MJAP Policies

Editorial Policy

Al-Mutawassit Journal for Academic Publishing (MJAP) is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed scientific journal committed to publishing original and high-quality research across all scientific disciplines. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript, guided by the recommendations of the expert peer reviewers and alignment with the journal’s scope and policies. All editorial decisions are made impartially, solely based on the scientific merit and relevance of the work, without regard to the authors’ nationality, institution, or personal characteristics.

Open Access Policy

MJAP operates as a fully Open Access journal. All articles published in the journal are immediately and permanently available online to the global scientific community free of charge. We believe that unrestricted access to research maximizes knowledge exchange, enhances the visibility of published work, and facilitates the advancement of science. Authors publish under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Peer Review Policy

MJAP utilizes a rigorous double-blind peer review process to ensure the quality, validity, and originality of the research published.

Process: Submitted manuscripts are initially assessed by the Editorial Board for scope and adherence to basic guidelines. Manuscripts that pass this initial check are then sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers.
Double-Blind: To ensure impartiality, the identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers are concealed from the authors.
Decisions: Reviewers provide recommendations that lead to one of four possible editorial decisions: Accept, Minor Revisions, Major Revisions, or Reject. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final determination.

Copyright Policy

Authors submitting to MJAP retain the copyright to their work.

By submitting a manuscript, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish the work and distribute it under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). This license allows third parties to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) the article, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors and the journal.

Authorship Policy

Authorship should be based on the following four criteria, in line with international standards:

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.
Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
Final approval of the version to be published.
Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Any change to the authorship list (addition, deletion, or rearrangement) is only permitted before the manuscript is accepted for publication and requires written confirmation from all original and proposed authors.

Author Self-Archiving Policy

MJAP encourages authors to make their research widely accessible and supports the practice of self-archiving (Green Open Access). Authors are permitted to deposit the following versions of their work in an institutional or subject repository, or on their personal website:

Pre-print: The initial, un-refereed version of the manuscript (Immediate Archiving).
Post-print (Author Accepted Manuscript): The version of the article after peer review and acceptance, but before copyediting and typesetting (Immediate Archiving).
Version of Record (Publisher’s PDF): The final published version as it appears on the journal website (Immediate Archiving, citing the journal and link to the published article).

Plagiarism Policy

MJAP maintains a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, and other forms of academic misconduct.

All submitted manuscripts are screened for originality using the Turnitin plagiarism detection software. A manuscript will be subject to rejection or retraction if the similarity index (plagiarism content) exceeds the acceptable limit.

The maximum acceptable limit for plagiarism (overall similarity index) is 20%. Any manuscript exceeding this threshold will be immediately rejected.

Conflict of Interest Policy

A Conflict of Interest (COI) exists when professional judgment concerning the publication of a manuscript may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain, personal relationship, or professional rivalry).

Authors: Must disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could be construed as influencing the results or interpretation of their manuscript.
Reviewers: Must decline to review a manuscript if they have a potential conflict of interest and should report any concerns to the Editor.
Editors: Will recuse themselves from the editorial process if they have a competing interest with any authors or institutions associated with a manuscript.

Data Sharing Policy

MJAP strongly encourages authors to share the raw data and supporting materials associated with their research findings to facilitate reproducibility and transparency.

Authors are required to provide a statement on data availability, indicating where the data supporting the results can be found. Data should be archived in an appropriate, publicly accessible repository whenever ethically and legally permissible. Any limitations on data access (e.g., privacy, confidentiality) must be clearly explained in the manuscript.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice

MJAP adheres strictly to the guidelines and core practices defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This framework outlines the expected ethical behaviour for authors, editors, and reviewers:

Integrity of Research: Authors must ensure their research is original, the data is accurate, and all relevant sources are properly cited.
Corrections and Retractions: The journal is committed to correcting errors and, if necessary, retracting articles found to contain serious flaws or evidence of research misconduct.
Handling Complaints: MJAP has formal procedures to address ethical complaints, appeals against editorial decisions, and allegations of research misconduct, ensuring a fair and transparent process.
Confidentiality: Editors and reviewers must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and potential reviewers.