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Journal of Intelligent and Sustainable Systems (JISS)

Peer Review & Ethics

Our commitment

Every manuscript submitted to the Journal of Intelligent and Sustainable Systems (JISS) undergoes rigorous, fair, and constructive peer review. Our aim is to ensure that published research meets high standards of originality, methodological soundness, and relevance — while giving authors developmental feedback that genuinely strengthens their work.

Review model: double-blind

JISS uses double-blind peer review: authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other throughout the evaluation. Authors must therefore submit an anonymized manuscript with no identifying information in the text, figures, or file metadata.

How review works

  1. Initial editorial screening. Every submission is checked for fit with the journal's Focus & Scope, basic scholarly quality, formatting, and originality, including similarity screening. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements may be desk-rejected or returned for correction.
  2. Assignment to reviewers. Manuscripts passing screening are assigned to a handling editor, who invites at least two independent experts with demonstrated expertise in the manuscript's subject area.
  3. Independent evaluation. Reviewers assess the work's originality, methodological rigor, clarity, and contribution to the field, and provide written reports with a recommendation.
  4. Editorial decision. Based on the reports, the editor decides: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject. If reviewer recommendations diverge substantially, an additional reviewer may be consulted before a final decision.
  5. Revision. Authors receiving a revision decision must submit a revised manuscript together with a point-by-point response to each reviewer and editor comment.

Review timelines

We work to the following targets:

  • Initial screening: a first decision (desk reject or send for peer review) within one week of submission.
  • Peer review: reviewers complete each round of review within six weeks.
  • Post-review decision: an editorial decision (accept, minor revision, major revision, or reject) within one week of receiving the reviewer reports.

Reviewer responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts objectively and without personal bias, declare any conflicts of interest and decline the review if one exists, keep the manuscript and all review materials strictly confidential, and never upload unpublished manuscripts into generative AI tools.

Appeals

Authors who believe a decision involved a material error may appeal by submitting a detailed, evidence-based rebuttal to the editorial office. Appeals are assessed by an editor not involved in the original decision, whose ruling is final.

Ethical standards

JISS upholds the highest standards of publication ethics. Authors must declare all conflicts of interest, obtain ethics approval and informed consent where applicable, guarantee the integrity of their data (fabrication, falsification, and plagiarism are unacceptable), and ensure authorship reflects substantial contribution. Our full policy is stated in Publication Ethics & Misconduct.