Journal Practices and Ethics
As an open-access, peer-reviewed journal, Mashriq & Mahjar is dedicated to upholding the highest publication and ethics standards. To ensure publication integrity and ethical compliance, Mashriq & Mahjar developed this guide that outlines its practices and ethical standards for its authors, reviewers, and readers.
Anyone who believes that any published material in Mashriq & Mahjar fails to comply with the journal’s ethics and practices should contact the journal’s managing editor at mashriq_mahjar@ncsu.edu. All concerns will be addressed by the journal’s editors.
Responsibilities of Editorial Board, Authors, and Reviewers
All M&M persons involved in the publishing process (copy editors, authors, peer reviewers, and the managing editor) agree upon the following standards and practices of ethical behavior.
1. EDITORIAL BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITIES:
- All publication decisions of manuscripts submitted to the journal. The decision to accept, reject, or request revised manuscripts are guided by the journal’s policies (Author Guidelines) and by copyright requirements regarding copyright infringement and plagiarism;
- Supplying and updating new editorial board members and the managing editor with guidelines on M&M publishing protocols and new policies and developments;
- Fair evaluation of manuscripts on the basis of their academic and intellectual merit, and without regard to the author(s)’ race, age, gender, sexual orientation, disability, ethnic origin, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation, or social class;
- Ensuring a confidential and unbiased double-blind peer review (author and reviewer identities are protected) of manuscripts;
- Enlisting appropriate peer reviewers for each manuscript accepted;
- Developing and maintaining a database of suitable peer reviewers and updating it on the basis of reviewer performance;
- Publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies on website and social media sites as needed.
2. AUTHORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Authors should submit original research. Plagiarized or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are absolutely unacceptable. The journal follows guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for preventing misconduct and dealing with allegations of such misconduct, including the retraction of affected publications;
- Authors must ensure that their original works properly cite the work or words of authors, contributors, or sources. Please see our ‘Detailed Submissions Guidelines’ for more information;
- Any and all forms of plagiarism constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is forbidden;
- M&M asks that authors only submit their manuscript to one publication at a time;
- M&M will not consider multiple submissions or redundant manuscripts;
- Authors should disclose all conflicts of interest thought to sway the peer review results or the acceptance of their manuscript;
- Authors can indicate potential conflicts of interest by providing the name of the “opposed reviewers” during manuscript submission. Authors are required to explain (in detail) why they do not want this person to be invited. M&M editors, however, will decide for themselves who they want to invite for peer reviews, and cannot guarantee that “opposed reviewers” will not be invited. If author is unsure of conflict of interest, author should consult the Managing Editor at mashriq_mahjar@ncsu.edu;
- When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in the published work, it is the author’s obligation to notify the journal’s Managing Editor as soon as possible and request a retraction to correct the manuscript.
3. REVIEWERS' RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Peer reviewers assist M&M's managing editor and editorial board in making editorial decisions and, through the double-blind communication with the author, may also assist the author in improving the contents of their manuscript through feedback;
- All manuscripts received for review are treated as confidential documents;
- Our peer reviewers are held to the highest standards, requiring all information and/or theories obtained through M&M’s peer review process to be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage;
- Peer reviewers must report to M&M's managing editor if they suspect academic fraud or copyright infringement on the author’s part; Please send all emails to: mashriq_mahjar@ncsu.edu;
- M&M requires all peer reviewers to conduct their reviews objectively, and their critiques should be formulated clearly and with supporting arguments, allowing authors to utilize the reviews for the benefit of their manuscript;
- Peer reviewers are provided with a detailed description of peer review expectations and format upon acceptance of the role (please see M&M Peer Review Guidelines);
- Peer reviewers evaluate manuscripts based solely on content and without regard to the authors’ race, age, gender, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, citizenship, political orientation or social class;
- Peer reviewers should report to M&M any manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
4. PEER REVIEW PROTOCOL
- Manuscripts adhering to M&M’s journal scope and style will be sent to at least two reviewers by the managing editor or a member of the editorial team, who will then act as the coordinating editor;
- M&M applies a double-blind peer review, which means both reviewers and author remain anonymous by default throughout the publishing process;
- Peer reviewers should not enter their names or initials in the file name or inside the document in an effort to maintain the blind review process. The managing editor will review both submitted manuscript and peer review feedback and remove any indications of authorship to ensure anonymity;
- Following the peer review process, the editorial board will make the final decision of acceptance or rejection based on the reviewers’ reports and recommendation for publication.