The International Journal of Social World (IJSW) uses a structured double-blind peer-review process for manuscripts submitted for publication. Manuscripts are reviewed by independent academic experts with appropriate knowledge of the subject, including relevant areas of sociology, social sciences, and social research.

Reviewers are an important part of the editorial process and help the journal maintain the academic quality, research integrity, and ethical standards of its published work. For manuscripts involving surveys, interviews, community studies, human behaviour, or other forms of social research, reviewers should also consider the appropriateness of the research methods, the interpretation of findings, and relevant ethical considerations.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to:

• Read and assess manuscripts objectively and independently.
• Provide clear, constructive, and unbiased comments.
• Consider the academic and ethical standards relevant to the manuscript.
• Assess the appropriateness of research methods, data interpretation, and conclusions, where relevant.
• Consider relevant ethical issues involving human participants, informed consent, privacy, and confidentiality, where applicable.
• Disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest.
• Keep the manuscript and all review-related information confidential.
• Accept a review only when they have the appropriate expertise and sufficient time to complete it.
• Inform the editorial team as soon as possible if they are unable to complete a review or feel that they cannot provide a fair and impartial assessment.

Double-Blind Peer Review

IJSW follows a double-blind peer-review system, under which the identities of authors and reviewers are kept confidential from each other, to the extent practicable.

Reviewers are selected according to the subject of the manuscript, their academic or professional expertise, availability, and any potential conflicts of interest. IJSW normally seeks reviews from two or more independent subject-matter reviewers for each manuscript.

For submissions concerning sociology, social structures, social behaviour, public attitudes, community experiences, social policy, or related areas, reviewers should have appropriate expertise to assess the manuscript's subject matter and research approach.

A detailed description of the review process is available in the Peer Review Process policy.

Evaluation of Manuscripts

Reviewers should focus their comments on the academic content of the manuscript. Their feedback should help the editors make an informed decision and, where appropriate, help authors improve the manuscript.

When evaluating social research, reviewers may consider the clarity of the research objectives, the relevance of the literature, the suitability of the methodology, the quality of the evidence, the interpretation of results, and the consistency of the conclusions with the findings.

For research involving surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or other forms of human-participant research, reviewers should also consider whether the methods are described adequately and whether relevant ethical considerations, including participant consent, privacy, and confidentiality, have been appropriately addressed.

The main criteria used during peer review are described in the Peer Review Process policy.

Review Invitations

IJSW sends review invitations based on the subject of the manuscript and the reviewer's expertise and availability. Potential conflicts of interest are also considered before an invitation is made.

Review invitations may concern manuscripts addressing social institutions, communities, demographic patterns, social relationships, cultural practices, inequality, public attitudes, or other topics within the journal's scope. Reviewers should accept invitations only when the subject falls within their competence and they can provide an objective assessment.

If a reviewer is unable to complete an assigned review within the agreed timeframe, they should inform the editorial team as early as possible.

Reviewer Information and Records

To manage peer-review assignments and related editorial activities, IJSW may collect and maintain information about reviewers, including:

• Name
• Institutional affiliation
• Professional email address
• Academic or professional expertise
• ORCID or other researcher identifier, where provided
• Review reports and editorial comments
• Communication records relating to manuscript reviews

Peer-review records may be retained for editorial, quality-control, publication-ethics, and recordkeeping purposes, subject to applicable privacy and data-protection requirements.

Reviewers should not include unnecessary personal information about authors or research participants in their reports. Where a manuscript contains survey responses, interview extracts, case descriptions, or other potentially identifiable information, reviewers should handle such information confidentially and avoid disclosing it outside the review process.

Information about how reviewer data is collected and used is provided in the journal's Privacy Policy.

Concerns and Complaints

Concerns about reviewer conduct, possible conflicts of interest, breaches of confidentiality, or other issues affecting the fairness and integrity of peer review may be reported to the editorial team.

Such concerns are considered in accordance with the journal's Complaints and Appeals policy.

For further information about confidentiality, conflicts of interest, appropriate use of the review system, and reviewer conduct, please see the Reviewer Conduct policy.

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)