Lahore College for Women University

Policy Document for Research Journal of Language and Literature

Aim and Scope

Research Journal of Language and Literature (RJLL) aims to provide research findings and promote scholarship in English Language and Literature. An innovative approach towards research in English language as well as Literature is the special focus of the journal. The journal supports original and collaborative research from all parts of the world with the aim to develop a national and international community of researchers who believe in creating knowledge to improve quality and understanding of research practice in diverse contexts. Research Journal of Language and Literature (RJLL) is committed to provide expert and authoritative reviews and analyses of the most important developments across the rapidly expanding fields of English language and literature. It also provides a unique forum by inviting contributions from the foremost international experts, to examine new methodologies with the latest research.

Open Access Statement

RJLL is an open access journal that means that all content is freely available without charge to the reader/viewer/user or her/his institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author except for referencing/citing/crediting the article, author, and journal as prescribed by COPE’s Codes of Conduct and Guidelines/Practices. Open Archive Policy All the contents of the RJLL are Open Archive. RJLL follows an Open Archive Policy for copyright and licensing. If researchers are using or reproducing content from this platform, they need to appropriately cite the author(s) and journal name.

Ethical Practices/Guidelines

The RJLL follows ethical and best practices as set by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the ethical guidelines as recommended by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC). RJLL Editorial Board upholds to comply with and ensure ethical considerations in submission, review, conflict of interest, disclosure and publication process as underlined by COPE declaration on publication ethics and conflict of interest.

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statements

Research Journal of Language and Literature (RJLL) is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the advancement of research in English Language and Literature with excellence. The Journal does not compromise on quality and originality of research and follows the standard rules of publication ethics. In the journal all submitted manuscripts pass through plagiarism test as an initial screening. Further, the manuscripts go through Double-Blind peer review process. The final editorial decision of Acceptance/ Acceptance with minor revision/ Acceptance with major revision or Rejection depends on the reviewers’ recommendations. To ensure the integrity of scholarly publishing: publisher, editors, reviewers, and authors are required to follow the following ethical standards:

Duties of Publisher

As per the standards defined by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) the publisher of RJLL is responsible for the following:
1. To define the relationship between publisher, editor, and other parties in a contract
2. To respect privacy (for example, for research participants, for authors, for peer reviewers)
3. To protect intellectual property and copyright
4. To maintain the confidentiality of the submitted research work
5. To maintain Authorship – Transparency and integrity (for example, conflicts of interest, research funding, reporting standards – Peer review – Appeals and complaints)
6. To review journal policies periodically based on international standards of publication ethics
7. To implement code of conduct for editors, reviewers, and authors
8. To maintain the integrity of the record
9. To investigate suspected research and publication misconduct
10. To Publish corrections, clarifications, and retractions
11. Publish content on a timely basis

Duties of Editors

Editor is responsible for the following tasks:
1. To check the submitted manuscript with the scope of the Journal
2. To check the similarity (if the overall similarity is more than 10% or one source similarity is more than 5% then straight away rejected)
3. To evaluate manuscript only for their intellectual contents without regard to the nature of author, institution, or other influential reasons
4. To maintain the information of submitted manuscript confidential to anyone other than reviewers, section editors, and publisher
5. Not to use the disclosed unpublished material and idea of the submitted manuscript for his/her own research

Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers are responsible for the following tasks:
1. To review that manuscript for which they feel qualified
2. To evaluate a manuscript in the assigned and agreed bracket time
3. To maintain the information of submitted manuscript confidential
4. To conduct review objectively and should not use personal criticism of the author
5. To identify the relevant published work which is not cited
6. To take notice and inform the editor if they get any type of substantial similarity in idea or in text
7. To keep confidential the ideas obtained through peer review and must not use for personal advantage
8. To not take the manuscript for evaluation, in case, of any conflicts of interest based on any connection with authors or institutions related to the submitted research

