from online submission and editorial screening to double-blind peer review and the Editor-in-Chief's final decision.
The Policy of Peer Review
The corresponding author submits the manuscript to the journal, usually via the online portal; occasionally the journal may accept submissions by email. The editorial office scrutinizes each manuscript's scope and format against IJPR's Author Guidelines, to confirm that it includes the necessary components and follows the recommended format. Every manuscript submitted for publication to IJPR is cross-checked for its similarity index using current-generation plagiarism software; manuscripts found to be plagiarized at this initial stage are rejected outright and not considered for publication.
The Editor-in-Chief (EIC) confirms whether the paper is appropriate for the journal and sufficiently original and of interest — if not, it may be rejected without further review. IJPR uses a double-blind review process, in which both reviewers and authors remain anonymous throughout. Peer review is processed entirely within IJPR's editorial management platform, where all reviewers are registered. Reviewers are chosen from the journal's reviewer list, either at random or, where necessary, according to their subject-matter expertise and interest.
Reviewers evaluate a manuscript's originality, methodology, contribution to the literature, presentation of results, support for its conclusions, and appropriate referencing of prior relevant studies. A reviewer may accept the manuscript, reject it, or request a minor or major revision to style or content. Two positive reviews are required for publication; where one reviewer's report is negative and the other positive, the manuscript is assigned to a third reviewer for an additional evaluation.
Where a revision is recommended, the author(s) are expected to make the proposed changes — taking the reviewers' specific feedback and suggestions into account — and resubmit the revised manuscript within one week. Revisions resubmitted after this one-week deadline are treated as a new submission, and the peer-review process restarts from the beginning. Reviewers may request more than one round of revision. Manuscripts that are not accepted for publication are not returned to their authors. To keep the process moving, referees are asked to complete their reviews within 15–20 days. Based on the reviewers' feedback and the Associate Editor's recommendation, the Editor-in-Chief makes a final decision on the manuscript's acceptability and communicates that decision to the authors, along with the reviewers' reports.
Authors submitting a paper to IJPR are bound by, and agree to, all the terms and conditions set out in this peer review policy and procedure.
Two positive reviewer reports are required before a manuscript can proceed to acceptance, and revisions are due back within one week of the request — after that window, the manuscript re-enters the process as a new submission.
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