Editorial Process (peer review)

Peer Review Process

Each submitted manuscript undergoes a rigorous double-blind peer review process to ensure academic quality and integrity. The review process follows these steps:

  1. Initial Screening (1 week):

    • The Editor-in-Chief reviews the manuscript for focus and scope relevance, adherence to the As-Salam Journal template, and formatting compliance.
    • If the manuscript does not meet the formatting guidelines, the author is given 1 week to make necessary adjustments.
    • The manuscript is then checked for plagiarism using iThenticate before proceeding to the peer review stage.

  2. Peer Review (1-4 weeks):

    • The manuscript is assigned to at least two independent reviewers in a double-blind review process (neither authors nor reviewers know each other’s identity).
    • Reviewers evaluate the manuscript based on originality, clarity, methodology, and contribution to the field.
    • The decision for publication is based on reviewers’ reports and recommendations.

  3. Editorial Decision:
    Based on the reviewers’ feedback, the Editor-in-Chief may decide:

    • Accept Submission: The manuscript is accepted without revisions.
    • Revisions Required: The manuscript is accepted with minor revisions.
    • Resubmit for Review: The manuscript requires major revisions and must undergo another review cycle.
    • Decline Submission: The manuscript is rejected.

  4. Revision and Finalization:

    • Authors must submit revisions within 10 days. Late revisions will be considered a new submission.
    • Once the final version is approved, the manuscript proceeds to copyediting and publication.

Publication Timeline

The entire process, from submission to publication, takes approximately 8 weeks.

Screening for Plagiarism
Editors will utilize Ithenticate's web-based software to assess the similarity index with a quality criterion of 20% to ensure that submitted and published papers are free of plagiarism. This procedure is followed when an author submits an article for the first time (the submission) and again later on (the revision or after the article has been altered in response to reviewer feedback).

The article can move on to the following step if it complies with the requirements (review or publish). If not, the author will be contacted to make the necessary changes.

The editor will check with Google Scholar and other resources in addition to Ithenticate. This stage is to ensure that manuscripts are not plagiarized or have already been submitted to or published in other journals.