Peer-review process

The peer review process includes the following steps:

1) Initial per review process by the editor

2) Double Blind Review

3) Editor's Revision and Decision

 

1. Initial review by the editor:

After the article is submitted to our journal, the high qualified journal editor screens the manuscript and decides whether it is good enough quality and whether it follows the ethical policies of the journal. Unsuitable articles may be rejected without peer review at the editor’s discretion. Manuscripts that are not properly prepared will be returned to the authors for revision and resubmission. No judgment on the potential impact of the work will be made at this stage.

2. Double blind review:

Once a manuscript passes the initial checks, it will be assigned to at least two independent experts for peer-review. A double-blind peer-review process is applied, where authors' identities are not known to reviewers. Usually, reviewers are well-known experts in the topic of the submitted manuscript and have publications in the field of research.

As result of this stage reviewer could make one of the following decisions:

▪ reject the article;

▪ revise and resubmit;

▪ accept with minor changes.

▪ accept with major changes.

All reviewer comments should be responded to in a point-by-point way. In case of the authors’ disagreement with a reviewer, they must provide a clear response.

3. Editor's decision and revision:

After completion of all procedures listed above, editorial office will issue letters stating one of the following decisions:

▪ the article is rejected with clearly stated reasons for rejection;

▪ the article is accepted for publication.

The journal "Pedagogical Academy: Scientific Notes" uses the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform — open-source software for managing and publishing scholarly journals, developed by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP, Canada). OJS is the world's most widely used platform for scholarly publishing, employed by over 25,000 journals in more than 60 countries.

1. OJS Functions in the Journal's Editorial Process

The OJS platform provides a complete editorial communication cycle — from manuscript submission by the author to article publication in open access. All stages of the editorial process take place in a single electronic environment:

Manuscript submission. Authors submit manuscripts through a step-by-step submission form on the journal's website. The system verifies the presence of mandatory elements (manuscript file, metadata, cover letter) and automatically registers the submission with a unique number.

Reviewer assignment. The editor assigns reviewers through the OJS interface, sets review deadlines, and sends invitations. The system automatically generates reminders when deadlines approach or are exceeded.

Peer review process. OJS ensures a double-blind peer review procedure: the system automatically conceals the identities of authors from reviewers and vice versa. Reviewers submit their evaluations through a standardized review form directly within the system.

Communication between participants. OJS includes a built-in internal discussion module at each stage of the editorial process (submission, review, copyediting, production). Discussions function as closed forums with the ability to attach files, and each message becomes part of the permanent editorial archive of the submission.

Editorial decisions. All editor decisions (request for revisions, acceptance, rejection) are recorded in the system and automatically sent to authors via email. The system preserves the complete decision history for each submission.

Pre-publication preparation. OJS provides copyediting, layout, and production stages with the ability to involve different specialists (copyeditor, layout editor) through the role system.

Publication. Articles are published on the journal's website with automatic assignment of metadata, CC BY 4.0 license, and placement in the corresponding issue.

2. Transparency and Accountability

The use of OJS ensures:

— complete recording of all manuscript processing stages with dates and responsible persons;

— automatic preservation of all correspondence between the author, reviewers, and editorial office;

— the ability to audit editorial decisions through the activity log;

— standardization of the review process through unified forms and evaluation criteria;

— equal and transparent access for all process participants.

3. Author Access

Authors have access to a personal dashboard on the journal's website where they can:

— submit new manuscripts;

— track the status of current submissions in real time;

— receive notifications about editorial decisions;

— upload revised manuscript versions;

— participate in internal discussions with the editorial office.

4. Security and Confidentiality

OJS ensures:

— protection of users' personal data in accordance with the journal's Privacy Statement;

— differentiation of access rights according to roles (author, reviewer, editor, administrator);

— confidentiality of the review process through automatic concealment of identifying information;

— data storage on a secure server.