Manuscript Status and Editorial Workflow

Policy Statement

The International Journal of Research on Multidisciplinary Studies (IJROMS) is committed to maintaining a transparent, systematic, fair, and academically rigorous editorial process. All submitted manuscripts undergo a structured editorial workflow designed to ensure scholarly quality, relevance to the journal's aims and scope, ethical compliance, and adherence to established publication standards.

This policy outlines the stages of manuscript processing, from initial submission to final publication, and provides authors with an understanding of the editorial procedures, possible manuscript statuses, and decisions that may arise throughout the publication process.

IJROMS upholds the principles of editorial independence, confidentiality, impartiality, research integrity, and responsible scholarly publishing throughout all stages of manuscript evaluation.

1. Manuscript Submission

Authors must submit their manuscripts through the journal's official online submission system. Submissions must comply with the journal's author guidelines, manuscript preparation requirements, and submission checklist.

Upon successful submission, the corresponding author receives an acknowledgment confirming that the manuscript has been received by the editorial office.

Receipt of a manuscript does not constitute acceptance or guarantee its publication.

2. Initial Editorial Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment to determine whether they satisfy the journal's basic submission requirements.

The screening process may include:

• Verification of manuscript completeness and compliance with submission guidelines.

• Assessment of relevance to the journal's aims and scope.

• Examination of the manuscript's general scholarly quality and originality.

• Preliminary assessment of ethical considerations and research integrity.

• Verification of authorship information and required declarations.

• Preliminary similarity assessment, where applicable.

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's requirements may be returned to authors for necessary corrections or declined without external peer review.

Only manuscripts that successfully pass the initial screening proceed to the peer-review stage.

3. Peer Review Process

IJROMS employs a double-blind peer-review system to promote impartiality, objectivity, and scholarly rigor. Author and reviewer identities are concealed from one another during the review process, subject to the journal's established procedures.

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial screening are assigned to qualified reviewers whose academic backgrounds and research expertise are relevant to the subject matter of the submission.

Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on relevant scholarly considerations, including:

• Originality and contribution to existing knowledge.

• Relevance and significance of the research.

• Theoretical and conceptual foundations.

• Appropriateness of research design and methodology.

• Accuracy and adequacy of data analysis and interpretation.

• Clarity, organization, and academic presentation.

• Validity of conclusions and implications.

• Compliance with applicable research ethics requirements.

The number of reviewers and additional evaluation procedures shall be determined by the editorial office in accordance with the journal's peer-review policy.

4. Editorial Evaluation and Decision

Following the completion of the peer-review process, the assigned editor evaluates the reviewers' reports and determines the appropriate editorial recommendation.

The possible editorial decisions include:

a. Accept

The manuscript is considered suitable for publication without further substantive revisions, subject to final editorial and production requirements.

b. Accept with Minor Revisions

The manuscript is considered potentially publishable, provided that the authors address minor concerns identified by the reviewers or editor.

c. Major Revisions Required

The manuscript requires substantial improvements before it can be considered for publication. Authors must address the reviewers' comments and submit a revised manuscript for further evaluation.

d. Resubmission for Further Review

The manuscript requires significant revision and may undergo another round of external peer review before an editorial decision is reached.

e. Reject

The manuscript is not considered suitable for publication because of substantial concerns relating to scholarly quality, methodological rigor, originality, relevance, ethical compliance, or other legitimate editorial considerations.

Editorial decisions are communicated to the corresponding author through the journal's official communication channels.

5. Manuscript Revision and Re-evaluation

Authors receiving a revision decision must submit the revised manuscript within the period specified in the editorial decision letter.

A revised submission should include:

• A revised manuscript addressing the editorial and reviewer comments.

• A point-by-point response explaining how each comment was addressed.

• Appropriate explanations for comments that authors do not adopt, supported by scholarly justification.

Revised manuscripts may undergo editorial reassessment or another round of peer review, depending on the extent of the revisions required.

Submission of a revised manuscript does not automatically guarantee acceptance.

6. Final Acceptance and Publication Preparation

Manuscripts that successfully satisfy the editorial and peer-review requirements may receive a formal acceptance decision.

Following acceptance, the manuscript proceeds to the publication preparation stage, which may include:

• Final editorial assessment and proofreading.

