Policy Document

Policy Document of Quarterly Research Journal “Al-MARSOOS”

1.      Frequency of journal

The Al-MARSOOS is a quarterly research journal of Islamic and social sciences. It publishes four issues per year.

2.      Guidelines for Submission of Research Articles

  1. Authors are requested to upload manuscript that does not carry any author’s and his institution information or any information that can reveal author’s identity.
  2. The title page that carries details of authors and their institution, acknowledgment, details of conflict of interest, disclosures and details of contribution of each author must be submitted separately.
  3. Author agreement statement must be submitted separately with manuscript and title page.
  4. The author has to ensure that the research work, he/she is submitting for publication, is genuine and the same paper has neither been published nor has it been presented elsewhere for publication.
  5. Article should be on standard format and footnote referencing in Chicago Manual format be followed for citations.
  6. Draft must be submitted at the website < https://www.almarsoos.org> with a covering letter carrying the title of the article, author’s full name, institutional affiliation, mailing address and any other information that the author wishes to send related to the paper.
  7. Maximum three contributors will be allowed in one article.
  8. Original drawings should preferably be submitted in a form ready for printing. Each illustration should bear a number, the author’s name, and the title of the paper. Tables should be clear, readable and appropriately labeled. Source of each table should be given at the bottom.
  9. Loanwords accepted in English usage should be spelled in accordance with the standard dictionaries.
  10. All submitted manuscripts will be checked with anti-plagiarism software (Turnitin) before they are sent for blind peer review. Less than 19% similarity is allowed as per the mandatory condition of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
  11. Every submitted manuscript will be reviewed by the Editor / editorial team in order to determine if the topic fits within the scope of the journal. All manuscripts received, will be accepted after initial screening, undergo double blind peer review process. The reviewer’s response will be shared with the corresponding author. In case of revision, the corresponding author will be given time to incorporate the revisions and resubmit the work.
  12. The editor / editorial Board reserves rights to edit the draft and make necessary changes, defer for revision or reject the paper.
  13. Research paper, once reviewed, cannot be withdrawn, provided the editor / editorial board allows upon request of the author/s in some special cases.
  14. Copyrights for articles published in the Al-MARSOOSare retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The Al-MARSOOS is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work.
  15. Unsolicited Manuscripts must be written in English/Urdu/Arabic. Type the manuscript on white bond paper, 8-1/2×11inches (21.6×27 cm or A4 size paper) with margins of at least 1.5 inches (4cm) on left for English and on right for Urdu/Arabic.

FONT

English: Font Style; Times New Roman, Font Size; Heading 14 and other text 12

Urdu: Font Style; Jamil Nori Nastaleeq, Font Size; Heading 16 and other text 14

Arabic: Font Style; Sakkal Majalla, Font Size; Heading 16 and other text 14

      Begin each of the following section on separate page and in the following order:

  1. Title page.
  2. Abstract
  3. Introduction
  4. Results & Conclusions
  5. References

Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Type the page number in the upper right-hand corner of each page in English, and in the upper left-hand corner of each page in Urdu and Arabic.

  1. Manuscripts should be typed in MS-Word. Text may kindly be limited to 5000 to 10000 words. A4 Paper size.
  2. The title page should:
  • present an appropriate title of article
  • list full names, affiliation, institutional and email addresses and phone numbers of all authors
  • indicate the corresponding author
  1. The abstract of 150-200 words should briefly summarize the aim, findings or purpose of the article. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and avoid citing references in the abstract. 
  2. Mention five to ten keywords representing the main content of the article.
  3. Introduction should explain the background to the study, its aims, a summary of the existing literature and why this study was necessary.
  4. For research articles this section should discuss the implications of the findings in context of existing research and highlight limitations of the study. For methodology manuscripts this section should include a discussion of any practical or operational issues involved in performing the study and any issues not covered in other sections.
  5. For reviews this should contain the body of the article, and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.
  6. For case studies this should describe the pros and the cons of the intervention, with a realistic evaluation of its feasibility and effectiveness.
  7. Conclusions should state clearly the main conclusions and provide an explanation of their relevance or importance to the field.
  8. If the paper is based on the case studies than conclusion should state what was learnt, what the next steps should be, and, if possible, what contingency planning may be required for those steps. 
  9. Please make sure you have the following information available before you submit your manuscript. Full names, affiliation, institutional and email addresses and phone numbers of all authors.

