Peer Review Policy

The Journal of Applied Research in Plant Sciences (JOARPS) follows a rigorous, transparent, and ethical peer-review process to ensure the publication of high-quality, original research. As an open-access journal, JOARPS is committed to timely, unbiased, and confidential manuscript evaluation in line with international best practices, including COPE Guidelines (COPE Guidelines).

Step-by-Step Review Process

  1. Manuscript Submission
  • Authors submit manuscripts via the online system, ensuring compliance with the journal’s formatting and ethical guidelines.
  1. Initial Editorial Screening

The editorial team evaluates the manuscript for:

✔Scope: Relevance to the journal’s aims and scope.

✔Originality: Novel contribution to the field.

✔Formatting & Compliance: Adherence to submission guidelines.

✔Plagiarism Screening: Checked using Turnitin or equivalent software.

Manuscripts failing this stage may be returned to authors for revision or desk-rejected.

  1. Double-Blind Peer Review
  • Manuscripts passing initial screening are assigned to at least two independent experts.
  • Reviewers remain anonymous to authors, and vice versa.
  • Reviewers assess:

✔Scientific rigor (methodology, data analysis, interpretation).

✔Novelty & impact of findings.

✔Clarity, coherence, and structure.

✔Ethical compliance & citation integrity.

  • Reviewers provide detailed, constructive feedbackand recommend: Accept, Minor/Major Revision, or Reject.
  1. Editorial Decision
  • The Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with Associate Editors, evaluates reviewer reports and makes a decision:
  • Accept: Meets all quality and ethical standards.
  • Minor/Major Revision: Requires author modifications before reconsideration.
  • Reject: Does not meet scientific or ethical standards.
  • The corresponding author receives reviewers' feedback along with the decision.
  1. Revision & Resubmission
  • Authors must revise and submit a detailed response addressing reviewer/editor comments.
  • Revised manuscripts may undergo further peer review, usually by the original reviewers.
  1. Final Decision & Publication
  • The Editor-in-Chief makes the final acceptance or rejection
  • Accepted manuscripts proceed to copyediting and publication.

Commitment to Ethical Review

✔Confidentiality: All manuscripts are handled with strict confidentiality.

✔Fair & Transparent Evaluation: Decisions are free from bias, based on academic merit.

✔Reviewer Integrity: Reviewers must disclose conflicts of interest and adhere to ethical standards.

✔Timely Review Process: The journal aims to complete peer review within 4-6 weeks.

JOARPS ensures compliance with international indexing requirements, including DOAJ, Scopus, and Web of Science, by upholding the highest standards of peer review integrity.