Review Process

This journal uses a rigorous double-blind peer review system to ensure the quality, integrity, and scholarly value of all published manuscripts. The following steps outline the journal’s official review process.

  1. Submission and Initial Screening
  • Once a manuscript is submitted through the OJS portal:
  • The Editor-in-Chief conducts an initial assessment to determine suitability based on: alignment with the journal’s aims and scope; originality and scholarly relevance; adherence to formatting and ethical requirements
  • Manuscripts that fail the initial criteria may be declined without external review.
  1. Plagiarism and Similarity Check

All submissions undergo plagiarism screening using reputable similarity-detection tools.

  • Manuscripts with excessive similarity or unethical overlap are rejected.
  • Minor citation-related issues may be returned for correction.
  1. Anonymization

The editorial office prepares the manuscript for double-blind review by:

  • Removing author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, and identifiers
  • Ensuring file metadata does not reveal authorship
  • Authors do not need to anonymize the file prior to submission.
  1. Assignment to Reviewers

The Editor-in-Chief assigns the manuscript to at least two qualified reviewers based on:

  • subject-area expertise
  • publication record
  • absence of conflicts of interest
  • Reviewers evaluate the manuscript independently and confidentially.
  1. Double-Blind Peer Review
  • Under the double-blind system: Reviewers do not know the identity of the authors and authors do not know the identity of reviewers.
  • Reviewers assess the manuscript based on: originality and contribution to the field; theoretical and methodological rigor; clarity of presentation ethical compliance; relevance to contemporary educational issues; They provide constructive comments and a recommendation.
  1. Editorial Decision

After receiving both reviewer reports, the Editor-in-Chief issues a decision:

  • Accept
  • Minor Revision
  • Major Revision
  • Resubmit for Review
  • Reject

A consolidated decision letter is sent to the corresponding author, together with anonymous reviewer feedback.

  1. Revision and Resubmission

For manuscripts requiring revisions:

  • Authors must address all reviewer comments carefully.
  • A point-by-point response document must accompany the revised manuscript.
  • Revised manuscripts may be returned to reviewers for another round of evaluation when needed.
  1. Final Acceptance

Once revisions meet all scholarly and ethical standards:

  • The Editor-in-Chief issues a final acceptance decision.
  • The manuscript proceeds to copyediting, formatting, proofreading, and production.
  1. Publication

Accepted papers are published online under the journal’s open-access policy and assigned to the appropriate issue. All articles receive:

  • DOI registration
  • metadata indexing
  • permanent archiving on the journal website
  1. Post-Publication Oversight

IJECE follows COPE standards for handling ethical concerns discovered after publication. This may include:

  • corrections
  • expressions of concern
  • retractions, if warranted
  • All actions are transparent and permanently documented.

Chief Editor Guidelines

The Chief Editor shall oversee the full editorial workflow from submission to publication. The following steps outline the standard procedures to ensure a fair, transparent, and efficient review process.

1. Submission and System Notification

When an author submits a manuscript through the journal system, an automatic acknowledgment email will be generated and sent to the corresponding author. This confirms that the manuscript has been received and queued for initial evaluation.

2. Preliminary Review

The Chief Editor will conduct an initial assessment of the manuscript to ensure compliance with journal scope, formatting requirements, ethical standards, and basic scholarly quality.

  • Manuscripts that do not meet the minimum criteria will be rejected at this stage.
  • The Chief Editor will send an email informing the author of the decision and may provide brief reasons for the rejection.
  • Manuscripts that meet the criteria will be advanced to the next stage.

3. Preparation for Blind Review

Before forwarding the manuscript to reviewers, the Chief Editor must anonymize the document by removing any author-identifying information. A standardized review form (downloadable by reviewers) shall be attached.

4. Reviewer Assignment

The anonymized manuscript and review form will be sent to qualified peer reviewers. The reviewers will evaluate the manuscript based on scholarly merit, methodological soundness, originality, and clarity.

5. Receipt of Reviewer Reports

Upon completing the evaluation, the reviewers will return the reviewed manuscript and the filled-out review form to the Chief Editor. The Chief Editor must:

  • Verify completeness of the review documents.
  • Securely archive all reviewer feedback for internal record-keeping and future reference, especially if the author requests clarifications.

6. Editorial Decision and Encoding of Comments

The Chief Editor will encode all reviewer comments, recommendations, and the final assessment into the journal’s editorial dashboard. Based on the reviewers’ evaluation, the Chief Editor will determine whether the manuscript is:

  • Accepted
  • Accepted with minor revisions
  • Returned for major revisions
  • Rejected

The Chief Editor will notify the author of the decision through the system-generated email, ensuring that constructive reviewer feedback accompanies the decision.

7. Acceptance, Fees, and Copyright Agreement

For accepted manuscripts, the Chief Editor will:

  • Issue an acceptance email to the author.
  • Send the official invoice for the required publication fee.
  • Provide the downloadable Copyright Agreement Form.

The author will be instructed to submit:

  1. Proof of payment, and
  2. A signed copy of the Copyright Agreement.

8. Final Processing and Publication

Upon receiving the required documents, the manuscript will proceed to copyediting, layout, and final proofreading. After publication, the Chief Editor will send:

  • A formal congratulatory email, and
  • The official Certificate of Publication.

9. Record Keeping

All documents associated with each manuscript—including reviews, decisions, payment proofs, copyright forms, and correspondence—must be maintained for audit, transparency, and potential author inquiries.