Instructions for Authors

Conditions for Manuscript Submission

A manuscript can only be accepted for consideration if:

1. Submitted via the journal’s online submission system. journal's homepage is: https://www.jwapr.ir/       
2. Submitted in Word or .odt format and respecting the word limit and reference style(Download APA Style Guide);
3. It has not been previously published nor under consideration elsewhere;
4. It is prepared in accordance with the instructions for authors.

(Should you have any questions regarding this Process, please do not hesitate to contact us.    journal@gmail.com    jwapr.samiee@gmail.com)

Type of Manuscripts

The journal accepts the following types of manuscript for publication (all must be original and can not have been published elsewhere):

• Article: a paper containing original research results that has not been published elsewhere. Articles should not exceed the maximum length of 10,000 words.  
• Review: a paper which comprehensively sums up the current state of research on a particular topic. Reviews should not exceed the maximum length of 8,500 words.  
• Short Note: a short description of important current research findings, which is more focused and concise than a research article. Short Notes should not exceed the maximum length of 3,000 words.  
• Commentary: an opinion piece providing a critical evaluation of a published article or topic of interest to the readership of the journal. Letters to the Editor and replies should be submitted as Commentaries. Commentaries should not exceed the maximum length of 3,000 words.  
• Editorial: an introductory piece submitted by an academic editor providing insight into the topic of the thematic issue. Editorials should not exceed the maximum length of 3,000 words.  

Length Restrictions

The word count consists of the following elements: title of the manuscript, abstract, keywords, main text, text in tables, acknowledgments, and references. 

The following sections are excluded from the word count: Conflict of Interests, Funding, Data Availability, Supplementary File, and Bios up to 50 words. 

Language

All submitted articles must be written in English. Both British and American spellings are accepted, as long as one spelling is used consistently throughout the text. Authors whose native language is not English are strongly advised to ensure the grammatical correctness of their paper prior to submission. Papers with serious deficiencies in English may be returned without review.

It is the author’s responsibility to guarantee that the English language is flawless. Therefore, all authors must have their accepted manuscripts proofread by a proficient/native English speaker before we proceed to the next stage of copy-editing. 

Blinded Manuscript

All manuscripts are submitted to a double-blind peer-review, i.e., the identity of both authors and reviewers will remain concealed through the entirety of the process.

Submitted manuscript must be properly anonymized for peer-review (e.g., self-citations should be kept to a minimum and be done in the third person). Submissions that fail to meet this basic requirement may be immediately rejected.

Tables and Figures

Tables and figures are limited to a combined total of 10. Tables and figures must be numbered, an explanatory title must be added, and each table and figure must be mentioned at least once in the main text. Figures should be supplied in a suitable size for printing, and tables should be inserted using the ‘Insert Table’ function provided by the software.

It is the author's responsibility to obtain permission from the copyright owner to reproduce figures and tables that have been published elsewhere. Tables and figures without such evidence are assumed to originate from the author.

Supplementary Files

Authors may submit supplementary files to be made available alongside their article. Supplementary material is available online only on the article’s webpage (it is not published in the PDF of the article). Supplementary files are not copy-edited nor proofread by the Editorial Office, and it is the authors’ responsibility to guarantee the scientific accuracy of these files.

Supplementary files are also sent to peer-review alongside the article; thus, authors are also responsible for guaranteeing that there are no elements (including in the file’s metadata) that disclose the authors’ identity.

Editorial Process (Step-by-Step)

Online Submission

Authors must submit their manuscripts through the online submission platform, comply with our instructions for authors. Submissions by email will not be considered. Authors will receive an automatic acknowledgment email upon a successful submission. This email will also request that they provide a list of 3 potential reviewers for their manuscripts.

First Check

The Editorial staff will make a first assessment of the submitted article. Manuscripts that do not comply with the instructions for authors may be returned to the authors or rejected altogether.

Contact by Editorial Staff

The Editorial staff will contact the corresponding author with a decision as to whether the manuscript will be considered for publication in the journal and sent for peer-review. At this point of the process, authors should have already emailed the Editorial staff their list of 3 potential reviewers, otherwise they will be reminded to do so. The list will be carefully reviewed by the Editorial staff and it is not guaranteed that the suggested researchers will be contacted to review the manuscript. Authors who fail to provide a list of suitable and trustworthy reviewers may see their manuscripts immediately rejected for publication.

Peer-Review

Manuscripts will undergo a very stringent double-blind peer-review process, where both the identities of authors and reviewers remain undisclosed in order to guarantee the highest quality of the journal. All manuscripts (except for Editorials, Commentaries and Book Reviews) will be sent out for review and at least two review reports per manuscript will be collected. All reviewers will be carefully selected by the journal’s Editors for each submitted manuscript and must fulfill the following criteria:

• Hold a PhD degree and/or be a recognized expert in the field;
• Not have co-authored publications with the author(s) for the last 5 years;
• Not be affiliated with the same institution as the author(s).

Even if, in principle, a double-blind peer-review system could allow this task to be performed by scholars who are acquainted with the authors, our Editorial Office still wishes reviews to be completed only by reviewers who do not have any recent professional contact with the authors in order to fully guarantee that there are no conflicts of interests and that reviews are indeed totally unbiased. Spontaneous applications from scholars to join the journal’s pool of reviewers will not be considered. All reviewers will be selected and invited by the Editorial Office to review manuscripts according to the field of expertise of the submissions received.

Reviewers will be asked to complete their review within two weeks, but are allowed to extend the review period in order to complete and submit their report. All relevant information for reviewers can be consulted in the Instructions for Reviewers.