Duties of Authors

1. Authors should submit original research with objective discussion of its significance. A manuscript should contain existing ideas with references and contribution with logical evidences
2. Authors are bound to make available the raw data if they are asked to provide in connection with a paper for editorial review
3. Authors must adhere the publication requirement of RJLL during submissions like copyright license agreement and copyright transfer as mentioned in “authorGuidelines”
4. Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study
5. It is to make sure that all authors have seen the final approved version and they have no conflict in submission
6. It is to make sure that all authors should disclose that they have no conflict of interest in this submission and possible publication

RJLL Publication Policy Agreement

Publication Terms

Submitting your manuscript to Research Journal of Language and Literature (RJLL) means that your work has not been published before anywhere i.e. in any other journal, book or in a book chapter, be it printed or online (except in the form of an abstract or an academic thesis), that it is also not in any way under consideration for publication elsewhere, that the submitted manuscript has the permission for publication from all of the concerned author(s) and is approved from the responsible authorities where that work was carried out, and that, if accepted in RJLL, will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in any language, without the prior consent of the publisher. The editors of RJLL have the right to edit or alter all contributions, but authors of the submitted work will receive testimony before the publication of their work in RJLL.

Disclaimer

The disclaimer informs readers that the views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the text belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to the author’s employer, organization, committee or other group or individual. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and forum participants on the RJLL website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the RJLL or official policies of the RJLL. The views, opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these papers and articles are strictly those of the author(s). They do not necessarily reflect the views of the RJLL or Editorial Board or the Publishers. The RJLL and the Publishers take no responsibility for any errors or omissions in, or for the correctness of, the information contained in papers and articles. The contents of this Journal are authors’ personal views. The ideas/statements, facts and Figures, and thoughts/expressions by the contributors/authors in the RJLL do not indicate/represent/imply the official policy of the Research Journal of Language and Literature (RJLL) and the Editors or Publishers.

Copyright

As far as copyrights are concerned, they are retained by the authors of manuscripts published or to be published in RJLL but with first publication rights granted to RJLL. The journal or editors are not responsible for any successive use of the author(s) work. If so desired, it is the job of author (s) to bring an encroachment action.

MLA Rules

RJLL accepts papers only in MLA format, (see submission guidelines for authors) to suit the mission, vision, objectives, and focus of the journal.

Disclosure of Interest Policy

RJLL maintains the highest form of research, therefore, any details that would make the reliability and validity of the research doubtful due to a conflict of interest, should be included in the following format with the original submission for publication: I have no potential conflict of interest pertaining to this submission to RJLL. I agree to all the above-mentioned terms of the RJLL Publishing Policy Agreement and accept the fact that the decision of RJLL will be full and final. Corresponding Author’s Signature (on behalf of Co-Authors’ Signatures)

Peer Review Process

All research articles published in RJLL go through an initial editor screening followed by a rigorous peer review by two national and one international referee to determine the suitability of the academic paper for publication. The process of submission, editing, refereeing, review, and correspondence with authors is through email. RJLL has adopted and strictly follows the HEC ethical policy of publications.

Plagiarism Policy

• Currently, RJLL is following the HEC (Pakistan) policies regarding Turnitin Originality Report and Plagiarism. Zero tolerance Policy on Plagiarism issue. RJLL aims for original script having 10 or below than 10 % Turnitin Originality Report.
HEC relevant Web links are as follows:
• http://hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/Plagiarism/Pages/default.aspx
• How to Interpret Originality Report (Guidelines)
• Guidelines on “Ethics of Using Turnitin” for Administrators
• Guidelines on “Ethics of Using Turnitin” for Instructors
• HEC Plagiarism Policy
• Plagiarism Little Book

Duplicate submission / publication and redundant publication

Duplicate submission / publication:

this refers to the practice of submitting the same study to two journals or publishing more or less the same study in two journals. These submissions/publications can be nearly simultaneous or years later.

