Journal Emerging Technologies in Education is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal, where both authors' and reviewers' identities are concealed from each other throughout the review process. This approach minimizes potential bias and ensures manuscripts are evaluated solely on their intellectual merit and methodological quality. Every submitted paper is subject to peer review by at least two reviewers with expertise comparable to the author's, aiming to determine the manuscript's suitability for publication and to maintain the quality and credibility of published work.
The review and production process proceeds through the following stages.
1. Submission of Paper
The corresponding or submitting author submits the paper through the journal's Open Journal System (OJS). All submissions must be made through this online system to ensure a transparent and traceable review process.
2. Initial Evaluation (3–7 days)
The Editorial Assistant or Managing Editor checks that the submission is complete (title, abstract, keywords, required declarations) and conforms to the journal's Author Guidelines. Every submitted paper that passes this step is checked using Turnitin to measure its similarity index; papers with a similarity index above 15% are returned to the author before proceeding further. The submission's fit with the journal's Focus and Scope is assessed using the
Manuscript Readiness Level (MRL) tool. Manuscripts that are insufficiently original, fall outside the journal's scope, or have obvious methodological flaws may be rejected at this stage without further review.
3. Handling Editor Evaluation (1 week)
A subject-expert handling editor is assigned to the manuscript and evaluates its relevance to the field, the strength and rigor of its argumentation or methodology, and its potential contribution to the literature. Where the assigned editor is an author, or otherwise has a competing interest regarding the manuscript, another member of the editorial board is assigned instead. Based on this evaluation, the manuscript is either rejected, returned for revision prior to review, or sent forward to peer reviewers.
4. Invitation to Reviewers (1–2 weeks)
The handling editor invites reviewers based on subject-matter expertise, closeness of research interest, and absence of conflict of interest, aiming to secure at least two independent reviewers.
5. Double-Blind Review is Conducted (2–4 weeks)
Reviewers evaluate the manuscript's relevance and originality, clarity and structure of argumentation, technical or methodological quality, adherence to citation standards, and its potential scientific or scholarly impact, forming a detailed, point-by-point evaluation. Each reviewer recommends one of: Accept, Minor Revisions Required, Major Revisions Required (Resubmit for Review), Resubmit Elsewhere, or Decline. A well-substantiated concern raised by a single reviewer, or by the handling editor independently of the reviewer reports, may be sufficient grounds for rejection.
6. Post-Review Evaluation & Decision (3–7 days)
The handling editor assesses the reviewers' recommendations and prepares a decision. Editors consider all returned reviews but are not bound by them; if recommendations differ substantially, an additional reviewer may be invited. The manuscript must be evaluated by a minimum of two reviewers before a decision is finalized. Where required, this recommendation is confirmed by the Editor-in-Chief.
7. Revision & Re-Review (typically 1–4 weeks, depending on scope of revision)
Nearly all manuscripts require at least minor revision before acceptance. The corresponding author submits a revised manuscript together with a point-by-point response to reviewer comments — typically within one to two weeks for minor revisions, or up to four weeks for major revisions. Manuscripts with major revisions are re-evaluated by the original reviewers where possible to confirm the revisions are satisfactory, which may add a further 1–3 weeks.
8. Final Decision (3–7 days)
Once the handling editor is satisfied with the revisions, the Editor-in-Chief issues a Final Accept or Decline decision, communicated to the author along with any relevant anonymized reviewer comments.
9. Notification & Payment (3–7 days)
Upon Final Accept, the corresponding author is notified and issued an Article Processing Charge (APC) invoice, in accordance with our
Article Processing Charge page. Payment must be completed before the manuscript proceeds to copyediting.
10. Copyediting (1–2 weeks)
Once payment is confirmed, the manuscript undergoes copyediting for language, consistency, and adherence to journal style, in coordination with the corresponding author.
11. Layout & Proofreading (1–2 weeks)
The manuscript is formatted into the journal's layout by the Layout Editor, followed by a proofreading pass — either by a journal-assigned proofreader or the author — to catch any final typographical or formatting issues before publication.
12. Publication
The finalized article is assigned a DOI and compiled into the next scheduled issue, and made freely available as a downloadable PDF file under open access upon that issue's release. The journal does not publish articles individually as they are finalized ("continuous" or "publish-as-you-go" publication); every accepted article is held until its assigned issue is released.
Authors are strongly advised to ensure the author list is final, and that author order is correct, at the time of submission. Changes to authorship — including the addition or removal of an author — are not permitted once a manuscript has entered the review process. If such a change is requested, the review process will be paused and the matter referred to the editorial board for examination. Under no circumstances is a change to authorship permitted after a manuscript has been accepted.
Overall Timeline
The estimated total time from submission to publication typically ranges from 1 to 6 months. Two factors account for most of this variation: (1) how quickly invited reviewers respond and how many rounds of revision the manuscript requires (Stages 4–7 above), and (2) how a manuscript's submission and acceptance dates align with the journal's bimonthly issue cycle, since — as noted in Stage 12 — every accepted article is held for its assigned issue rather than published individually.
Because the journal publishes six issues per year, each issue's production window is roughly eight weeks. A manuscript submitted soon after an issue is released, reviewed promptly by responsive reviewers, and requiring only minor revision can complete Stages 1–9 well within that same eight-week window and be compiled directly into the upcoming issue, resulting in a total time as short as approximately 4 to 6 weeks. A manuscript submitted later in the cycle, requiring major or multiple rounds of revision, or where reviewers disagree and an additional reviewer must be consulted, will miss that issue's compilation deadline and roll over to a subsequent one — extending the total time toward 5 to 6 months. In every case the manuscript passes through the same double-blind review by at least two independent reviewers described above; no manuscript is exempted from any review stage regardless of how quickly it is ultimately published.
