Quality Assurance Policy

Our journal is committed to maintaining rigorous quality assurance at every stage of manuscript handling?ensuring integrity of inputs, robustness of processes, and credibility of the final published product. We receive manuscripts across a wide spectrum of disciplines from both local and international authors. To uphold high editorial standards, we follow the measures outlined below:

Input Level

- Manuscripts are submitted via the Open Journal System (OJS).
- Each submission undergoes a plagiarism check using licensed Turnitin software.
  ? Acceptable threshold: ?18% similarity index.
  ? No single source should exceed 4% overlap.

- For AI content, see the ?Originality, Plagiarism and AI Policy? 
- Manuscripts failing to meet this requirement are rejected at initial screening.
- Once cleared, the editor allots a unique manuscript ID and assigns it to an associate or sub-editor for further processing.

Process Level

- Preliminary Editorial Check:
  ? Scope relevance, formatting compliance, and bibliography are reviewed.
  ? The cover page and author affiliations are removed to ensure double-blind peer review.

- Peer Review System:
  ? A double-blind peer review is conducted.
  ? Some manuscripts may also undergo internal editorial review prior to external peer review.
  ? Reviewers are selected from a pool of qualified experts.

- Timelines:
  ? Preliminary technical checks: ~2 weeks.
  ? Internal editorial review (if required): 2?4 weeks.
  ? External reviewers are given 2 weeks to submit their reports.
  ? If no response is received, reminders are sent (first after 2 weeks, final after 10 days). Non-responding reviewers are replaced.

- Reviewer Reports:
  ? At least two reviews are required before an editorial decision is made.
  ? Authors receive anonymized review feedback if revisions are requested.
  ? Authors are given maximum 2 weeks to resubmit revised manuscripts.

Product Level

- Revised manuscripts undergo technical, biostatistical, and bibliographic checks.
- The Technical Editor may return manuscripts for revision if they do not meet formatting or technical standards.
- Final Decision:
  ? Lies with the Editor-in-Chief/Editor.
  ? Decisions may override reviewer recommendations if conflicts of interest, ethical violations, or other concerns are identified.
- Communication:
  ? The editorial decision is conveyed to the corresponding author via email.
  ? Authors may appeal decisions, but the acceptance of an appeal rests with the Editor-in-Chief.