Peer Review Process

The International Journal Linguistics of Sumatra and Malay (IJLSM) adheres to a rigorous peer review system designed to ensure academic excellence, impartiality, and transparency. Our process consists of multiple stages, combining editorial screening, plagiarism checks, and double-blind peer review to maintain the highest standards of scholarly integrity.

  1. Editorial Review & Plagiarism Screening
  • All submissions undergo an initial editorial assessment by the Editor-in-Chief or Section Editors to evaluate:
    • Relevance to the journal’s scope.
    • Compliance with submission guidelines.
    • Basic academic quality and originality.
  • Manuscripts that pass this stage are screened for plagiarism using Turnitin or similar software. Any work with unacceptable similarity (>20%) or unoriginal content is rejected immediately.
  1. Double-Blind Peer Review

IJLSM employs a double-blind review system to guarantee impartiality:

  • Anonymity: Both the authors’ and reviewers’ identities are concealed throughout the process.
  • Reviewer Selection: Editors assign manuscripts to at least two independent experts in the relevant field.
  • Evaluation Criteria: Reviewers assess:
    • Originality and scholarly contribution.
    • Methodological rigor.
    • Clarity of argument and structure.
    • Adherence to ethical guidelines.
  • Decision: Based on reviewers’ feedback, the editorial team makes one of these decisions:
    • Accept (with/without minor revisions).
    • Revise & Resubmit (major revisions required).
    • Reject (with constructive feedback).
  1. Avoiding Conflicts of Interest & Self-Publication

IJLSM is committed to fairness and transparency, even when editorial members submit their own work:

  • Editorial Self-Authorship Policy:
    • If an editor or editorial board member submits a manuscript, they are excluded from handling the review process.
    • The manuscript is assigned to an independent editor or guest editor, ensuring no bias in evaluation.
    • The peer review is conducted by external reviewers without ties to the author.
  • Conflict of Interest (COI) Disclosure:
    • Reviewers and editors must declare any personal, financial, or professional relationships with authors that could influence their judgment.
    • Cases with potential COI are reassigned to neutral parties.
  1. Post-Review Process
  • Author Revisions: Authors receive detailed feedback and must address all critiques before resubmission.
  • Final Approval: The Editor-in-Chief makes the final publication decision after verifying revisions.
  • Transparency: Published articles include information on dates of submission, review, and acceptance.

Commitment to Ethical Standards

IJLSM follows COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines to prevent:

  • Self-plagiarism (reuse of authors’ prior work without citation).
  • Favoritism in editorial decisions.
  • Unacknowledged conflicts of interest.

Through this structured process, IJLSM ensures that every published article—regardless of author affiliation—meets the same high standards of academic quality and ethical rigor.