Redundant publication:

this refers to the situation that one study is split into several parts and submitted to two or more journals. Or the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission or justification. “Self-plagiarism” is considered a form of redundant publication. It concerns recycling or borrowing content from previous work without citation. This practice is widespread and might be unintentional. Transparency by the author on the use of previously published work usually provides the necessary information to make an assessment on whether it is deliberate or unintentional. Note! Translations of articles without proper permission or notification and resubmission of previously published Open Access articles are considered duplications. Recommended action by COPE for Journal Editors:
• Suspected redundant (duplicate) publication in a submitted manuscript
• Suspected redundant (duplicate) publication in a published article

Permissions

Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

Informed consent

All individuals have individual rights that are not to be infringed. Individual participants in studies have, for example, the right to decide what happens to the (identifiable) personal data gathered, to what they have said during a study or an interview, as well as to any photograph that was taken. This is especially true concerning images of vulnerable people (e.g. minors, patients, refugees, and few others) or the use of images in sensitive contexts. In many instances authors will need to secure written consent before including images. Exception where it is not necessary to obtain consent
Reuse of images: If images are being reused from prior publications, the Publisher will assume that the prior publication obtained the relevant information regarding consent. Authors should provide the appropriate attribution for republished images.

Consent to participate

For all research involving human subjects, freely-given, informed consent to participate in the study must be obtained from participants (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children under 18) and a statement to this effect should appear in the manuscript. For manuscripts reporting studies involving vulnerable groups where there is the potential for coercion or where consent may not have been fully informed, extra care will be taken by the editor.

Consent to publish

Individuals may consent to participate in a study, but object to having their data published in a journal article. Authors should make sure to also seek consent from individuals to publish their data prior to submitting their paper to a journal. This is in particular applicable to case studies.

Summary of requirements

The above should be summarized in a statement and included in a section entitled “Declarations” before the reference list. Other declarations include Funding, Conflicts of interest/competing interests, Ethics approval, Consent, Data and/or Code availability and Authors’ contribution statements. Authors are responsible for correctness of the statements provided in the manuscript. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject submissions that do not meet the guidelines described in this section. Images will be removed from publication if authors have not obtained informed consent or the paper may be removed and replaced with a notice explaining the reason for removal.

Complaints and Conflict of Interest in Research

COI is defined as anything that can create a divided loyalty—or the appearance of one—between the researcher, the institution, and the individuals enrolled in the research. Another way of defining COI would be a situation in which circumstances that create a risk that a researcher’s professional judgments or actions regarding a primary interest [academic honesty, employee benefit, and societal responsibility] will be unduly influenced by a secondary interest [financial, professional, and personal benefits]. Interests are broadly characterized into two types: financial, and conflicts of commitment. Conflicts may be a personal relationship, association, family, friends, relationships, and other close personal links; ideological/ beliefs such as religious/political that is relevant to the work; academic such as competitors or someone whose work is critiqued; affiliation i.e. employment, on the advisory board for, or a member of an organization with an interest in the outcome of the work; financial i.e. funding, services, goods and other payments received/ anticipated or expected by author/authors relating to the subject of the work or from an organization with an interest in the outcome of the work and maybe an intellectual property i.e. patents or trademarks owned by someone or their organization.

For Authors

All manuscripts for articles, original research reports, editorials, comments, reviews, book reviews, and letters that are submitted to the journal must be accompanied by a conflict of interest disclosure statement or a declaration by the authors that they do not have any conflicts of interest to declare. All articles that are published in the journal must be accompanied by this conflict of interest disclosure statement or a statement that the authors have replied that they have no conflicts of interest to declare. If a journal prints unsigned editorials, it should not have been written by anyone with a conflict of interest. To facilitate this policy, all authors must privately disclose ‘ALL their potential conflicts of interest’ to the editors of the journal at the time of submission. These include all financial and non-financial interests and relationships with other organizations. Authors should also disclose any conflict of interest that may have influenced either the conduct or the presentation of the research to the editors, including but not limited to close relationships with those who might be helped or hurt by the publication, academic interests and rivalries, and any personal, religious or political convictions relevant to the topic at hand. In the article, the authors must include a draft statement that discloses all relevant conflicts of interest and affiliations.

For Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers must reject /decline to be involved with a submission when they have a recent/current publication or submission with the author. Share or recently shared affiliations with author, collaborate, or have close relationships with the author or financial interest/gain, or feel unable to be objective. Editorial staff must not use information gained through working with manuscripts for private gain. Reviewers must declare any remaining interests in the ‘Confidential’ section of the review form, which will be considered by the editor. Reviewer(s) must declare any conflict of interest which may affect their review work. In cases of conflict of interest, the reviewer(s) are requested to notify the editorial team of their inability to review a particular research paper. Editors and peer reviewers should disclose interests that might appear to affect their ability to present or review work objectively. These might include relevant financial interests or personal, political, or religious interests, and detailed descriptions about tasks, responsibilities of all parties on how to avoid and manage COIs.

Publishing Schedule

Research Journal of Language and Literature (RJLL) is an annual journal that publishes one volume per annum.

Submission Guidelines

Instructions for Authors

Manuscript Submission

Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – at the institute where the work has been carried out. The publisher will not be held legally responsible should there be any claims for compensation.

Permissions

Submission Preparation Checklist

Authors are required to check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

• Title: The title should be concise, informative and comprehensible to readers outside the field. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae whenever possible.
• Author names and affiliations: Please indicate under the title the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. Present the authors’ affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter/number immediately after the author’s name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and the e-mail address of each author. If possible please include the personal website URL. Corresponding author. Clearly indicate with an asterisk the person that will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing, publication, and post-publication. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and the contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author. Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a ‘Present address’ (or ‘Permanent address’) may be indicated as a footnote to that author’s name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
• Abstract: The Abstract should contain no more than 150 words. A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results, and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
• Manuscript
• Include 5-7 keywords immediately after the Abstract
• All figures (including figure captions)
• All tables (including titles, description and footnotes)
• Make sure all figures and table citations in the text match the files provided
• Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable)
• Supplementary Information files (where applicable)
• Further considerations
• Manuscript should be “spell checked” and “grammar checked”
• All references mentioned in the Reference List must be cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission to reproduce must be obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet)
• Relevant declarations of interest are made
• Journal policies detailed in this guide were reviewed
• Referees
Please submit, as part of the cover letter, the name, affiliation and email address of up to five potential Referees. Appropriate Referees should be knowledgeable about the subject but have no close connection with any of the authors. In addition, Referees should be from institutions other than (and possibly countries other than) those of any of the Authors. The editors of the Journal may or may not contact the suggested Referees.
• References
References to the literature or to footnotes are typed as superscripts after punctuation. These are numbered consecutively and listed (but not as superscripts) at the end of the manuscript. Footnotes should not contain comprehensive experimental details (which should be included in the Supplementary Material instead) or long explanatory text. In the list of references, the names of all authors should be given in upper- and lowercase, starting with the initials of first names followed by the surname). Please double-check your references, for example by using CrossRef, to ensure correct (online) links. Authors are strongly suggested to refer to an article that has already been published in Research Journal of Language and Literature in order to check the required style and format for citing papers, book, websites, etc.
Online Submission
Please follow the hyperlink “Submit manuscript” and upload all of your manuscript files following the instructions given on the screen. Please ensure you provide all relevant editable source files. Failing to submit these source files might cause unnecessary delays in the review and production process.
Manuscript Length
Please note that there is a word limitation between 5000-7000 for submissions.
Title Page
Please make sure your title page contains the following information.
Title
The title should be concise and informative.
Author information
• The name(s) of the author(s)
• The affiliation(s) of the author(s), i.e. institution, (department), city, (state), country
• A clear indication and an active e-mail address of the corresponding author
