All submitted research papers undergo a review process to assess their thoroughness and ensure compliance with guidelines. Research papers that pass the preliminary evaluation stage are further reviewed by the editor-in-chief and the editorial board for consideration. The authors of these papers are typically notified of the preliminary review outcome within one month of receipt.
The double-blind peer review process usually takes about three months, depending on the reviewers’ availability. In exceptional cases, the reviewing process period may exceed this duration.
Based on the reviewers’ comments, authors may be required to make revisions on their research in accordance with the reviewers’ decision. The authors shall have a maximum of one month to make the required changes. If the revisions required are substantial, the authors may be granted an extended period of time, up to a maximum of one and a half months.
The author cannot resubmit the paper after it has been rejected.
Research papers that are derived and edited from a master’s or doctoral dissertation and that are re-written as publishable research paper will be considered for publication, provided that this fact is acknowledged upon submission.
The formatting of citations and the reference list in the paper should be written in accordance to the American Psychological Association (APA) Seventh Edition style, which can be accessed here .
You can also view a summary of the style and its models in both languages by clicking here .
If an author fails to meet the journal’s guidelines upon initial submission, the paper will be returned for revision as to comply with the publication requirements. If the revised paper is not compliant with the guidelines upon resubmission, it will be rejected.
Research papers should be between 6,000 and 10,000 words, including references in Arabic, English, and Romanized characters.
Authors are provided with an acceptance decision only after making sure that required amendments from the peer reviewers have been met. Papers are then scheduled for publication based on the acceptance priority (unless a special issue is being scheduled). After that, research papers are submitted to Qatar University Press within the allocated Issue for production processing including linguistic review, proofreading and design. Lastly, a final revised version of the research paper is submitted to the author for his final review and approval, indicating the amendments that were made by QU Press on the paper. After passing this stage, QU Press may reject any additional modifications to the research.
Yes, authors can receive the peer review reports, upon request.
The journal invites fellow professors and associate professors to join the reviewing committee by visiting this link .
Publication of research papers in the journal is free of charge.
Withdrawal of a manuscript will be permitted only for the most compelling and unavoidable reasons. For withdrawal of a manuscript, the author shall submit an “Article withdrawal Form” signed by all authors and mentioning the reason for withdrawal to the editor in charge. Author(s) must not assume that their research paper has been withdrawn until they have received a written notification to this effect.
If the author(s) request(s) the withdrawal of his/her manuscript after the peer review process or in the production stage (early release or ahead of publishing), the author(s) shall clarify the reason of withdrawal and shall pay a withdrawal penalty, estimated on case by case basis, to cover the incurred costs.
Reviewers are typically selected based on their match of specialisation and wide research experience, therefore, it is necessary to attempt to respond to all peer review comments. If it is not possible to comply with certain remarks, as they may not correspond with the author’s point of view, the author should provide sufficient non-adherence justification. The final decision to advise on such discrepancies rests with the Editor-in-Chief.
A research paper may be rejected if the author claims to have made the required changes but it is found that they have not and they do not provide sufficient justification for not complying with the required changes.
The journal applies the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) standards and flowcharts, available at: https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/changes-authorship-removal-author-publication for accepting or rejecting change of authorship on case by case basis.
Yes, a researcher may add more than one affiliation, up to a maximum of two institutions, provided that it is mentioned in the initial publication file.
Once the journal issues a letter of acceptance for publication, another letter with a different date cannot be issued.