Editorial Policy

The journal is committed to a transparent and objective editorial policy and to applying strict standards of academic integrity, including the use of plagiarism detection tool to screen all submitted manuscripts before they are submitted for peer review. This policy aims to ensure the quality and academic value of the scholarly content. The journal relies on a peer-review process supervised by an independent and experienced editorial board. All manuscripts are processed with strict confidentiality and in accordance with local and internationally recognized standards of publishing ethics, including the guidelines of the University of Tripoli's Scientific Research Ethics Document. The journal also follows a set of editorial and ethical policies that regulate the scholarly publishing process and ensure transparency and quality at all stages of submission, review, and publication. These policies include authorship, peer review, conflict of interest, archiving, complaints, and more.

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Peer-Reviewed Policies:

Review Process:

All articles submitted to the journal undergoes a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the best standards of academic quality and scientific integrity. After an initial review by the editorial board to ensure the appropriateness of the article and its compliance with the publication guidelines. A compliant article is referred to two independent peer reviewers for a double-blind peer review, where the identities of both authors and peer reviewers remain anonymous.

The peer reviewers evaluate the research based on originality, methodological rigor, clarity, significance, and scientific contribution to the field. Based on the peer reviewers' recommendations, the editorial board decides to either accept the article, request revisions (minor or substantial), or reject it for publication.

The peer-review process typically takes 3 to 6 weeks, and may vary depending on the availability of peer reviewers and the nature of the research.

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Evaluation Criteria:

• Scope/Field of Publication: Research must be within the scope of the journal.
• Novelty: The information must not be derived from previously published research. It must be innovative and answer an important research question. Ideally, it should also have potential for application outside the scope of the research.
• Methodology: The approach must be clear, appropriate, precise, and up-to-date.
• Conclusions: The conclusions must be convincing enough to merit publication.

 

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Publishing and Scientific Research Ethics Policies:

The journal is committed to the scientific integrity of the articles submitted to it, in accordance with the guidelines of the Scientific Research Ethics Document issued by the University of Tripoli in 2017.

It ensures the following:

• All submitted research is original and previously unpublished.
• Research is reviewed with complete confidentiality, integrity, and impartiality.
• All forms of plagiarism are rejected.
• Research is corrected or withdrawn if serious errors or scientific misconduct are found.

Authors are responsible for the originality of their research, reviewers are expected to adhere to confidentiality, and editorial board members are required to act with complete integrity in making publication decisions.

For more information on the Scientific Research Ethics Document, please visit the website.

https://uot.edu.ly/publication_item.php?pubid=4732

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Plagiarism Policy:

The journal adheres to the highest standards of academic integrity and strongly condemns all forms of plagiarism, whether partial or complete, intentional or unintentional. Plagiarism is defined as the use of the works, ideas, or texts of others without explicit acknowledgement of the source.

All articles submitted to the journal undergo an initial screening using Turnitin. If the similarity percentage exceeds the acceptable threshold (usually less than 25%) for the humanities, the article is immediately rejected or returned to the author for revision.

If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal takes corrective action, which may include:

• Issuing a correction notice or withdrawing the article.
• Notifying the author's academic institution.
• Banning the author from future publication in the journal.

This policy is based on the guidelines of the University of Tripoli's Research Ethics Document, and the journal is committed to dealing with transparency and fairness in all cases.

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Authorship Policy:

The journal adopts the authorship criteria approved by the University of Tripoli's Code of Ethics for Scientific Research. All authors must have clearly contributed to the intellectual or practical aspects of the article. This includes contributing to the design, data collection, analysis, drafting, or substantial review. The names of authors who did not actually participate in the research are not permitted, and the order of names must be documented with the approval of all authors prior to submission.

The journal also provides a written undertaking for the researcher(s) to sign, declaring that the submitted research is not plagiarized from another research or scientific dissertation, and bearing legal and ethical responsibility if otherwise noted.

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Conflict of Interest Policy:

For the Reviewer or Reviewer:

If the reviewer is unable to judge a manuscript impartially, they should not accept the invitation to review. If the reviewer has any professional, personal, or financial affiliations that constitute, or may be considered, a conflict of interest when reviewing the manuscript, they should not accept the review. If this conflict of interest is discovered after reviewing the full manuscript, they should withdraw immediately and fully inform the journal's editorial board. If there is an aspect of the manuscript that the reviewer does not feel qualified to evaluate, they should inform the editor.