• Language and technical editing, where necessary.

• Manuscript formatting and typesetting.

• Verification of author names, affiliations, and article metadata.

• Reference and citation verification.

• DOI assignment or registration, where applicable.

• Preparation of the final publication files.

Authors may be requested to review the final proofs and identify typographical or production-related errors before publication.

Only manuscripts that have completed the applicable publication requirements will proceed to publication.

7. Publication and Online Availability

Upon completion of the production process, accepted manuscripts are published in the designated journal issue or made available online in accordance with the journal's publication arrangements.

Published articles are assigned their corresponding bibliographic information, including volume, issue, publication date, page numbers or article identifiers, and DOI, where applicable.

Publication on the journal's official website constitutes the final stage of the manuscript editorial workflow.

8. Manuscript Status Definitions

Authors may encounter the following manuscript statuses during the editorial process:

Manuscript Status	Description
Submitted	The manuscript has been successfully submitted through the online journal system.
Submission Received	The editorial office has acknowledged receipt of the manuscript.
Initial Screening	The manuscript is undergoing preliminary editorial assessment.
Revisions Required – Initial Screening	The manuscript requires corrections before it can proceed to peer review.
Under Review	The manuscript is undergoing external peer review.
Reviewer Assignment	The editorial office is identifying and inviting appropriate reviewers.
Reviews Completed	The required reviewer reports have been received and are ready for editorial evaluation.
Editorial Evaluation	The editor is assessing the manuscript and available reviewer recommendations.
Revision Required	The authors are requested to revise the manuscript in response to editorial or reviewer comments.
Revised Manuscript Submitted	The authors have submitted the requested revisions.
Re-evaluation	The revised manuscript is undergoing further editorial assessment or peer review.
Accepted	The manuscript has received a formal acceptance decision.
Production	The accepted manuscript is undergoing formatting, typesetting, and publication preparation.
Proofreading	The final article proof is being checked for accuracy and production-related corrections.
Scheduled for Publication	The manuscript has completed the required production procedures and is awaiting publication in an assigned issue.
Published	The article has been officially published and made available online.
Declined / Rejected	The manuscript has not been accepted for publication.
Withdrawn	The manuscript has been formally withdrawn from consideration in accordance with journal procedures.

The specific status labels displayed in the online submission system may vary depending on the journal's editorial management configuration. Authors should refer to official editorial correspondence for clarification of their manuscript's current status.

9. Editorial Processing Time

IJROMS endeavors to process manuscripts efficiently while maintaining the quality and integrity of its editorial and peer-review procedures.

The duration of each editorial stage may vary depending on several factors, including:

• Completeness and quality of the submitted manuscript.

• Availability and responsiveness of qualified reviewers.

• Complexity and subject matter of the research.

• Number and extent of revisions required.

• Timeliness of author responses.

• Editorial workload and production requirements.

The journal does not guarantee a fixed decision or publication timeline. However, the editorial office endeavors to provide timely updates and communicate significant developments to corresponding authors.

10. Manuscript Withdrawal

Authors who wish to withdraw their manuscripts must submit a formal written request to the editorial office through the journal's official communication channels.

Withdrawal requests must be properly acknowledged and processed by the editorial office. Authors must not submit the same manuscript to another journal while it remains under active consideration by IJROMS.

Once a manuscript has been formally withdrawn, the editorial office will update its submission records accordingly.

11. Editorial Independence and Communication

All editorial decisions are made independently based on scholarly merit, relevance, research integrity, and compliance with the journal's policies.

The journal does not guarantee acceptance based on payment of publication fees, institutional affiliation, professional position, or personal relationships.

Authors may communicate with the editorial office regarding their manuscript status, submission concerns, or requests for clarification. All inquiries must be conducted professionally and through the journal's designated communication channels.

12. Policy Implementation

This policy applies to all manuscripts submitted to the International Journal of Research on Multidisciplinary Studies (IJROMS), regardless of discipline, research design, or manuscript category.

The journal reserves the right to update its editorial procedures and workflow requirements when necessary to strengthen transparency, efficiency, publication quality, and compliance with recognized standards of scholarly publishing.

All editorial workflow procedures shall be implemented consistently, fairly, and in accordance with the journal's publication ethics and peer-review policies.