Originality and plagiarism policy.

SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) firmly complies with the ethical guidelines for publications and observes Zero Tolerance for plagiarism. SUJRIS uses Turnitin software for all research papers submitted to detect possible similarities. If the similarity is more than 19%, the article is returned to the author(s) immediately. SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) follows Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (HEC) guidelines to determine whether (or to what extent) plagiarism exists.

If plagiarism or other unethical practices are detected after publishing the paper, the editorial board can retract the article as HEC’s plagiarism policy. All authors are responsible for their content individually and collectively. In case of severe plagiarism issues, the editorial board may decide to consult the authors’ institutions or blacklist them.

Self-plagiarism: verbatim or substantial copying of authors’ own published work (or under consideration for publication at some other outlet) affecting the originality of current submission is also not acceptable in any way.

Peer review policy.

The peer review process is one of the publication’s most essential and fundamental components. The credibility and reputation of a journal mainly depend on the integrity of the peer review process and the trust of authors.
SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) follows peer review guidelines of HEC in true letter and spirit to meet annual funding requirements. All papers submitted to the Journal of Islamic and Religious Studies undergo a rigorous internal and external review by experts in the relevant area of interest:

Internal/Desk Review

Each paper goes through an internal / desk review by a relevant editorial board member to determine whether it is appropriately formatted and follows publication ethics. The board member would also consider whether basic research protocols have been observed in research design/analysis and contribution to the literature. Papers not meeting the basic requirements are not sent out for external review.

External Review (National & International)

SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) follows a double-blind review process after a paper is screened through the internal review. Team SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) asks the author not to include their personal information in the text of the article. If authors display personal information, another file is uploaded after the removal of the author’s information and sent to reviewers. Authors/s is further indicated not to post their papers on any website to prevent their identity to the potential reviewers. In contrast, 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.

 
Three reviewers, one local and two international are referred to the article through the online portal of SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies), ensuring that the epapericle is referred to a reviewer with specialization in the relevant field. A reviewer proforma is also attached with each review request which helps the reviewer in the review process. Each reviewer is given a timeline of 4 – 5 weeks for review. A reminder is sent if the reviewer fails to comply with the timeline.
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 significant 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 SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) are not allowed to suggest potential reviewers review their research papers.

Criteria for Selection of Reviewers

Reviewers are selected carefully based on the following criteria:
1. Must hold a Ph.D. degree or advanced professional qualification with extensive professional/academic experience.

  1. Recognized expert in the field (having publications in reputable academic or professional research journals)
  2. Not affiliated with the institution of author(s)
  3. Should have a good understanding of data analysis

Steps in Peer Review Process

The peer review process can be broadly described as follows:

Sr#

Steps of Review Process

Estimated Time

1

Submission of paper

–

2

First internal / desk review *

3-4 weeks

3

External review

4-5 weeks

4

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

1 week

5

Submission of the revised paper

3-4 weeks

6

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

2-4 weeks

7

Acceptance of paper (on successful submission of revised paper)

1 week

8

Submission of Publication Charges

1 week

9

Publication of Issue (Online & Print)

Last week of every June & December

* Paper is returned to authors if it does not meet the essential criteria
** Paper is returned to authors if external reviewers find that the research paper has such serious faults that cannot be resolved through a major revision
*** Authors are requested for further modification if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily


Note: Authors are asked to revise the paper carefully by the reviewers’ recommendations 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 are directed to carefully revise the paper by the reviewers’ suggestions to avoid unnecessary interruption in the review process. The revised paper and the reply/response to the review report should be submitted within two weeks. Author(s) should be conscientious regarding the accuracy and completeness of the reviewers’ suggested points, to avoid further review and delay (further revision can be recommended if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily).

Appeal/Complaint Process

The Editorial Board of SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) is committed to providing quality editorial services to its contributors and believes in building and maintaining trust and respect for all contributors, readers, and practitioners. Journal of Islamic and Religious Studies believes in improving its services by responding to appeals and rectifying its mistakes against:
a) Objection to publications causing harm to any party

  1. b) Infringing ethical boundaries in any manner and
  2. c) Rejection of research paper
    Authors/readers can submit their appeals directly to the Editor at sujris@uswat.edu.pk and editorsujris@gmail.com The appeal must provide detailed justification (harm, ethical issues, or response to editor/reviewer comments). The Editor would look after the matter independently and forward it to some appropriate SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) editorial board member. Finally, after going through the whole complaint/justification, the board member can recommend acceptance of the appeal, further review, or uphold the original decision (if any).

Article processing/publication fee etc.

Article Processing & Publishing Charges (APC) Information
SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies), is fully open access and allows the research community and the general public to gain unlimited, accessible, and immediate access to scholarly articles and freely reuse the content, provided that proper attribution is given to the original authors.

To cover the cost of providing our high-quality publishing service and free access to readers, authors pay article processing & publishing charges (APPC) for manuscripts after the successful completion of the peer-review process. There are no submission charges or surcharges based on the length of an article, figures, or supplementary data.

APC details for National Contributors:
Publishing Charges: 20000 PKR (For Selected Articles after successful peer-review)

APC details for International Contributors:
Publishing Charges: USD 200 (For Selected Articles after successful peer review)

 

SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) also give full or partial waivers to encourage researchers of low income or who don’t have any funds for their research projects to publish the manuscript. For further details, see Waiver Policy.

 

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

∙The potential and relevant competing financial, personal, social or other interest of all author(s) that might be affected by publication of the results contained in the manuscript must be conveyed to the editor.

∙The author(s) should disclose any potential conflict of interest at the earliest possible stage, including but not limited to employment, consultancies, honoraria, patent applications/ registrations, grants or other funding.

∙All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed alongside a brief overview of the role played, if any by the responses during various stages of the research.

 

Corrections and retractions of research articles.

Nearly every published paper goes through at least one revision. Authors are directed to carefully revise the paper by the reviewers’ suggestions to avoid unnecessary interruption in the review process. The revised paper and the reply/response to the review report should be submitted within two weeks. Author(s) should be conscientious regarding the accuracy and completeness of the reviewers’ suggested points, to avoid further review and delay (further revision can be recommended if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily).

The Editorial Board of SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) is committed to providing quality editorial services to its contributors and believes in building and maintaining trust and respect for all contributors, readers, and practitioners. Journal of Islamic and Religious Studies believes in improving its services by responding to appeals and rectifying its mistakes against:
a) Objection to publications causing harm to any party

  1. b) Infringing ethical boundaries in any manner and
  2. c) Rejection of research paper
    Authors/readers can submit their appeals directly to the Editor at sujris@uswat.edu.pk and editorsujris@gmail.com The appeal must provide detailed justification (harm, ethical issues, or response to editor/reviewer comments). The Editor would look after the matter independently and forward it to some appropriate SUJRIS (Swat University Journal of Religious and Islamic Studies) editorial board member. Finally, after going through the whole complaint/justification, the board member can recommend acceptance of the appeal, further review, or uphold the original decision (if any).

Policy and principles on research data.

The following ethical guidelines are obligatory for all author(s) violations that may result in the application of penalties by the editor, including but not limited to the suspension or revocation of publishing privileges.

  • Will ensure that the research report and data contain adequate detail.
  • Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unethical.

Contribution of each author with details.

  • Authorship of the work may only be credited to those who have made a noteworthy contribution in conceptualization, conducting, data analysis, and writing the manuscript.
  • The corresponding author should ensure that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Privacy of Participants

  • Authors must respect the privacy of the participant(s) of the research.

Authors must ensure that in instances where the participant’s identity needs to be revealed in the study, explicit and informed consent of the concerned party is obtained.