The Author:

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal conflict of interest that may affect the content of the manuscript. If no conflict exists, please add the phrase: "The author(s) declare that there is no conflict of interest."

If the author of the manuscript is a member of the editorial board, the evaluation will be assigned to another member. The manuscript must meet the same evaluation criteria as all other manuscripts. Likewise, peer review is avoided and a neutral editor is assigned in particular. This also applies to students who study with the journal’s editor-in-chief. Any previous disagreements between the author of the research and the editor-in-chief, as well as the evaluation, are avoided.

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Data Sharing Policy:

The journal is committed to promoting transparency and credibility in humanities research by encouraging researchers to disclose the data or materials used in their research, in accordance with ethical principles and legal and cultural constraints.

Researchers are required to provide a clear statement about data sharing in their research, including whether the data is available for viewing or use, where it can be accessed, or whether there are reasons preventing its sharing, such as privacy, copyright, or institutional agreements.

Data includes, but is not limited to: research instruments (such as questionnaires and interview protocols), texts or documents used, categorical codes in qualitative analysis, or corpus used in linguistic or literary studies.

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Copyright Policy:

The journal retains the copyright for all articles published in it, unless otherwise stated. Articles are published and distributed via approved platforms, with authors retaining the rights to non-commercial academic and educational use of the published content, provided that the original source is credited.

Articles published in the journal are made available in accordance with the Open Access Policy, allowing all users to view and use the content for non-commercial purposes, in accordance with the terms of the applicable license.

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Open Access Policy:

Al-Qurtas Journal is committed to supporting full open access to all the scientific research it publishes. The journal believes that making scientific knowledge freely available to the public contributes to the advancement of scientific research and serves society.

All articles published in the journal are immediately available for reading and downloading without any financial or legal restrictions.

The journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, which permits the use, redistribution, and adaptation of the published research, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author and source.

For more information about the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, please visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

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Mechanism for Submitting Appeals Against Publication Decisions:

The journal is committed to adhering to the highest standards of integrity and transparency at all stages of scientific publishing, including the process of making decisions regarding acceptance or rejection. Given the importance of fairness in evaluating research, the journal allows authors the right to appeal a rejection decision in cases where the author believes the decision is unjustified.

Requirements for Submitting an Appeal:

The appeal must be based on objective reasons, such as:

• A fundamental error in understanding the content of the research.
• Clear bias in the reviewers' evaluation.
• A conflict of interest.
• Violation of the agreed-upon review procedures.

Appeal Submission Procedures:

1. Submit the appeal request in writing to the editorial board via the journal's official email address or deliver it in person, within a period not exceeding 30 days from the date of the rejection decision.
2. The request must include:

• The title of the research.
• A detailed explanation of the reasons for non-acceptance.
• If possible, an objective scientific response to the reviewers' comments.

3. The Editorial Board reviews the application internally and may seek additional neutral reviewers if necessary.
4. The appeal will be responded to within a maximum of four weeks from the date of receipt of the application.

Final Decision:

The Editorial Board's decision after reviewing the appeal is final and non-appealable, and is made in accordance with the scientific integrity and academic standards of the journal.

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Complaint Policy:

The journal is committed to providing a fair and transparent publishing environment for all stakeholders, including authors, reviewers, and readers. The journal places particular importance on addressing complaints related to the publication process or the conduct of any party involved in the editorial process.

Types of complaints that may be submitted:

• Unjustified delay in the review process or decision-making.
• Unprofessional behavior by a member of the Editorial Board or reviewers.
• Bias or apparent conflict of interest in the review process.
• Problems related to scientific integrity or plagiarism.
• Technical failures affecting the submission or review of manuscripts.

How to Submit a Complaint:

The complaint must be sent via the journal's official email or submitted in writing.

The complaint must include the following information:

• The complainant's name and contact information.
• The title of the research or type of problem.
• A clear and detailed description of the subject of the complaint.
• What the complainant is requesting (solution, clarification, review, etc.).

Complaint Handling Mechanism:

1. A notification of receipt of the complaint will be sent within one week.
2. The complaint will be referred to the relevant department within the editorial board or to the editor-in-chief.
3. The complaint will be investigated confidentially and impartially.
4. A final response will be sent to the complainant within 30 days of receipt.
5. All complaints will be treated with complete confidentiality.