Peer Review Process

PEER REVIEW AND PUBLICATION PROCESS

To maintain the highest standards of scientific integrity, transparency, and publication ethics, INPHARNMED (International Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences) implements a rigorous double-blind peer review process. Every submitted manuscript undergoes several editorial and scientific evaluation stages before being considered for publication. The minimum processing time from initial submission to online publication is approximately three (3) months (12–16 weeks). Therefore, authors are strongly encouraged to submit their manuscripts well in advance of their targeted publication issue.

Figure 1. Submission to Publication Process

Stage 1. Initial Submission

(Minimum 3 Months Before the Target Publication Date)

Authors must submit their manuscript through the online submission system (OJS).

The submission must include the following mandatory documents:

  1. Manuscript prepared according to the INPHARNMED Author Guidelines (Microsoft Word format).
  2. Cover Letter explaining the novelty and significance of the study, funding information (if any), and declaration of conflicts of interest.
  3. Authorship Agreement Form signed by all authors.
  4. Initial Turnitin Similarity Report showing a similarity index of 20% or below.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all files are complete before submission. Incomplete submissions will not proceed to the editorial assessment stage.

 

Stage 2. Initial Editorial Assessment

(Estimated Processing Time: 1–2 Weeks)

After submission, the Editorial Office performs an initial screening (desk evaluation).

The manuscript will be evaluated based on:

  1. Compatibility with the journal's aims and scope.
  2. Compliance with the Author Guidelines.
  3. Completeness of submission documents.
  4. Quality of English language.
  5. Scientific presentation and manuscript organisation.
  6. Initial plagiarism screening using Turnitin.

Manuscripts with any of the following conditions may be returned without external peer review:

  1. Similarity Index greater than 20%.
  2. Outside the journal scope.
  3. Poor English readability.
  4. Failure to follow formatting requirements.
  5. Missing mandatory submission documents.

Authors may be invited to resubmit after making the necessary corrections.

Stage 3. Double-Blind Peer Review

(Estimated Processing Time: 4–6 Weeks)

Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial editorial assessment are assigned to at least two independent expert reviewers.

INPHARNMED applies a double-blind peer review system, in which both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process.

Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on:

  1. Originality and novelty.
  2. Scientific significance.
  3. Research methodology.
  4. Ethical compliance.
  5. Data validity and reliability.
  6. Interpretation of results.
  7. Quality of discussion.
  8. Conclusions.
  9. Relevance of references.

Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the Editorial Board will determine one of the following decisions:

  1. Accept
  2. Minor Revision
  3. Major Revision
  4. Reject

If conflicting reviewer recommendations occur, the Editor may assign an additional reviewer before making the editorial decision.

 

Stage 4. Author Revision

(Estimated Processing Time: 2–4 Weeks)

Authors receiving a decision of Minor Revision or Major Revision are required to revise their manuscript according to the reviewers' comments.

During resubmission, authors must upload:

  1. Revised Manuscript (with tracked changes if requested).
  2. Clean Final Manuscript.
  3. Detailed Point-by-Point Response Letter explaining how each reviewer comment has been addressed.
  4. Final Turnitin Similarity Report with a similarity index of 20% or below.

Failure to submit revisions within the specified deadline may result in withdrawal of the manuscript from the publication process.

If necessary, the revised manuscript may be returned to the reviewers for additional evaluation.

 

Stage 5. Final Decision and Production

(Estimated Processing Time: 2–3 Weeks)

After the revised manuscript satisfies the reviewers and editors, the Editor-in-Chief makes the final publication decision.

Accepted manuscripts enter the production stage, which includes:

  1. Final editorial review.
  2. Copyediting.
  3. English language editing (if required).
  4. Layout editing and typesetting.
  5. Galley proof preparation.

If the editorial board determines that language quality requires further improvement, authors may be requested to use a professional English proofreading service and submit a Certificate of Proofreading.

The corresponding author will receive the final galley proof for approval before publication. Only minor typographical corrections are permitted at this stage.

 

Stage 6. Online Publication

After receiving the author's final approval, the manuscript is officially published online as an Open Access article.

Each published article will receive:

  1. A permanent Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
  2. Online publication on the INPHARNMED Journal website.
  3. Metadata registration.
  4. Export to indexing and abstracting databases according to the journal's indexing status (e.g., DOAJ, Scopus, Crossref, Google Scholar, and other relevant databases).
  5. The published version becomes the official Version of Record (VoR).

 

Important Notes

  1. Authors should submit their manuscripts at least three (3) months before the intended publication issue.
  2. All submitted manuscripts are screened using Turnitin.
  3. The similarity index must not exceed 20% at both the initial submission and final revision stages.
  4. Authors are responsible for the originality, accuracy, and ethical integrity of their work.
  5. Manuscripts may experience additional processing time depending on the number of revision rounds and the responsiveness of both reviewers and authors.
  6. Submission does not guarantee acceptance. Publication decisions are based solely on scientific merit, originality, ethical compliance, and reviewers' recommendations.
  7. INPHARNMED reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with the journal's editorial policies, publication ethics, or technical requirements.