If address information is provided with the affiliation(s) it will also be published. For authors that are (temporarily) unaffiliated we will only capture their city and country of residence, not their e-mail address unless specifically requested.
Abstract
Please provide an abstract of 150 words. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references.
Keywords
Please provide 5 to 7 keywords which can be used for indexing purposes.
Declarations
All manuscripts must contain the following sections under the heading “Declarations”. If any of the sections are not relevant to your manuscript, please include the heading and write “Not applicable” for that section.
Funding (information that explains whether and by whom the research was supported)
Conflicts of interest/Competing interests (include appropriate disclosures)
Authors’ contributions (optional: please review the submission guidelines from the journal whether statements are mandatory)
Ethics approval (include appropriate approvals or waivers)
Consent to participate (include appropriate statements)
Consent for publication (include appropriate statements)
Please see the relevant sections in the submission guidelines for further information as well as various examples of wording.
Please revise/customize the sample statements according to your own needs.
Text
For submissions, we require a single file containing your manuscript as a Word document. For revised submissions we strongly recommend to upload the editable source files (Word) for reference. Upon acceptance source files are mandatory and providing source files after acceptance may delay production.
Directions for Submitting Manuscripts
Please follow these directions in preparing your manuscript for submission to the MLA book publication program. Care taken during the initial stages of manuscript preparation will facilitate evaluation and accelerate production.
Documentation
1. MLA STYLE
All documentation in the manuscript should follow MLA style as set out in the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook. Manuscripts not conforming to MLA style may be returned to volume editors before copyediting can begin.
2. UNIFORM EDITIONS
Citations of major works should be uniform throughout a given volume. For instance, in a book about Germaine de Staël, all citations should refer to the same edition of de Staël and the same translation of her works. For an edited collection, the volume editor should establish the editions to be used and inform contributors accordingly. If it is not feasible for contributors to use the same edition or translation, the volume editor should make sure that the editions used are properly identified.
3. WORKS-CITED LIST
A full works-cited-list entry must be provided for every work quoted, discussed, described, or referred to in a substantive way in the running text, the notes, and the appendixes (see the guidelines on creating works-cited-list entries in the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook). Inclusive page numbers, not chapter numbers, should be given for all short works (e.g., introductions to anthologies, essays, poems, short stories) that appear in books and periodicals. Include a URL or DOI for Web sources (see the guidelines on The MLA Style Center). If an essay is dropped in the course of manuscript preparation, the works referred to in that essay should be removed from the works-cited list. If an essay is added, citations from that essay need to be added to the list. If an essay is revised, the list should be revised accordingly. When two or more works are cited from one collection, a complete entry should be given for the collection and individual pieces should be cross-referenced to it (see the guidelines on creating cross-references in the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook). Works-cited-list entries should be provided for primary as well as secondary works, for classic as well as modern works. Do not include works-cited-list entries for whole Web sites or runs of journals. Typically works cited appear in a single list arranged alphabetically. Check with the acquisitions editor you are working with before creating a works-cited list with sections.
4. PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES
When the works-cited list shows more than one work for an author, all parenthetical references for that author should include a short title; for example, (Frye, Anatomy 10–11), (Frye, Fables 202).
5. NOTES
MLA style relies on in-text references for documenting sources. However, sometimes a bibliographical citation works better in a note than in a parenthetical reference. Other times you may want to include supplementary information in a note. General principles: use notes only when the information you need to convey does not work as a parenthetical reference; style notes as endnotes, not footnotes; and keep note content as brief as possible. See additional guidelines on The MLA Style Center.
6. TRANSLATIONS
Quotations from foreign languages should appear in the original language first, followed by a translation. Provide sources for both the original quotation and the translation. Use “my trans.” for your own translations or a note stating that all translations are yours.
Preparing Your Manuscript for Submission
1. MANUSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING FORMAT SPECIFICATIONS
• Use one font for all parts of the manuscript, preferably 12-point Times New Roman.
• Double-space all parts of the manuscript, including notes, the table of contents, block quotations, and works-cited lists.
• Use the tabulation key rather than the space bar to indent text.
• Set off quoted text of more than four lines of prose or more than three lines of verse as a separate, double-spaced block of text, with an extra line above and below.
• Make the left margin 1'', the right 1.25'', with 1'' at top and bottom. Set text ragged right, not right-justified.
