Publication Process

SALIKSIK: A Multidisciplinary Research Journal follows a structured editorial and publication process to ensure the quality, originality, integrity, and scholarly relevance of published research. The process involves the following stages:

1. Call for Papers

The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation (OVPRI) issues the official Call for Papers. The announcement specifies the journal's focus and scope, submission guidelines, formatting requirements, ethical standards, submission deadlines, and peer-review procedures.

2. Manuscript Submission

Authors submit their manuscripts through the journal's official online submission system within the prescribed submission period. All submissions must comply with the journal's author guidelines, formatting requirements, authorship policies, and publication ethics standards. Authors must provide complete manuscript information and the required declarations and supporting documents.

3. Initial Editorial Screening

The Editor-in-Chief (EIC), in coordination with the Associate Editor (AE), conducts an initial assessment of each submitted manuscript. The screening evaluates:

  • Relevance to the journal's focus and scope

  • Compliance with submission and formatting requirements

  • Originality and potential publication overlap

  • Research integrity and applicable ethical requirements

  • Clarity of objectives, scholarly contribution, and baseline methodological quality

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's minimum requirements may be returned for technical correction or rejected without external peer review. The corresponding author is notified of the decision and, where appropriate, provided with an explanation.

4. Assignment to Peer Review

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are assigned by the Associate Editor to qualified peer reviewers with relevant subject-matter expertise. The journal employs a double-blind peer-review process in which author and reviewer identities are concealed from one another.

The editorial team takes reasonable measures to remove identifying information from manuscript files and supporting documents before review.

5. Peer Review and Monitoring

Peer reviewers evaluate the manuscript's originality, theoretical or conceptual foundation, methodological rigor, analysis, interpretation of findings, relevance, and contribution to existing knowledge. Reviewers provide constructive comments and recommendations within the review period established by the journal.

The Associate Editor monitors the progress of the review process, communicates with reviewers when necessary, and conducts follow-ups to support timely completion. Reviewers are expected to maintain confidentiality, disclose conflicts of interest, and provide objective assessments.

6. Consolidation of Reviews

After the review reports have been received, the Managing Editor consolidates the reviewers' comments, recommendations, and required revisions. The Associate Editor examines the reports and provides editorial guidance to ensure that the feedback is coherent, relevant, and sufficient to support the next editorial decision.

Depending on the reviews and editorial assessment, the manuscript may be recommended for acceptance, minor revision, major revision, additional review, or rejection.

7. Author Revision

The Managing Editor communicates the review results and revision requirements to the corresponding author. The author receives the reviewers' comments, editorial instructions, and a specified deadline for resubmission.

Authors are expected to address each comment systematically and provide a response-to-reviewers document or revision matrix indicating the actions taken in response to the feedback. Authors who disagree with a particular recommendation should provide a clear scholarly justification.

8. Resubmission and Technical Check

The Managing Editor receives the revised manuscript and checks the completeness of the resubmission. This includes verifying the revised manuscript, response-to-reviewers document, revision matrix, and other required files.

Submissions with missing documents or incomplete responses may be returned to the corresponding author for correction before further editorial assessment.

9. Verification of Revisions

The revised manuscript and response documents are forwarded to the Associate Editor for verification. The Associate Editor evaluates whether the authors have adequately addressed the reviewers' comments and editorial requirements.

If the revisions are satisfactory, the Associate Editor recommends the appropriate next action to the Editor-in-Chief. If further revisions are necessary, the Managing Editor communicates the remaining concerns and required actions to the corresponding author.

Where substantial scientific or methodological issues remain unresolved, the manuscript may be returned to the original reviewers or assigned for additional expert assessment.

10. Final Acceptance and Layout

The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision on acceptance or rejection, taking into account the editorial assessment, peer-review reports, and adequacy of revisions.

Accepted manuscripts are forwarded to the designated Publications Officer or authorized production personnel for copyediting, proofreading preparation, layout, and journal formatting. The production stage also includes checking the completeness and consistency of author details, affiliations, references, tables, figures, and other publication elements.

Acceptance is not a guarantee of publication until the required production checks and author proofing have been completed.

11. Proofing and Publication

The final proof is sent to the corresponding author for review and approval. Authors are expected to check the accuracy of the text, author information, affiliations, tables, figures, references, and other publication details. Only corrections consistent with the accepted manuscript and publication requirements should be introduced at this stage.

After author proof approval and completion of the final editorial and production checks, the manuscript is scheduled for publication in the appropriate annual issue. The published article is made available through the journal's official website in accordance with its access, copyright, and licensing policies.

Editorial Integrity and Accountability

Throughout the publication process, SALIKSIK upholds the principles of confidentiality, fairness, transparency, objectivity, and research integrity. Editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's scope. The journal reserves the right to reject manuscripts that fail to meet its academic, ethical, or publication requirements.