Peer Review Process

The SPL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics

About the Publishing System

The SPL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics uses Open Journal Systems (OJS), an open-source journal management and publishing platform developed by the Public Knowledge Project under the GNU General Public License. This system ensures a transparent, efficient, and globally recognized workflow for manuscript submission, peer review, and publication.

Open Access and Peer Review Policy

The journal is an open-access, double-blind peer-reviewed/refereed journal committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic quality, integrity, and transparency.

Peer review is defined as the process of obtaining expert evaluation of submitted manuscripts by qualified scholars in the relevant field. All submissions—including research articles, review papers, book reviews, and interviews—undergo a rigorous and unbiased review process.

The journal strictly follows a double-blind peer review system, ensuring that both the identity of authors and reviewers remains confidential throughout the evaluation process.

Step-by-Step Peer Review Process

1. Initial Submission and Editorial Screening

Upon submission, manuscripts are first evaluated by the editorial board to assess their originality, relevance, and academic rigor. Submissions that do not meet basic standards or fall outside the journal’s scope may be rejected at this stage.

2. Anonymization for Double-Blind Review

All author-identifying information is removed from the manuscript before it is sent for peer review to ensure complete anonymity and unbiased evaluation.

3. Expert Peer Review

The manuscript is assigned to subject experts in the relevant field. Reviewers evaluate the submission based on:

Originality and contribution to the field
Conceptual clarity and coherence
Argumentation and critical depth
Methodological rigor and use of secondary sources
Innovation and scholarly relevance
Accuracy and absence of factual errors

4. Review Report and Recommendation

Reviewers provide a detailed evaluation report and recommend one of the following:

Accept for publication
Accept with minor revisions
Revise and resubmit
Reject

Each decision is supported by constructive feedback to guide the author.

5. Revision Process

If revisions are required, authors are notified with reviewer comments and given a specified timeframe to submit a revised manuscript. In some cases, further rounds of revision may be requested to ensure academic quality.

6. Final Decision

The editorial board makes the final decision based on reviewer reports and revised submissions. Authors are typically notified of the decision within approximately one month of submission.

7. Copyediting and Proofreading

Accepted manuscripts are forwarded to the publishing team for final editing, formatting, and proofreading to ensure clarity, consistency, and adherence to journal standards.

8. Publication

After successful completion of all stages, the manuscript is published online and made available under the journal’s open-access policy.

Ethical Standards and Confidentiality

The journal maintains strict ethical standards throughout the review process:

All manuscripts are treated as confidential documents
Reviewers must disclose any conflict of interest
Unethical practices such as plagiarism or data fabrication are not tolerated
Authors must ensure originality and proper citation of sources

Withdrawal Policy

If an author wishes to withdraw a manuscript, a formal request must be submitted to the Chief Editor. In the case of multiple authors, written consent from all co-authors is required before withdrawal is approved.

Commitment to Academic Excellence

The SPL Journal of Literary Hermeneutics is committed to a fair, transparent, and rigorous peer review process that upholds the highest standards of scholarly publishing. The journal strives to ensure that all published work contributes meaningfully to the advancement of literary studies and the humanities.