Decision

After each round of peer-review, the Academic Editor(s) of the thematic issue will be asked to assess the submitted manuscript and the peer-review reports collected. Decisions regarding each submission will be taken without exception by the Academic Editor(s), guaranteeing the excellence and high standard of our decision-making process. The Academic Editor(s) may decide between the following options:

• Accept the submission: the manuscript is considered to warrant high quality and can be published in the journal.
• Revisions required: authors are asked to perform revisions to their manuscript and, after resubmission, the manuscript is sent directly to the Academic Editor(s) for assessment and decision (accept submission, ask for further revisions, or decline the submission).
• Decline submission: the manuscript is considered to have major flaws that could not be resolved by revision and resubmission.

In order to guarantee swiftness of the editorial process, each manuscript will only be allowed two rounds of review and revisions. Authors are thus urged to address all issues raised by the reviewers directly after the first round of peer-review.

Copyediting

After the manuscript is accepted for publication it will undergo a first stage of copy editing where the Editorial staff will correct any minor mistakes (such as punctuation or references) and check that all necessary information regarding the manuscript and authors has been provided.

Authors will receive an edited version of their manuscript for author copy editing after acceptance of the manuscript for publication. This is the last stage where any substantial copy editing changes to the text are allowed (the next stage—proofreading—is restricted to correcting typographical and layout errors).

It is the author’s responsibility to guarantee that the English language is flawless, and authors who are not proficient or whose native language is not English must have their manuscripts edited by a proficient/native English speaker. Please consult our “Language” section for further information.

Proofreading

The Editorial staff will create the final version of the manuscript in the journal’s template and the PDF proof will be sent to the author for final proofreading before publication. Authors should carefully check the proofs for typographical or layout errors, and use the sticky notes tool to mark and explain any changes necessary.

Publication

Once all rounds of proofreading and typesetting are complete and the manuscript is considered ready for publication, the article will be made available online “ahead of print”: This means that the article will be given a working DOI address, an “in press” version of the article will become immediately accessible to readers, and authors can start sharing it with ease.

The full thematic issue will be published in one sitting as soon as all the articles, without exception, are ready.

The journal does not have any submission, processing and publishing fees.

As an open access publisher, Quarterly Journal of West Asia Political Research is committed to ensuring permanent and universal free access to all published articles, unlike closed-access journals which limit their readership to those able to pay subscription fees. This means that Quarterly Journal of West Asia Political Research does not receive any income from either subscriptions or article views/downloads. As publishing is not without its costs, including peer review, editing, proofreading and copyediting, and hosting and maintaining the journal's archives, and without adequate funding for such essential costs, the journal faces difficulties and limitations in providing the accurate and professional services it prides itself on. To offset some of these costs, authors may wish to make a financial contribution to the journal.

Instructions for Reviewers

Quarterly Journal of West Asia Political Research undertakes a very serious double-blind peer-review and carefully selects reviewers for submitted manuscripts from among the top scholars in the field. Reviewers must fulfill the following criteria:

• Hold a PhD degree and/or be a recognized expert in the field;
• Not have co-authored publications with the author(s) for the last 5 years;
• Not be affiliated with the same institution as the author(s);

Reviewers are asked to conform to the following guidelines:

• Reviewers shall not disclose any information regarding the manuscript to any other party, or use any part of the content on their own behalf;
• Reviewers who wish to suggest other potential reviewers or share the reviewing task with other colleagues shall always inform the Editorial Office of the journal before making any contact with the suggested (co-)reviewers.

Peer-Review Policy

Quarterly Journal of West Asia Political Research undertakes a double-blind peer-review and guarantees the confidentiality of the reviewers’ identities and contact details. Reviewers’ identities are only disclosed to the Editorial Board members of the journal in order to guarantee full transparency among Editors and reassure the academic community that the journal does apply a stringent peer-review process.

Review Report Form

Reviewers should fill in the peer-review report form provided by the Editorial Office through the online submission system. This form is immediately available after review acceptance and is divided into five different sections:

1. Overall Assessment

You can make an overall assessment of five different aspects of the manuscript.

• Originality of the paper: is the research or approach of the manuscript innovative?
• Interest to the readers: is the manuscript appealing to other scholars and non-experts interested in the topic?
• Scientific soundness: are the methodology and literature review well performed? Are the conclusions supported by the results?
• Clarity of presentation: are the ideas and structure of the manuscript clear and logical?
• English language level: is the English language comprehensive and flawless?

1. Recommendation

You should select recommendation for a decision regarding the manuscript from the following:

• Accept submission:The manuscript is of sufficient quality to warrant publication and no changes are needed in terms of content.
• Minor revisions required:You consider the manuscript to be free of any major flaws that could put into question the scientific soundness of the article, but the authors should still be asked to perform some minor adjustments.
• Major revisions required:You consider that key aspects of the research and proposed argument may be flawed or inconsistent, but still believe the article can make a valuable contribution to the field of studies after a thorough revision.
• Decline submission:You consider that the manuscript contains insurmountable flaws and shortcomings that cannot be resolved through revision and resubmission.

1. General Comment for Authors

In this section you can make a brief and general assessment of the paper. Recommended maximum length: 150 words.

1. Suggestions and Revisions Required

In this section include all suggestions for improvement and changes needed for the article to be accepted for publication. Please insert each different suggestion/revision needed into a new paragraph. It is extremely important that you indicate a single suggestion/revision needed per paragraph, as that will ease the process for both authors and reviewers (authors will be asked to reply point-by-point to each of the topics raised by all reviewers in their resubmission cover letter).

1. Comments for Editors (will not be revealed to the authors)

In this section you can include comments that you do not wish to be revealed to the authors.

Turnaround Period

The usual turnaround period for the delivery of the review report is two weeks. We are aware that for some researchers this period may be tight, and reviewers are always welcome to inform the Editorial Office should they need some extra time to complete the review.