Must Read before Paper Submission

Submitting your paper to‘The Al-MARSOOS’ means author(s) agree that:

  • Authors permit to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.
  • Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details and publisher are identified.
  • All authors have approved the manuscript for submission.
  • Confirmation that the manuscript is unpublished and is not submitted elsewhere for publication.
  • Submitting your article means you accept the terms and conditions of the journal Al-MARSOOS. 

3.      Peer Review Policy

The Al-MARSOOS is a Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Research Journal. All articles submitted to journal are sent to reviewer without the details of author and his institution.

  • Internal Review

 Each paper goes through an internal review by a relevant editorial board/ team member to determine whether it is properly formatted and follows the publication ethics. The member would also consider whether basic protocols of research have been followed in research design/analysis and contribution to the literature. At the Al-MARSOOS proper desk review process has been employed where articles must go through a process of passing a desk rejection/acceptance system before sending to an expert of the field, papers that do not meet the basic requirements are not sent out for external review.

  • External Review

The Al-MARSOOS follows a double-blind review process after a paper is screened through the internal review. Authors are requested not to include their personal information in the text of the paper. They are further indicated not to post their papers on any website to prevent their identity to the potential reviewers. While reviewers are also expected to refuse if they come to know about the identification of the author(s) of a paper referred to them for peer review. External reviewers generally comment and suggest originality, quality of presentation, research design, data/results/conclusions, the usefulness of the study, and interest to the researcher's community. During an external review, if reviewers find that the research paper has major flaws that cannot be resolved through a major revision, they can recommend declining the paper.

Suggesting Reviewers
Following the HEC guidelines in letter and spirit, authors submitting their research papers to the Al-MARSOOS are not given an option to suggest potential reviewers for reviewing their research papers. While authors may indicate those scholars (due to any real or perceived conflict of interest) to whom they feel not suitable to serve as reviewers for their specific paper.

Criteria for Selection of Reviewers
Reviewers are selected carefully based on the following criteria:

  1. Must hold a Ph.D. degree or advance professional qualification with extensive professional/academic experience, i.e. CFA, CMA etc.
  2. Recognized well reputed expert in the field (having publications in reputable academic or professional research journals).
  3. Never co-authored a paper with the author(s).
  4. Not affiliated with the institution of author(s).
  5. Should have a good understanding of data analysis.

Resources Available to Reviewers

Reviewers of The Al-MARSOOS are reputable academic and professional researchers who have access to a wide range of research-related databases and other latest material. If reviewers need further material to complete their review, it is also provided to them.

Publication Ethics (for reviewers)
All reviewers are encouraged to follow the HEC guidelines for reviewers to meet their responsibilities in relation to objectivity, promptness, conflict of interest, confidentiality and reporting.

Steps in Peer Review Process
Peer review process can be broadly described as:

S.No

Steps of Review Process

Estimated Time

1

Submission of paper

-

2

First internal review *

1 week

3

External review

1-2 weeks

4

Communication of review reports to authors for minor/major revision **

1 week

5

Submission of the revised paper

1-2 weeks

6

Second internal review (to assess whether reviewers’ suggestions have been incorporated satisfactorily) ***

1 week

7

Acceptance of paper (on successful submission of revised paper)

1 week

* Paper is returned to authors if it does not meet the basic criteria.

** Paper is returned to authors if external reviewers find that the research paper has so serious faults that cannot be resolved through a major revision.

*** Authors are requested for further revision if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily.

Note: Authors are requested to revise the paper carefully in accordance with the reviewers’ suggestions to avoid unnecessary delay in the review process.

Resubmission of Paper (after peer review)

Nearly every published paper goes through at least one revision. Authors should take a revision request as good news and an opportunity to learn and improve the quality of their research paper. They are directed to revise the paper carefully in accordance with the reviewers’ suggestions to avoid needless interruption in the review process. Generally, when the review report is provided each review point is required to either be incorporated in the revised version of the paper or an appropriate response is expected from the Author. Author(s) should be very careful regarding accuracy and completeness in accordance with the reviewers’ suggested points, so as to avoid further review and delay (further revision can be recommended if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily).

