Peer-Review Process

The International Journal Research on Metaverse (IJRM) is a peer-reviewed journal. All research articles submitted to the journal undergo a peer-review process conducted by reviewers with relevant expertise in the subject area of the manuscript. Peer reviewers are independent experts and are not members of the journal's editorial team.

  1. Initial Editorial Assessment: Upon submission, each manuscript is first assessed by the Editor-in-Chief or an assigned editor. The initial assessment determines whether the manuscript is suitable for IJRM based on its alignment with the journal's focus and scope, originality and similarity screening using Turnitin, methodological soundness, readability and presentation, and compliance with the journal's manuscript template and submission requirements. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal's basic editorial requirements or are outside the journal's scope may be rejected without external peer review.
  2. Selection of Reviewers: Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial assessment are assigned to at least three independent external reviewers with appropriate expertise in the subject area of the manuscript. Reviewers are selected based on their academic expertise and the relevance of their research background to the submitted manuscript.
  3. Type of Peer Review: IJRM uses a single-blind peer-review process. Under this process, the identities of the reviewers are kept confidential and are not disclosed to the authors. Reviewers are informed of the manuscript content and are expected to maintain confidentiality throughout the review process.
  4. Review Process: Reviewers assess the manuscript in terms of its originality, scientific contribution, methodological rigor, validity of the results, clarity of presentation, relevance to the journal's scope, and overall quality. Reviewers provide comments and recommendations to assist the editor in reaching an editorial decision and, where applicable, to assist authors in improving their manuscript.
  5. Revision: When revisions are required, the reviewers' comments are communicated to the corresponding author. Authors are expected to respond to the reviewers' comments and revise the manuscript accordingly. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers for further evaluation when considered necessary by the editor.
  6. Editorial Decision: The final decision regarding publication is made by the Editor-in-Chief or an assigned editor, taking into consideration the reviewers' evaluations, the authors' responses and revisions, and the journal's editorial policies. Reviewers provide recommendations, but the final publication decision remains the responsibility of the editor. The possible editorial decisions are accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject.
  7. Copyediting and Production: Manuscripts that receive an acceptance decision proceed to copyediting and layout editing. The final version is prepared according to the journal's publication standards before publication.

Reviewer Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must treat all manuscripts received for review as confidential documents. They must not disclose, share, or use unpublished information obtained during the review process for personal or professional advantage. Reviewers must also disclose any potential conflict of interest and decline the review assignment when their impartiality may be affected.

Author-Recommended Reviewers: Authors may provide suggestions for potential reviewers during submission; however, any suggested reviewers are subject to independent verification and selection by the editorial team. The final selection of reviewers is solely the responsibility of the editor.

Supplementary Materials: Supplementary materials submitted with a manuscript may be considered as part of the editorial and peer-review process when they are relevant to the assessment of the research. The editor may request reviewers to evaluate supplementary materials when necessary.

Review Reports: Peer-review reports are confidential and are not published alongside the article. Reviewers remain anonymous to the authors unless they voluntarily disclose their identity in the review report.

Exceptions to Peer Review: Research articles and other scholarly manuscripts intended to present original research are subject to the peer-review process described above. Editorial materials, announcements, corrections, retractions, and other non-research content may be handled through an editorial assessment rather than the standard external peer-review process, at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

Peer-Review Timelines and Delays: IJRM does not guarantee acceptance of submitted manuscripts. The duration of the peer-review process may vary depending on reviewer availability, manuscript complexity, revision requirements, and other editorial considerations. If a significant delay occurs, the corresponding author will be informed of the reason for the delay and may contact the editorial office regarding the status of the manuscript or request withdrawal in accordance with the journal's withdrawal policy.

Publication Dates: IJRM publishes the date of publication for each published research article. The journal also provides the date of submission and date of acceptance as part of the article's publication metadata.