Journal Policies

Al-Mutawassit Journal for Reference Studies and Research (MJRSR) is committed to the highest professional and ethical standards in the scientific publishing process. We adhere to the following policies to ensure the quality and integrity of our published content.

1. Editorial Policy

The Editorial Board makes decisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts based on their scientific significance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's aims and scope.

  1. Independence: All editorial decisions are made independently, free from influence by the publisher or any external parties that might affect the scientific findings.

  2. Fairness: All submitted manuscripts are treated with equal respect and impartiality, regardless of the authors' nationality, ethnicity, or institutional affiliation.

  3. Confidentiality: Manuscripts are treated as confidential documents until they are published. Editors and reviewers must not use the content of unpublished works for personal gain.

2. Open Access Policy

Al-Mutawassit Journal is a Fully Open Access journal.

  1. Immediate Availability: All published articles are made available immediately and free of charge on the journal's website upon publication.

  2. Licensing: Published content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) License. This license permits others to download, share, and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided the original work is properly cited and attributed.

3. Peer Review Policy

The journal employs a Double-Blind Peer Review system to ensure objectivity and integrity.

  1. Process: Manuscripts are sent to specialist reviewers in the field. The identity of the authors is concealed from the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers are concealed from the authors.

  2. Objective: The review process assesses the originality of the research, the soundness of the methodology, the clarity of the results, and the extent of its contribution to scientific knowledge.

  3. Decisions: Editorial decisions include acceptance, request for minor revisions, request for major revisions, or rejection. The final decision of the Editorial Board is conclusive.

4. Copyright Policy

  1. Author Retains Copyright: Authors retain the copyright (intellectual property rights) to their work.

  2. Publishing License: Authors grant the journal the right of first publication under the CC BY-NC License, allowing the work to be shared and utilized in line with the journal's Open Access terms.

5. Authorship Policy

Every individual listed as an author must meet all the following criteria:

  1. Substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work.

  2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.

  3. Final approval of the version to be published.

  4. 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 resolved.

  5. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship must be listed in the "Acknowledgements" section.

6. Author Self-Archiving Policy

The journal strongly encourages authors to self-archive their published work and permits the posting of all the following versions:

  1. Pre-print: Authors may archive the initial submitted version (pre-peer review) at any time.

  2. Post-print (Author Accepted Manuscript - AAM): Authors may archive the final accepted version (post-peer review and before final typesetting).

  3. Publisher PDF: Authors may archive the final publisher's PDF version immediately upon publication, provided proper citation to the journal source is included.

7. Plagiarism Policy

The journal adopts a strict stance against any form of plagiarism or scientific misconduct.

  1. Screening Tool: All submitted manuscripts are checked for similarity using the Turnitin software.

  2. Maximum Threshold: The maximum permissible similarity/plagiarism percentage in a submitted manuscript must not exceed 20%.

  3. Plagiarism Procedures: Any manuscript that exceeds this limit, or is found to contain substantive plagiarism or data manipulation, will be rejected immediately, and the authors' institution may be notified.

8. Conflict of Interest Policy

All parties involved in the publishing process (authors, reviewers, editors) must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could potentially influence the published results or review decisions.

  1. Authors: Authors must declare any funding support or personal relationships that could influence the interpretation of their findings at the end of the manuscript.

  2. Reviewers and Editors: Reviewers or editors must declare potential conflicts of interest and/or decline to handle a manuscript if they have any relationship with the authors or related institutions.

9. Data Sharing Policy

The journal strongly encourages authors to share the data, code, and other materials supporting the results of the published research, making them available to other researchers for verification and replication purposes.

  1. Data should preferably be deposited in trusted public repositories, and the access link should be included in the manuscript.

  2. Data should be made available in a manner that facilitates easy access and reuse (FAIR Principles).

10. Publication Ethics and Malpractice

The journal is committed to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and enforces the following ethical standards for all participants:

  1. Authors' Responsibilities:

    • Submit original work that has not been previously published.

    • Ensure the accuracy of data and results.

    • Acknowledge all sources and contributors.

    • Disclose any significant errors immediately upon discovery.

  2. Reviewers' Responsibilities:

    • Review objectively, confidentially, and within the specified time frame.

    • Identify any relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.

    • Not use unpublished information for their own advantage.

  3. Editors' Responsibilities:

    • Ensure the integrity of the review process and combat plagiarism and libel.

    • Take necessary steps to correct or retract articles if necessary.

    • Seriously address any complaints regarding publication ethics.