Peer Review Policy

The Academic Journal of Applied Engineering is committed to maintaining high standards of academic quality, technical accuracy, originality, and research integrity. All manuscripts submitted to the journal are evaluated through a structured peer-review process before a final editorial decision is made.

The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are kept confidential during the review stage. This process is intended to support fair, independent, and objective assessment of manuscripts based on their academic merit, technical relevance, methodological quality, originality, clarity, and contribution to applied engineering.

Initial Editorial Screening

After submission, each manuscript is first assessed by the editorial office to determine whether it is suitable for peer review.

The initial screening may consider:

  • Relevance to the journal’s aims and scope
  • Originality and academic contribution
  • Compliance with author guidelines
  • Completeness of manuscript sections and declarations
  • Technical clarity and language quality
  • Ethical approval requirements, where applicable
  • Conflict-of-interest and funding disclosures
  • Similarity or plagiarism screening
  • Proper citation of sources, standards, datasets, software, and technical materials

Manuscripts that do not meet the basic editorial requirements may be returned to the authors for correction or declined before external review.

Double-Blind Review Process

Manuscripts that pass initial screening are sent to qualified independent reviewers with relevant expertise in the subject area. Reviewers evaluate the manuscript without access to author identities, while authors do not receive reviewer identities.

Normally, each manuscript is reviewed by at least two independent reviewers. Where reviewer comments differ significantly, the editor may obtain an additional review or conduct further editorial assessment before making a decision.

Reviewers are selected on the basis of subject expertise, research experience, technical knowledge, academic publication record, and ability to provide a fair and constructive evaluation.

Review Criteria

Reviewers are requested to evaluate manuscripts on the basis of the following criteria:

  • Originality and novelty of the research
  • Relevance to applied engineering and the journal’s scope
  • Technical accuracy and scientific validity
  • Clarity of research objectives and problem definition
  • Appropriateness of methodology, design, experiment, model, or simulation
  • Reliability of data, calculations, results, and interpretations
  • Quality of engineering analysis and validation
  • Practical relevance and industrial applicability
  • Adequacy of literature review and references
  • Clarity of tables, figures, diagrams, equations, and technical illustrations
  • Ethical compliance, safety considerations, and responsible research practice
  • Reproducibility and transparency of methods
  • Contribution to engineering knowledge, innovation, or sustainable development

Editorial Decisions

After reviewer comments are received, the editor evaluates the reports and makes a decision based on the journal’s editorial standards.

Possible decisions include:

  • Accept
  • Accept with minor revisions
  • Major revisions required
  • Revise and resubmit
  • Reject

Authors asked to revise their manuscript should submit a revised version along with a clear point-by-point response to reviewer and editorial comments.

Acceptance is granted only when the manuscript meets the journal’s expectations regarding originality, technical quality, ethical compliance, and scholarly contribution.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to provide objective, respectful, evidence-based, and timely assessments. Reviewers should accept assignments only when the topic falls within their area of expertise.

Reviewers must:

  • Maintain confidentiality of submitted manuscripts
  • Avoid sharing unpublished material with others
  • Disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest
  • Provide constructive and professional feedback
  • Avoid personal criticism of authors
  • Identify relevant work that may require citation
  • Report suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, safety concerns, or ethical issues to the editor
  • Refrain from using unpublished manuscript information for personal, institutional, or commercial advantage

Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for submitting original, technically sound, and ethically conducted work. They must ensure that all data, results, diagrams, software outputs, technical claims, and references are accurate and properly presented.

Authors should disclose any use of artificial intelligence tools, simulation software, automated design systems, datasets, or third-party technical materials where such use has materially contributed to the research or manuscript preparation.

For studies involving human participants, industrial partners, confidential data, safety-sensitive systems, proprietary technology, or restricted engineering information, authors must ensure that all required permissions, approvals, and legal obligations have been fulfilled.

Final Decision Authority

The final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection rests with the Editor-in-Chief or the authorized editorial team. Decisions are based on reviewer recommendations, editorial assessment, research quality, ethical standards, and relevance to the journal.

The Academic Journal of Applied Engineering aims to ensure that its peer-review process remains fair, confidential, transparent, timely, and academically rigorous.