Peer Review Policy

P-ISSN: 3051-3790 E-ISSN: 3051-3804
Peer-Review Process Overview

The International Journal of Recent Innovations (IJRI) follows a double-blind peer-review process to maintain academic quality, originality, research integrity, and impartial scholarly evaluation.

Under the double-blind peer-review model, the identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers are not disclosed to the authors. This process is intended to support objective assessment and reduce the possibility of bias during manuscript evaluation.

Peer review does not guarantee publication. Final editorial decisions are based on reviewer recommendations, author revisions, compliance with journal policies, research integrity, and the overall scholarly quality and suitability of the manuscript.

Initial Editorial Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment before external peer review. The screening process considers:

1 Relevance to the aims and scope of IJRI.
2 Originality and scholarly relevance.
3 Compliance with manuscript formatting and submission requirements.
4 Appropriateness of the research design and presentation.
5 Adherence to recognized ethical requirements.
6 Plagiarism screening and text-similarity assessment.
7 Reference and citation consistency.
8 Ethics approval, informed consent, data statements, and related documentation where applicable.
9 Compliance with journal policies concerning authorship, funding, conflicts of interest, and use of artificial intelligence where applicable.

A manuscript may be declined during initial screening if it falls outside the journal's scope, does not meet minimum scholarly standards, contains serious methodological or ethical deficiencies, or fails to comply with essential submission requirements.

Double-Blind Review and Anonymization

Authors are required to remove identifying information from the manuscript version submitted for peer review. Identifying information may include:

Author names
Institutional affiliations
Email addresses
ORCID iDs
Direct Acknowledgments
Identifying Info

The editorial office may request a corrected anonymized manuscript if identifying information is detected before external review. Although complete anonymity cannot always be guaranteed in highly specialized research areas, IJRI does not intentionally disclose author identities to reviewers during the double-blind peer-review process.

Reviewer Selection Criteria

Manuscripts that successfully complete initial screening are assigned to reviewers according to:

• Relevant subject expertise & qualifications.
• Research experience & methodology familiarity.
• Independent assessment ability & no competing interests.

Reviewers should decline an invitation if they:

Lack sufficient expertise • Cannot meet timeframe • Have personal/financial interests • Have recent close collaboration • Believe independence is compromised.
Number of Reviewers

Research manuscripts are normally evaluated by at least two independent reviewers.

Where reviewer recommendations differ substantially, the editor may:

• Request clarification from reviewers.
• Invite an additional independent reviewer.
• Obtain specialist methodological/statistical advice.
• Request further author revisions or make final determination.

Reviewer recommendations assist the editor but do not automatically determine the final decision.

Detailed Review Criteria

Reviewers evaluate submitted manuscripts across relevant academic and ethical criteria, including:

Originality & Novelty
Relevance & Significance
Methodological Rigor
Data & Analytical Quality
Research Integrity
Literature & Referencing
Results & Interpretation
Scope Relevance
Clarity & Readability
Tables, Figures & Supporting Data
Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to provide objective, evidence-based, respectful, and constructive assessments. Reviewers should:

• Evaluate manuscripts fairly and independently.
• Identify significant methodological/analytical concerns.
• Highlight unsupported interpretations or conclusions.
• Draw attention to relevant ethical concerns.
• Identify citation or reference problems.
• Declare competing interests & maintain confidentiality.

Reviewers must not use unpublished manuscript information for personal, academic, professional, financial, or competitive advantage.

Editorial Decisions

After peer review, authors normally receive one of the following editorial decisions:

Accept
Minor Revision
Major Revision
Reject

Editorial decisions are communicated together with relevant reviewer comments where appropriate. A request for revision does not guarantee eventual acceptance.

Revised Manuscripts

Authors receiving a revision decision should submit:

• A revised manuscript.
• Point-by-point response to reviewer/editor comments.
• Explanation of significant amendments.
• Reasoned response if recommendation not adopted.

Depending on the extent of the revisions, the manuscript may be reassessed by the editor, returned to the original reviewers, or evaluated by additional reviewers. Multiple rounds of review may be conducted where necessary.

Confidentiality and Generative AI

Submitted manuscripts and associated materials are treated as confidential scholarly documents. Reviewers and editors must not:

• Share unpublished manuscripts with unauthorized persons.
• Publicly distribute confidential manuscript content.
• Use unpublished research findings for advantage.
• Upload text/data/reports to public AI platforms.