• Minimize formatting in the text: do not use all caps, display type, linked text, etc. The copyeditor will apply the appropriate formatting, and additional design work will be done in production.
• Do not use bullets or ornaments. Lists should be unnumbered unless the numbering is meaningful in some way, such as sequential steps. Do not use automatic hyphenation.
• Use italics to indicate text that will be italicized. Avoid italics for emphasis.
• Use epigraphs sparingly and keep them brief. Place heads and subheads flush left. Differentiate head levels by using boldface for level-1 heads, normal type for level-2 heads, italics or underlining for level-3 heads.
• Do not use “Introduction” or “Conclusion” as titles of heads or subheads. For an untitled concluding section, leave a blank line before the section. Appendixes should supply necessary supplements to the text and be as brief as possible. Reading lists and descriptions of course assignments are appropriate but a full syllabus usually is not. A full syllabus or other lengthy appendix material can be uploaded to CORE with a note in the text directing readers to it. Course assignments or extracts from syllabi should be revised to address instructors, not students. Appendixes should be called out at the appropriate point in the main text (e.g., “as described in the appendix”).
• Supply illustrations, tables, and charts in separate files. Indicate where they go in the text, but do not embed them.
• Number pages consecutively.
Images
If your essay includes images, the position of these must be indicated with figure call-outs in the text, usually placed at the end of a sentence, for example, “To conclude this examination, we study the incipit miniature of the Harley Livre de la cité des dames (Book of the City of Ladies) at fol. 290r (fig. 4).” A list of captions, including correct permissions language, should appear at the end of the essay, labeled “Figure 1” and so on. Images should not be embedded in the manuscript itself. Submit each image as a separate file and label them with your last name, a very brief description, and the order they appear in the manuscript (e.g., Garcia_Hamilton photo_1; Garcia_Plot Timeline_2; Garcia_Musical score_3) Charts and tables should use minimal formatting. After they are copyedited, a designer or typesetter will format them to fit the series style and meet MLA publications standards. If possible, include the original source files from which any charts and tables were created.
Permissions
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to use material that falls outside fair use, including quoted matter, photographs or other illustrations, charts, and student writing. The permission should include wording allowing use of the material in electronic format as well as in print. Any costs associated with reproducing such material are also the responsibility of the author.
Accessibility
In order to give people of all abilities and disabilities access to the content of your figures, please make sure that
• All figures have descriptive captions (blind users could then use a text-to-speech software or a text-to-Braille hardware)
• Patterns are used instead of or in addition to colors for conveying information (colorblind users would then be able to distinguish the visual elements)
• Any figure lettering has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1
English Language Editing
For editors and reviewers to accurately assess the work presented in your manuscript you need to ensure the English language is of sufficient quality to be understood. If you need help with writing in English you should consider:
• Getting a fast, free online grammar check.
• Asking a colleague who is proficient in English to review your manuscript for clarity.
• Visiting the English language tutorial which covers the common mistakes when writing in English.
• Using a professional language editing service where editors will improve the English to ensure that your meaning is clear and identify problems that require your review. You may simply follow the links such as “Free online grammar check” and “English Language Tutorial”.
Please note that the use of a language editing service is not a requirement for publication in this journal and does not imply or guarantee that the article will be selected for peer review or accepted. If your manuscript is accepted it will be checked by our copyeditors for spelling and formal style before publication.
Common Reasons for Rejection
Nobody likes rejection. If you have spent a lot of time and effort on your latest paper, only to have it turned down, it is going to hurt. Articles get rejected for all manner of reasons, from easy to avoid errors and oversights, to simply falling outside of the journal’s scope. So, following are the most likely reasons for rejection.
1. The manuscript fails the technical screening Before the manuscript gets passed to the Editor-in-Chief or Managing Editor of a journal, the editorial office will undertake some basic checks. The main reasons for rejection of papers at this stage include:
• The paper contains elements that are suspected to be plagiarized
• The paper is under review at another journal (submission to multiple journals at the same time is not allowed)
• The manuscript lacks key elements such as a title, list of authors and affiliations, main text, references, or figures and tables
• The quality of the language is not sufficient for review to take place
• Tables and figures are not clear enough to read
• The paper does not conform to the journal’s Author Guidelines
2. The manuscript does not fall within the journal’s Aims and Scope
If the paper will not be of interest or value to the journal’s audience, it is unlikely to be accepted. When choosing a journal to submit to, always make sure you read the Aims and Scope so you have an understanding of the type of articles the journal is looking for.
