Peer Review Process

Peer Review Process Policy Excellent Midwifery Journal (EMJ) is highly committed to upholding the highest standards of scientific publication. To achieve this, all submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous and transparent Double-Blind Peer Review process. In this system, the identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers are concealed from the authors throughout the entire process.

The comprehensive review process operates under the following stages:

  1. Initial Editorial Screening (Desk Review)
  • Timeframe: 1 – 2 weeks after submission.
  • Process: The Editor-in-Chief and Section Editors conduct an initial evaluation to ensure the manuscript aligns with the journal's Focus and Scope. The manuscript is also checked for basic formatting, ethical compliance, and originality using plagiarism detection software (maximum similarity of 20%).
  • Outcome: Manuscripts that do not meet the core criteria, have poor language quality, or show high plagiarism will receive a Desk Rejection. Manuscripts passing this stage proceed to the peer-review phase.
  1. Reviewer Selection
  • The editors will assign a minimum of two (2) independent expert reviewers who hold relevant expertise in the manuscript’s specific subject area.
  • To avoid any conflict of interest, reviewers are selected from institutions different from those of the authors.
  1. Double-Blind Peer Review Stage
  • Timeframe: 4 – 8 weeks.
  • Process: Reviewers evaluate the manuscript’s scientific merit, originality, methodological soundness, ethical integrity, data analysis, and the significance of its contribution to midwifery and health sciences.
  • Reviewers provide constructive feedback and recommend one of the following decisions:
    • Accept Submission: Perfect as it is (rare).
    • Revisions Required (Minor or Major): Needs specific improvements.
    • Resubmit for Review: Needs fundamental changes and a second round of review.
    • Decline Submission: Fatally flawed or lacks significant contribution.
  1. Revision Process by Authors
  • If revisions are required, the corresponding author is given a specific deadline (usually 2 to 4 weeks, depending on the extent of the revisions).
  • Authors must submit the revised manuscript along with a Response/Rebuttal Letter detailing point-by-point how they have addressed each of the reviewers' and editors' comments.
  1. Final Editorial Decision
  • The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision based on the reviewers' recommendations and the quality of the author's revisions. The Editor-in-Chief’s decision is final.
  1. Copyediting and Proofreading
  • Once officially Accepted, the manuscript moves to the copyediting, layout formatting, and proofreading stages before the final galley (PDF) is published online.