Keeping in view the other academic/professional commitments, authors may request extra time, if they feel that revision needs more effort and time to improve the quality of the paper.

4.      Originality and Plagiarism Policy

The Al-MARSOOS Publish only original research conducted by authors as mentioned in author guideline. The allowed similarity index is less than 19% as per policy of HEC Pakistan.

5.      Ethical guidelines

5.1. Authorship

Authorship credit should be based on meeting the following criteria:

  • 1. Substantial contribution to paper concept or design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
  • 2. Drafting the article or reviewing and introducing fundamental changes in it;
  • 3. Final approval of the version to be published.

All persons designated as authors and co-authors should meet these criteria. As co-authors of a paper there should be identified all persons who have made significant scientific contributions to the work reported, and who therefore share responsibility its content and results. Authors should also appropriately recognize the contributions of technical staff and data professionals. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g., financial support) should be listed in the section “Acknowledgements” (financial disclosure). Editors retain the right to request information about the contributions of each person in writing the article.

Authors should also be aware that the following phenomena are the examples of scientific misconduct and must be avoided: ghostwriting and guest writing authorship.

A group of co-authors should jointly make the decision about the order in which their names are given. During manuscript submission, the submitting author must provide contact information (full name, email address, institutional affiliation and mailing address) for all of the co-authors. The author who submits the manuscript for publication accepts the responsibility of notifying all co-authors of the manuscript being submitted. Author must submit Author Agreement statement duly signed by each author, which should be submitted together with the manuscript.

All detected cases of scientific misconduct will be documented and the appropriate institutions and entities will be notified.

5.2. Sources of Data and Ideas

Authors are required to faithfully acknowledge and identify contributions of other persons to their reported work as well as clearly identify sources of both data and ideas. Authors should cite all publications that have been important in development of the submitted study and that will guide the reader to the earlier researchers that are essential for understanding the present analysis.

Authors are required to make reasonable and diligent efforts to find, and then accurately cite, original sources and publications. Authors should only present as reliable either personally verified or peer-reviewed sources of scientific data and literature.

Authors must not engage in plagiarism or self-plagiarism. Plagiarism is verbatim or near-verbatim copying, or paraphrasing without due modification, of text, data, or other material containing results of another person’s work, without explicit identification of the source of such material. Similarly, self-plagiarism is replicating of the author’s own previously published text or results without acknowledgement of the source. Exercising care for publishing only original research, editors of the Al-MARSOOS are committed to deterring plagiarism and self-plagiarism and may use special software to screen submitted manuscripts for similarity to previously published material. The manuscripts may be screened during the whole editorial cycle, including submission process and until the final publication in online or print form.

 

5.3. Duplicate Publications

It is prohibited for an author to submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal of primary publication, unless it is a resubmission of a manuscript rejected for or withdrawn from publication. An author is required organize his or her paper so that it provides a well-rounded description of the examined issue. Fragmentation of research reports excessively consumes journal space and unduly complicates literature research; therefore, authors are expected to avoid it whenever possible.

5.4. Open Access Policy

The Al-MARSOOS provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Copyright for articles published in the Al-MARSOOS journal are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The Al-MARSOOS is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author’s responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author. All articles published in the Al-MARSOOS can be deposited in public and institutional repositories such as research gate, university libraries, personal websites etc.

5.5. Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered on our site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of our journals and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

5.6. Content license

The Al-MARSOOS applies the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License. License for scholarly work it publishes. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

6.    Author Agreement Form

Authors of the research article are required to submit Author Agreement Statement that declares originality, not accepted for publication anywhere, consent of authors for paper publication in the journal and nomination of corresponding authors. The statement of author agreement must be signed by all the authors of research paper.

Deadlines of all Processes

The authors can submit their research paper though out the year. There is no submission deadline.

