Journal Article Review and Acceptance Process
Iranian Studies Quarterly is a journal founded on the principles of peer review and open access, in line with international publishing standards. Accordingly, the journal employs a double-blind peer review process. This means that neither the author learns the identity of the reviewers, nor do the reviewers learn the identity of the author(s). This ensures that reviews are conducted purely on scientific merit, free from any prejudice or bias.
Manuscripts submitted via the journal's system are sent for peer review if they align with the journal's specialized scope and meet the basic standards set by the journal. If finally approved by the Editor-in-Chief, they proceed to the publication stage.
Iranian Studies Quarterly is committed to the highest standards of peer review. The journal respects publication ethics, adheres to the rules, policies, and flowcharts of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and follows the executive bylaw for preventing and confronting fraud in scholarly works. It complies with the aforementioned committee's guidelines when dealing with potential misconduct and retraction cases.
All received manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process to ensure the quality of the methodology and research argumentation.
Process Overview:
After authors submit their manuscript via the journal's management system, it is first reviewed and studied by the journal office, the journal expert, and the Editor-in-Chief (within a maximum of one week). Therefore, authors are kindly requested to carefully study the Author Guidelines and Instructions and prepare their manuscript accordingly in Persian before submission.
Following the initial assessment by the Managing Editor and upon the Editor-in-Chief's preliminary approval, the manuscript is sent to respected reviewers for evaluation.
The detailed review and acceptance process for Iranian Studies Quarterly is as follows:
Manuscript Receipt: Manuscript is received via the journal website and an acknowledgment of receipt is sent.
Submission to Editorial Board/Section Editor: Manuscript is forwarded to members of the Editorial Board or the relevant Section Editor.
Editorial Board Review: The manuscript is reviewed in an Editorial Board meeting or online review, with possible outcomes:
a. Rejection in Editorial Board Meeting: Due to not being a current priority for the journal.
b. Non-Alignment: With the journal's content and scope.
c. Low Quality, etc. The corresponding reasons are communicated to the author.
Initial Revisions (Pre-Review): If deemed necessary, initial revisions requested by the Editorial Board are provided to the authors. The manuscript proceeds to peer review only after these revisions are made and approved.
Dispatch to Reviewers: The manuscript is sent to a minimum of 2 to 3 reviewers.
Receipt of Review Results: Reviews fall into three categories:
a. Negative (Reject)
b. Positive (Accept)
c. Revisions Required (Minor/Major)
Editorial Decision Based on Reviews: Review results are referred to the Editorial Board for evaluation and final decision, leading to three possible outcomes:
a. Article Rejection: Due to negative reviews (e.g., two 'Reject' recommendations).
b. Send to a Third Reviewer: In case of split decisions (e.g., one 'Reject' and one 'Revisions Required').
c. Send to Author for Revisions: If revisions are required (e.g., two 'Revisions Required' recommendations).
Receipt of Revisions from Authors: The revised manuscript is received from the authors.
Re-Submission to Reviewers (if applicable): The authors' revised version is sent back to the original reviewers (or adjudicating reviewers) for comparison/evaluation, which can yield three results:
a. Revisions Rejected
b. Accepted
c. Further Revisions Required
This leads to the following actions:
a. Further revisions are returned to the authors for implementation.
b. If all revisions are satisfactorily addressed, Acceptance is issued.
c. The article is rejected if revisions are not implemented in line with the reviewers'/adjudicator's feedback.
The flowchart below illustrates the manuscript submission process to Iranian Studies Quarterly:
