Manuscript Review Process

The peer review process can take anywhere between 4 to 6 months. The aim of the review process is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the article, in terms of originality, interest, up-to-datedness, coherence, and balanced argumentation. As such, all manuscripts submitted to IJLS go through a two-step double-blind peer review process.

Step 1-Internal Review (2-4 weeks)

Prior to the allocation of manuscripts to peers for external doubly-masked peer review, we read each manuscript; this is done so that we can decide if the manuscripts we receive:

1. fit within the scope of the journal;
2. are adequate in terms of their adherence to IJLS codes of conduct and author guidelines;
3. have solid conceptual frameworks reflected in their literature reviews;
4. show clarity of methodology;
5. are adequate in terms of their novelty and elaboration of findings;
6. have followed APA editorial style;
7. have been appropriately situated within the context of the international community of applied linguistics; and
8. have followed the research paper format expected from them.

In this phase, the editor(s) of the journal review(s) each manuscript to see if it meets the basic requirements for articles published in the journal (i.e., that it reports on original research or presents original content that links to previous research, theory, and/or teaching practices, and that it is of sufficient quality to merit external review). Technical checks will also be made to see if manuscripts follow IJLS Editorial Style, IJLS style sheet, American/British English Usage, and other IJLS standards (especially ethical ones). Manuscripts which do not meet these requirements are not sent out for further review, and their authors will be notified. The internal review may take anywhere between 2 to 4 weeks.

Following the internal review, authors are notified by e-mail as to whether their manuscript has been sent out for external review or not--and if not, why not.

Step 2-External Review (4 to 6 months)

Following the internal review, submissions which meet the basic requirements and the bottom-line standards set by IJLS are sent out for doubly-masked peer review (by 3 experts in the field) either from the journal's editorial panel or from our larger list of reviewers. On rare occasions, this second review step may take up to 1 year or longer. Following the external review, the authors are sent copies of the external reviewers' comments and are notified of the decision (accept as is, accept pending changes, revise and resubmit, or reject).

After External Review

After the external doubly-masked peer review of a manuscript, the corresponding author will receive an email in which she/he will be informed of the status of the manuscript.

What if revision is required?

In most cases, IJLS reviewers recommend that authors revise their manuscripts and send their revisions to IJLS for further processing. In such cases, authors may want to accept some of the comments and suggestions that have been made by the reviewers, and at the same time refute some others. It is strongly recommended that authors send in a 'rebuttal' note (in the form of a Microsoft Word file named 'Rebuttal.doc' or 'Rebuttal.docx') in which they respond to reviewers' comments and suggestions item by item. They should clearly show which comments and suggestions they accept, and which comments and suggestions they refute. Where a comment or suggestion is refuted, the author is expected to provide the reason why.

Important Notice

The electronic manuscript should be strictly anonymous; authors should not identify themselves in the electronic manuscript itself, or in the filename used for the manuscript.

Submission

Please see our Guidelines for Authors.

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