1. Submission Declaration
The submission of an article implies that the work has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture, an academic thesis, or an electronic preprint), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and that its publication is approved by all authors. Upon acceptance, the authors agree to publish the article under an open access license, making it freely available online to the public. The article may not be published elsewhere in the same form or in another language except in accordance with the terms of the applicable open access license and with proper attribution to the original publication.
2. Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication
An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Concurrently submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
In general, authors should not submit for consideration in another journal a previously published paper. Publication of certain types of content (e.g., policy documents, translations, or substantially revised versions of previously published work) in more than one journal may be acceptable, provided that specific conditions are met. In such cases, the authors and editors of the journals concerned must agree to the secondary publication, which must accurately reflect the data and interpretation of the original work. The primary publication must be clearly cited in the secondary publication.
3. Originality and Plagiarism
Authors should ensure that they have written genuinely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this must be appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off’ another’s paper as the author’s own paper to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms is counted as unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. The journal uses plagiarism detection tools to screen submissions for originality.
4. Data Access and Retention
Authors are encouraged to make data underlying their articles available upon request from the editors or through appropriate external repositories, where ethically and legally permissible. Authors should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable period after publication and to provide it if requested for verification purposes.
5. Acknowledgement of Sources
Proper acknowledgment of the work of other authors must always be given. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work should be cited. Information obtained privately through conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties must not be used or reported without the explicit permission of the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential activities, such as reviewing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the permission of the author of the work involved.
6. Authorship of the Paper
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.
The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are declared in the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
7. Changes to Authorship
The journal allows the addition, removal, or rearrangement of author names in an accepted manuscript prior to publication. Any such request must be submitted by the corresponding author and must include a justification for the change and written confirmation that all listed authors agree to the proposed modification.
8. Fundamental Errors in Published Works
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and to cooperate with the editor in issuing a correction or retraction. If the editor or publisher becomes aware, through a third party, that a published work contains a significant error, the author is obligated to cooperate with the editor to correct or retract the paper or to provide evidence supporting the accuracy of the original work.
9. Open Access and Licensing Policy
The journal has an open access policy. All published content is made immediately and freely available to the public without any access restrictions.
Authors retain the intellectual property rights, including copyright, to their work. By submitting and publishing in the journal, authors grant the journal the right to publish their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
This license permits non-commercial use, sharing, and distribution of the published work, provided that proper attribution is given to the original author(s). Derivative works are not permitted.
The journal operates under the umbrella of Balkan Journals, a publishing brand managed by Balkan University Press, the publishing house of International Balkan University, and adheres to the principles of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI).
The journal does not charge readers or their institutions for access to its content. The journal also does not charge any article processing charges (APCs), submission fees, or publication fees.
10. Archiving and Preservation Policy
The journal ensures the long-term preservation and accessibility of its published content. In accordance with national legal deposit regulations, Balkan University Press (BUP) deposits hard copies of each published issue with the National and University Library, thereby ensuring permanent archiving of the journal’s scholarly record.
In addition, the journal maintains electronic copies of all published articles on its official website and in institutional repositories, providing continued access to published content in the event of technological or organizational changes.
11. Copyediting and Proofreading
The journal publishes exclusively in English. Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts are written in clear and appropriate academic English. Accepted manuscripts may undergo language editing as part of the editorial process at no cost to the authors.
12. Queuing for Publishing
The journal accepts submissions on an ongoing basis. Calls for special issues are typically announced approximately eight months prior to publication. After completion of the peer review and copyediting processes, the Editorial Board determines the issue in which an accepted article will be published. Articles are generally scheduled for publication according to the date of submission; however, exceptions may be made for special issues or focused thematic sections. Authors will be informed of the publication schedule.
13. Acceptance Letter
Upon request, the journal may issue an official acceptance letter confirming the acceptance status of a manuscript after completion of the peer review process. If applicable, the acceptance letter may include the assigned Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The issuance of an acceptance letter does not affect the editorial decision-making process or the publication timeline.
14. Use of the Digital Object Identifier
The journal assigns a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to each accepted article as part of the publication process. A DOI is a unique and persistent alphanumeric identifier that enables reliable citation and linking to electronic scholarly content.
DOIs are assigned upon online publication or, where applicable, to articles accepted for publication (“articles in press”). Once assigned, a DOI remains permanently associated with the published work and does not change.
15. Copies of the Journal
Authors are provided with a digital PDF version of their published article at no cost. Hard copies of the journal may be distributed to authors or members of the editorial team at the discretion of the publisher.
16. Review Process
The Journal applies a double-blind peer review process to all research articles.
Upon submission, manuscripts are first screened by the editorial team to ensure compliance with the journal’s aims, scope, and submission guidelines. Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are anonymized and sent to at least two independent reviewers with expertise in the relevant field.
In the double-blind peer review process, the identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed throughout the review procedure. Reviewers evaluate submissions based on their academic quality, originality, methodological rigor, clarity, and relevance to the journal’s scope.
Based on the reviewers’ reports, the Editor-in-Chief or the responsible editor makes one of the following decisions:
- accept the manuscript,
- request minor revisions,
- request major revisions, or
- reject the manuscript.
The final decision regarding publication rests with the editorial board. All manuscripts are reviewed according to the same standards, and editorial decisions are made independently of authors’ institutional affiliation, nationality, or personal characteristics.
17. Reviewers
Reviewers are selected based on their expertise in the relevant subject area and their ability to provide objective and constructive evaluations. All reviewers are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest and to adhere to principles of confidentiality throughout the peer review process.
Reviewers are expected to provide fair, timely, and professional assessments that assist the editors in making informed editorial decisions. Reviewers must not contact authors directly, and all communication is conducted through the editorial office.
Reviewers are required to treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential and must not use or disclose any information obtained through the peer review process for personal or professional advantage. Any suspected ethical issues or conflicts of interest must be reported to the editorial office.
18. Ethical Guidelines
The journal is committed to upholding high ethical standards in academic publishing and adheres to the principles and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All parties involved in the publication process - including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher - are expected to comply with these standards.
In particular:
- Authors must ensure the originality and integrity of their work, avoid plagiarism and data fabrication, and provide accurate and transparent reporting of their research.
- All listed authors must have made a substantial contribution to the work, approved the final manuscript, and agreed to its submission.
- Editors and reviewers are expected to act impartially, maintain confidentiality, disclose any conflicts of interest, and provide fair and constructive evaluations.
- Editorial decisions are based solely on the academic merit of submissions and are made independently of authors’ personal or institutional characteristics.
- The journal is committed to transparency and integrity in the scholarly record and will issue corrections or retractions when necessary, in accordance with COPE guidelines.