7.      Reviewing and Editing

The Al-MARSOOS is double blind peer-reviewed journal. Submitted papers and short communication are evaluated by independent referees or Editorial Board members specialized in the article field. Our reviewers evaluate submitted material’s scientific significance and novelty, define its accordance to general journal profile, and scrutinize its content for compliance with the journal’s publication ethics. After the refereeing process is complete, the paper may be rejected, returned to the author for revisions, or accepted for publication.

The authors are responsible for the contents of their paper or short communication. Editors may request an author, when considered necessary, to elaborate on the content or technical details of the paper. Scientific editing might change format and correct the writing to render it compliant with editorial policy of the journal.

Pictures and graphs are special subject to editorial consideration, as their quantity should be optimal and only necessary in the content of papers. Pictures, graphs and textual content alike are subject to ethical standards concerning authorship and integrity. Additionally, whenever images are included in accounts of research process or results, or in data collections, the author must provide an accurate description of how the images originated.

8.      Acceptance of Articles and Publication of Articles

The acceptance and publication of article is based on decision of the editor of the journal. The editor takes decision in the light of review report received from reviewer.

9.      Timelines of Publication of Issues

The Journal releases four issues per year. The first issue releases on 31st March of every year and second issue releases on 30th June of every year and third issue releases on 30th September of every year and fourth issue releases 31st of every December. The journal takes at least one week to complete review process after the date of submission. The journal publishes all research articles in the next issue which are being received in less than one week time before the release of current issue.

10.     Article Processing and Publication Fee

  1. Processing Fee: NO (No Processing Fee)
  2. Publication Fee: NO (No Publishing Fee)

11.  Steps involved from date of receipt of research article till the publication of article

  1. Authors are required to submit complete manuscript without details of authors and their institution along with separate title page carries details pf authors and their affiliation.
  2. The editor/manager of the journal assigns manuscript with anonymous author to an editor from editorial board for desk review. The journal uses open journal system for management of the journal. The editor of the journal also has right of the journal manager.
  3. The editorial board member sent article to editor after desk review/ initial screening.
  4. The editor sent to review all those articles which successfully clear desk review and assign two reviewers including national/international reviewers to the article.
  5. The review receive notification on his email and on Open Journal System.
  6. The editor takes decision whether article is fine for publication or not. If the article is fine for publication. The editor further sends article for copy editing after receiving two positive review rom authors.
  7. The copy editing involve in further proof reading of research article and doing correction inn formatting of article.
  8. Once the copyediting is done. The editor sends article for production and publication. A Pdf of research article is being attached on Open Journal System with abstract and affiliation details of authors.

12.      Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Conflict of interest is a situation in which the process of research and publication may be corrupted or its results may be biased because of some other interests of its participants. It may concern any one or more of the participants of research and publication process – the author, the reviewer, or the editor. Conflicts of interest may occur for financial (e.g., employment opportunities, fees or other compensation arrangements, beneficial ownership of stock) or other reasons (e.g., personal relationships, pursuit of academic career, intellectual passion, political involvement etc.) that can reasonably be expected to influence motivations or results of actions of participants of the publication process.

Conflicts of interest constitute a serious threat to the integrity and objectivity of both scientific research and publishing. Therefore, best practice for authors, reviewers and editors alike, is to avoid conflicts of interest situations whenever possible.

All participants in publication process who are in the situation of a conflict of interest, must disclose this fact. Of special importance is that if the original research study reported in the manuscript or the preparation of the manuscript was supported by one or more grants, the title and number of the grant(s) and the name of the institution(s) that provided the grants or financial support to conduct, analyze or write-up the study, must be specified in the manuscript.

Editors of the Al-MARSOOS may use information disclosed in conflict-of-interest and financial-support statements as a basis for editorial decisions. The corresponding author must either notify the editor at the time of submission that there is no conflict of interest to declare, or fairly and effectively communicate all conflicts of interest, which will then be acknowledged in the published article.

13.  Correction and Retraction of Research Articles

The editor of the journal sends an email to the authors of the article for revision/correction proposed by Editorial board member and reviewers after the initial screening and the final review respectively.

14.  Contribution and Consents of each Author and any other Information

Authors are required to submit details of contribution of each author in title page that is uploaded separately, and submit consent of each author in author agreement statement.