3. The research topic is not of great enough significance
Again, if the topic covered by the paper is not of interest to a journal’s audience, it will likely be rejected. It may be that the paper’s findings are incremental and do not advance the field, or that the manuscript is clearly part of a larger study which has been divided up to make as many articles as possible.
4. The research is over-ambitious
If the authors have been overly ambitious or all-encompassing, results may be difficult to interpret or may even be flawed. In these cases it may be more appropriate to divide the work into a series of smaller research projects.
5. A clear hypothesis has not been established
The question behind the research may be unclear, poorly formulated, or not relevant to the research field. Carrying out an extensive literature review can help guide your hypothesis or research question.
6. The manuscript is incomplete The paper might contain observations but is not a full study, or it may ignore or overlook other important work in the field.
7. There are flaws in the procedures, presentation or analysis of the data
Major flaws might include a lack of clear control groups or other comparison metrics, non-conformity with recognized procedures or methodology (which makes it difficult to repeat or replicate the work), or the lack of a statistically valid analysis. Watch out for any minor flaws such as the incorrect, inappropriate or unclear labelling of tables and figures.
8. Flaws in the arguments and/or conclusions of the manuscript Arguments should be logical, structured and valid, and support the conclusions reached by the paper. If the conclusions reached cannot be justified on the basis of the rest of the paper, or they ignore large portions of the literature, the manuscript will be rejected.
9. Language, writing and spelling issues
The language, structure of the paper, and any tables or figures need to be of good enough quality for the paper to be assessed; if this is not possible, then the paper will be rejected. It is always a good idea to ask others to check your paper before you submit it – a second pair of eyes can help pick up any errors you might have missed. If you are not confident in your English writing skills, most publishers offer English Language Editing services which you can use before submitting your paper.
Peer Review Policy and Publication
The practice of peer review is to ensure that good social science is published. It is a process at the heart of good scholarly publishing and is carried out on all reputable journals. Our referees play a vital role in maintaining the high standards of Research Journal of Language and Literature and manuscripts are peer reviewed.
Initial manuscript evaluation
All new submissions are screened for completeness and adherence to the Guide for Authors. Those that pass are then assigned to a Senior Editor for consideration for sending for peer review. Authors of manuscripts rejected at initial evaluation stage will normally be informed within one week of receipt.
Senior Editor evaluation
When assigned a new submission, the Senior Editor will decide if it warrants peer review or if it should be rejected without review. Manuscripts rejected at this stage are insufficiently original, have serious conceptual and/or methodological flaws, have poor grammar or English language, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal. Authors of manuscripts rejected at this stage will normally be informed within 10 days of assignment to the senior editor. Feedback is provided by the Senior Editor for all manuscripts rejected without review and, where possible, suggestions are made on other suitable publication outlets. Those manuscripts deemed suitable for peer review are passed to three expert referees for review.
Type of peer review
Research Journal of Language and Literature employs double-blind review, where both the referee and the author remain anonymous throughout the process.
Selection of Reviewers
Reviewers are matched to the paper according to their expertise, and our referee database is constantly being updated. We welcome suggestions for reviewers from authors, though these recommendations may or may not be used.
Reviewers’ Reports
Reviewers are asked to evaluate a manuscript for:
• originality and significance of contribution
• interest to arts and humanities and/or practitioners
• international relevance
• coverage of appropriate existing literature
• adequacy of methodology, analysis, and interpretation
• clear, concise, and jargon-free writing style
• organisation
Reviewers are asked to provide anonymous comments to the author and are also given the option of providing confidential comments to the editor. The comments to the author are also made available to other reviewers of the manuscript. Reviewers are not expected to correct or copy edit manuscripts. Language correction is not part of the peer review process.
Review Process
Typically the manuscript will be reviewed within 80 days. Should the reviewers’ reports contradict one another or a report is unduly delayed, a further expert opinion will be sought. If necessary, revised manuscripts may be returned to the initial reviewers, usually within one month. Reviewers and Senior Editors may request more than one revision of a manuscript, and alternative reviewers may also be invited to review the manuscript at any time.
The Final Decision and Time to Publication
The Senior Editor is responsible for the decision to reject or recommend the manuscript for publication. This decision will be sent to the author along with any recommendations made by the referees. Please note we may forward accepted papers for legal review if appropriate.