Generative AI output must not replace independent human scholarly judgment.

Reviewers remain responsible for the accuracy, integrity, confidentiality, and content of the reviews they submit.

Conflicts of Interest Policy

Reviewers, editors, and relevant editorial personnel must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could reasonably affect impartiality. Relevant conflicts may include:

• Financial, personal, institutional, or academic competition.
• Recent research collaborations or supervisory relationships.
• Professional disputes or other compromising circumstances.

Conflicted reviewers or editors must withdraw from the evaluation of the affected manuscript.

Manuscripts submitted by editors or editorial-board members are handled through independent editorial channels involving appropriately qualified and non-conflicted editors and reviewers.

Peer-Review Integrity and Misconduct

Any attempt to manipulate, falsify, or compromise the peer-review process is treated as serious publication misconduct. Prohibited practices include fake identities, fabricated reports, impersonation, record manipulation, or coercive citation requests.

Confirmed cases may result in:

• Manuscript rejection or decision withdrawal.
• Record correction or retraction notice.
• Notification of relevant institutions/authorities.

Editorial action will depend on the nature of the concern, available evidence, and applicable publication-ethics procedures.

Appeals and Decision Independence

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that a significant factual misunderstanding, procedural error, or demonstrable assessment problem has occurred.

Appeals should provide clear scholarly or procedural grounds.

Where appropriate, an appeal may be considered by an editor who was not directly responsible for the original decision.

Submission of an appeal does not guarantee reversal of the editorial decision.

Editorial decisions are based on academic merit, research integrity, reviewer evaluation, and journal suitability.

Article-processing charges, sponsorship, advertising, institutional relationships, or other commercial considerations do not determine whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected.

Review Timeline Framework
Initial Editorial Screening Approximately 7–10 days from the date of submission.
External Peer Review Approximately 2–6 weeks, depending on subject specialization, manuscript complexity, and reviewer availability.
Author Revision The time provided depends on whether minor or major revision is required.
Further Review and Final Decision Timing depends on the extent of the revisions and whether additional external assessment is necessary.

These timelines are indicative estimates rather than guaranteed processing periods. The quality, independence, and completeness of scholarly evaluation take precedence over publication speed.

IJRI does not guarantee acceptance or publication within a fixed number of days.

Editorial decisions should be based on completion of the required scholarly evaluation rather than on publication speed.

Reviewer Recommendations and Citation Requests

Reviewers may recommend relevant literature when it is genuinely necessary to strengthen the scholarly context, methodology, analysis, or interpretation of a manuscript.

Reviewers must not require authors to add citations primarily for the purpose of increasing citations to:

• Reviewer's own publications • Particular author/journal • Publisher/Institution • Unrelated literature

Editors may remove or disregard inappropriate citation requests.

Editorial Records and Review Documentation

IJRI maintains appropriate and accurate editorial records relating to manuscript assessment and peer review. Records may include:

• Submission information
• Screening records
• Reviewer invitations
• Reviewer responses
• Reviewer reports
• Editorial decisions
• Revised manuscripts
• Author responses
• Competing interest data

Editorial records must not be fabricated, manipulated, or altered for the purpose of misrepresenting the peer-review process.

COPE and Publication-Ethics Standards

The peer-review policies of the International Journal of Recent Innovations (IJRI) are informed by recognized principles of responsible scholarly publishing, including relevant guidance contained within the COPE Core Practices and other established publication-ethics frameworks.

Reference to COPE guidance does not constitute a claim of COPE membership unless such membership has been formally obtained and publicly verified.

IJRI seeks to maintain fairness, confidentiality, accountability, transparency, editorial independence, and research integrity throughout the manuscript evaluation and publication process.

Editorial Responsibility

Reviewer recommendations are advisory and assist the responsible editor in making an informed publication decision.

The editor is responsible for ensuring that the editorial and peer-review process is conducted fairly, independently, and in accordance with the journal's policies.

Authors remain responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, data, analyses, interpretations, citations, disclosures, and conclusions presented in their work.

Where significant concerns are identified before or after publication, IJRI may take appropriate editorial action in accordance with its publication-ethics and post-publication policies.

Continuous Review of Peer-Review Procedures

IJRI periodically reviews its peer-review procedures in response to developments in scholarly publishing, publication ethics, research integrity, technology, and editorial best practices.

Substantive policy changes are implemented transparently and should not be used to retrospectively misrepresent the editorial procedures applied to previously published manuscripts.