Peer Review Policy

The Journal of Sustainable Social Studies Education (JSSSE) is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal. Every paper submitted to JSSSE for publication is subject to peer review. The peer review process in this journal is an evaluation of the submitted manuscript by two or more individuals with expertise relevant to the author's field of study. The purpose of peer review is to determine the suitability, originality, academic quality, and significance of the manuscript for publication. The peer review process is employed to maintain the integrity, scholarly standards, and credibility of the journal. The peer review process at JSSSE proceeds in 9 steps as follows.

1. Submission of Manuscript
The corresponding or submitting author submits the manuscript to the journal through the online submission system supported by the Open Journal System (OJS). The manuscript must follow the journal’s author guidelines and submission requirements.

2. Editorial Office Assessment
The submitted manuscript is first assessed by the editorial team of JSSSE. The editors evaluate whether the manuscript fits the journal’s focus and scope. The manuscript structure, formatting, language quality, and completeness are checked according to the Author Guidelines. At this stage, the editorial office also evaluates the minimum academic quality of the manuscript, including methodological soundness, originality, relevance, and ethical considerations. Manuscripts that pass this stage will undergo plagiarism screening using similarity detection software before being sent to reviewers.

3. Appraisal by the Editor-in-Chief
The Editor-in-Chief evaluates whether the manuscript is sufficiently original, academically valuable, relevant to the journal, and significant for publication. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s standards may be rejected without proceeding to the peer review stage.

4. Invitation to Reviewers
The handling editor invites reviewers with relevant expertise, research interests, and professional competence to review the manuscript. Consideration is also given to the absence of conflicts of interest. JSSSE employs a double-blind peer review system in which reviewers do not know the identity of the authors, and authors do not know the identity of the reviewers. All manuscripts are sent to reviewers anonymously to ensure impartial and objective evaluation.

5. Response to Invitations
Potential reviewers consider the invitation based on their expertise, availability, and possible conflicts of interest. Reviewers may accept or decline the invitation. If declining, reviewers may recommend alternative reviewers with relevant expertise.

6. Review is Conducted
Reviewers evaluate the manuscript critically and constructively. The review process assesses originality, theoretical contribution, methodology, clarity of presentation, relevance to the field, ethical standards, and overall scholarly quality. Reviewers may recommend one of the following decisions: accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject. Reviewers provide comments and suggestions intended to improve the manuscript quality.

7. Journal Evaluates the Reviews
The Editor-in-Chief and handling editor evaluate all reviewer reports before making a decision. If there are substantial differences between reviewer recommendations, the editor may invite an additional reviewer to provide another independent assessment.

8. The Decision is Communicated
The editorial decision is communicated to the author through email along with anonymized reviewer comments. Authors are expected to revise and respond to reviewer comments carefully and respectfully. Reviewers may also be informed regarding the editorial outcome of the manuscript they reviewed.

9. Final Steps
If the manuscript is accepted, it proceeds to copy-editing, layout editing, proofreading, and publication. If revisions are required, the author must revise the manuscript according to reviewer and editor comments before resubmission. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers for further evaluation, particularly in cases of major revision. Minor revisions may be assessed directly by the handling editor.

After revisions have been completed, the author should resubmit the revised manuscript through the journal submission system.

If the editor and reviewers are satisfied with the revised manuscript, the manuscript will be accepted for publication. Accepted articles will be published online and made freely accessible through the journal website in accordance with the journal’s open-access policy.