Peer Review Process

Journal of Humanities Research Sustainability is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal. Every paper submitted for publication is subject to peer review, conducted by two or more reviewers with expertise comparable to the author's, aiming to determine the academic paper's suitability for publication and to maintain the quality and credibility of published work.

The corresponding or submitting author submits the paper via the Open Journal System (OJS).

The editor checks fit with the journal's focus and scope, and evaluates the paper's composition against the Author Guidelines, including an assessment of minimum quality and any major methodological flaws. Every paper that passes this step is checked by Turnitin, with a similarity index threshold of 15%, before being sent to reviewers.

The Editor-in-Chief checks whether the paper is appropriate for the journal, sufficiently original, interesting, and significant for publication. If not, the paper may be rejected without further review.

The handling editor invites reviewers based on subject-matter expertise in humanities and sustainability research, closeness of research interest, and absence of conflict of interest, aiming to secure at least two reviewers. Double-blind review is maintained throughout — reviewers do not know the author's identity, and vice versa.

Potential reviewers consider the invitation against their expertise, conflicts of interest, and availability, and decide whether to accept or decline. Editors may ask a declining reviewer to suggest an alternative.

Reviewers read the paper carefully, building a detailed point-by-point review, then submit it with a recommendation to accept, reject, or request revision (major or minor).

The Editor-in-Chief and handling editor consider all returned reviews before making an overall decision. If reviews differ widely, an additional reviewer may be invited for a further opinion.

The editor sends a decision email to the author, including relevant reviewer comments shared anonymously. Reviewers are also notified of the outcome of their review.

If accepted, the paper proceeds to copy-editing. If rejected or returned for revision, the handling editor includes constructive reviewer comments to help the author improve the article. Revised papers are resubmitted to the editor and, where substantial changes were requested, sent back to the original reviewers for a follow-up review; minor revisions may be handled directly by the handling editor.

Accepted papers are published online and made freely available as downloadable PDF files.

The estimated total time from submission to publication is approximately 6 months (24 weeks), combining the review stages above with the production stages that follow. For a small number of papers, this timeline may extend slightly due to revision rounds or publication queue scheduling.