Editorial Policies

Editorial decisions in IEJ are not based on the number of given votes, assessment of numerical ranks and/or assumed recommendations. IEJ tries to assess/evaluate/consider the strength of arguments introduced by reviewer(s) and/or author(s), or the information/ideas/concepts presented by either party. The primary responsibility of IEJ is towards the readers and scientific community at large. IEJ vigilantly investigates/studies each manuscript in detail and examines/inspects the claims of manuscript(s) against other manuscript(s) under consideration.

Manuscripts submitted must fully adhere to the “Instructions for Authors” assigned by IEJ, otherwise, they shall be returned for appropriate reviews/revisions/corrections so that they could become consistent with the above-mentioned instructions. The manuscripts may be resubmitted or rejected. Moreover, all submitted manuscripts are initially allocated with a “Code of Submission” used for future correspondence/contacts.

Peer Review Policy

Authors and reviewers are asked to submit their manuscripts via the secure online system (https://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/iej/login)

Best Practices in Research Reporting

IEJ accepts research/review/report papers in accordance with the defined international standards for the specific type of study, accompanied by ethical considerations obtained where necessary. IEJ demands authors to report their randomised controlled/clinical trials, systematic reviews, observational studies and experiments involving animal subjects based on CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE and ARRIVE, respectively.

Scientific and Initial Screening

IEJ Editor-in-Chief/editors/staff will check the content(s) and overall structure of the submitted paper(s) to make sure the manuscript(s)  i) are within the aim and scope of the journal, ii) are in compliance with the defined/standard structure based on the type of study, and iii) fully adhere to ethical considerations/issues. At this stage, manuscript(s) will be screened in the shortest/quickest possible time. When all the rules, regulations, standards and mentioned criteria are met by the manuscript(s), the editorial process shall commence. This stage will assist editors in making their final decisions, which will improve the final quality of manuscript(s) and therefore, published paper(s).

Cover Letter

IEJ requires cover letters as an important document to be submitted with the manuscript(s). Cover letters are meant to help editors and clarify the aim/purpose of manuscript(s) for preliminary assessment/evaluation. Authors/writers should clearly specify why their manuscript(s) is/are suitable/appropriate for the journal.

Selecting Reviewers

The selection of reviewers is a crucial/critical stage in the process of peer review. The selection is based upon various elements/factors; including, but not limited to, knowledge, expertise, reputation and previous experience of refereeing. In IEJ, the editorial office contacts potential reviewers prior to sending manuscripts to be reviewed/refereed. The calls and the elaborated information are highly confidential and reviewers are expected to follow the confidentiality of calls/contacts/information at all times.

Double Blind Peer Review Process

Double blind peer review, as a model of peer review, can reduce bias and allow reviewer(s) to review/revise/assess/evaluate/judge manuscript(s) according to their scientific content, without considering who the author(s) is/are.

The manuscripts, which are in accordance with the defined aim/scope and seem to be of potential interest to readership, shall be sent for formal review; typically to three reviewers. The manuscript(s) will be reviewed/refereed by the selected reviewers as well as a statistician chosen by IEJ, who will work on the paper(s) for methodological errors, format and their compliance with “Instruction for Authors” of IEJ. Reviewers/referees are subjected to accept manuscript(s) in their expertise and have thorough knowledge/science in the corresponding field. In no circumstances, peer reviewer(s) and author(s) are revealed to one another. Additionally, the submitted manuscript, going through the review process, is not revealed to anyone but the editorial staff and reviewer(s)/referee(s).

Reviewers/referees are required to keep the information of manuscript(s) completely confidential. Reviewers are not allowed to express/use the knowledge/science of manuscript(s) before its publication for any reason, e.g. personal/organization interests. If there is a conflict of interest, the reviewer(s) is/are expected to declare their conflict(s), and decline the review/refereeing process of the manuscript(s). Knowing the author of the manuscript(s) should not affect/influence the reviewer(s) and their decisions. Reviewers are expected to express constructive, honest and polite comments, and refrain from being inflammatory and hostile. After vigilant and thorough review, the reviewers’ comments shall be passed on to author(s), and the responses of author(s) to the comments along with the comments of reviewers will be evaluated by a final reviewer, who can be a member of the editorial board and/or the Editor-in-Chief. The editors shall decide for the manuscript(s) to be rejected, conditionally accepted or accepted for publication, taking the standards of IEJ and the responses to the comments into account. The editors’ decisions will be considered by the Editor-in-Chief, who will finally decide for the status of the manuscript(s) to be accepted, rejected and/or send for possible minor/major revisions. The manuscript(s) submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, editors, reviewers, and staff of IEJ is/are subjected to the same peer review process and thus, the author(s) will be completely blind to the process of their paper until a final decision is made.

Editing referees’ reports

IEJ expects the editor(s) to evaluate reviewers’ reports, and the comments intended for the authors. However, the editor(s) may edit a report to remove offensive language and/or any comments that may reveal confidential information about any issues. IEJ demands reviewers to avoid using statements that may cause needless offence; conversely, IEJ strongly encourages reviewers to plainly state their opinion on a paper.

Timing

IEJ commits itself to reasonably rapid editorial review/decision and publication, and strongly believes in the efficiency of editorial process as a valuable service to authors and scientific community.

Confidentiality

IEJ keeps the existence of submitted manuscript(s) highly confidential. The persons (i.e. editors and reviewers) involved must fully adhere to the confidentiality of requirements and guidelines. Moreover, the identities of editor(s), author(s) and reviewer(s) will be kept confidential.

Advertising Policy

IEJ does not consider/accept/publish any advertisements and/or any direct/indirect marketing/business activities based upon the decision made by the editorial board. Furthermore, IEJ does not approve any products and/or services introduced by a sponsor or as an advertisement in its publications. Moreover, Editorial content is not affected by any interests, commercial/financial or otherwise, or by any arrangement with advertising companies, sponsors or clients.