Policy Document

Research Journal
PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS (An International Journal of Islamic & Social Sciences)

1.     Frequency of journal

PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS (An International Journal of Islamic & Social Sciences) is a Quarterly Research Journal. It Published Four Issues Per Year.

2.     Guidelines for submission of research articles

  1. Authors are requested to upload a manuscript that does not carry any author’s and his institution's Information or any information that can reveal the author’s identity.
  2. The title page that carries details of authors and their institution, acknowledgment, details of the conflict of interest, disclosures, and details of the contribution of each author must be submitted separately.
  3. Author Agreement Statement must be submitted separately with the manuscript and title page.
  4. The author must ensure that the research work he or she is submitting is genuine and that the same paper has neither been published nor presented elsewhere for publication.
  5. Article should be in the standard format, and footnote references in Chicago Manual format be followed for citations.
  6. Properly ordered Bibliography in Chicago Manual format should be provided.
  7. Draft must be submitted at the website < https://www.pakistanislamicus.com> with a cover letter carrying the article's title, author’s full name, institutional affiliation, mailing address, and any other information the author wishes to send related to the paper.
  8. Maximum of three contributors will be allowed in one article.
  9. Original drawings should preferably be submitted in a form ready for printing. Each illustration should bear a number, the author’s name, and the paper's title. Tables should be clear, readable, and appropriately labeled. The Source of each table should be given at the bottom.
  10. Loanwords accepted in English should be spelled following the standard dictionaries.
  11. All submitted manuscripts will be checked with anti-plagiarism software (Turnitin) before being sent for blind peer review. A maximum of 19% similarity is allowed as per the mandatory condition of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
  12. The Editor / editorial team will review every submitted manuscript to determine if the topic fits within the journal's scope. All manuscripts received will be accepted after initial screening and undergo a double-blind peer review process. The reviewer’s response will be shared with the corresponding author. In case of revision, the corresponding author will be given time to incorporate the revisions and resubmit the work.
  13. The Editor / Editorial Board reserves the right to edit the draft and make necessary changes, defer for revision, or reject the paper.
  14. Once reviewed, the Research paper cannot be withdrawn, provided the Editor / Editorial Board allows it upon request of the author/s in some particular cases.
  15. The authors retain the copyright for articles published in PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS, with first publication rights granted to the journal. PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work.
  16. Manuscripts should be typed in MS Word. Text may kindly be limited to 3000 to 12000 words. With the font size, 12 points, font style ‘Times New Roman' for English Articles, the font size 14 points, font style 'Jameel Noori Nastaleeq' for Urdu Articles & the font size 14 points, font style 'Sakkal Majallah for Arabic Articles, A4 Paper size, and English Articles references should be APA 7th Edition in Text Citation, Urdu & Arabic references should be numbered consecutively throughout and appear as endnotes in Chicago manual style except for the author’s name, mention the first name first and last name in the last. For example, in ‘Muhammad Ahmad’, the first name is (Muhammad), and (Ahmed) is the last name.
  17. The title page should:
  • Present an appropriate title for the article
  • List full names, designations, affiliations & email addresses of all authors
  • indicate the corresponding author
  1. The abstract of 150- 200 words should briefly summarize the aim, findings, or purpose of the article. Please minimize the use of abbreviations and avoid citing references in the abstract. 
  2. Mention five to ten keywords representing the article's main content.
  3. Introduction should explain the background of the study, its aims, a summary of the existing literature, and why this study was necessary.
  4. For research articles, this section should discuss the implications of the findings in the context of existing research and highlight the study's limitations. For methodology manuscripts, this section should discuss any practical or operational issues involved in performing the study and any issues not covered in other sections.
  5. For reviews, this should contain the body of the article and may also be broken into subsections with short, informative headings.
  6. For case studies, this should describe the pros and cons of the intervention, with a realistic evaluation of its feasibility and effectiveness.
  7. Conclusions should state clearly the main conclusions and explain their relevance or importance to the field.
  8. If the paper is based on the case studies, then the conclusion should state what was learned, what the next steps should be, and, if possible, what contingency planning may be required for those steps. 
  9. Please make sure you have the following information available before submitting your manuscript: full names, affiliations, institutional and email addresses, and phone numbers of all authors.

Must Read Before Paper Submission

Submitting your paper to ‘PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS’ means the author(s) agree that:

  • Authors permit to publish the article and identify themselves as the original publisher.
  • Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely if its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details, and publisher are identified.
  • All authors have approved the manuscript for submission.
  • Confirmation that the manuscript is unpublished and is not submitted elsewhere for publication.
  • Submitting your article means you accept the terms and conditions of the journal, ‘PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS. 

3.     Peer review policy

PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS is a Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Research Journal. All articles submitted to the journal are sent to the reviewer without the details of the author and his institution.

  • First Internal/Desk Review

Each paper goes through a first internal/desk review by a relevant editorial board/team member to determine whether it is appropriately formatted and follows publication ethics. The member would also consider whether basic research protocols have been followed in research design/analysis and contribution to the literature. At PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS, a proper internal/desk review process has been employed where articles must pass an internal/desk rejection/acceptance system before sending to an expert in the field, and papers that do not meet the basic requirements are not sent out for external review.

  • External Review

PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS follows a double-blind review process after a paper is screened through the first internal/desk review. Authors are requested not to include their personal information in the text of the paper. They are further indicated to refrain from posting their papers on any website to prevent their identity to potential reviewers. At the same time, reviewers are also expected only to accept if they come to know about the identification of the author(s) of a paper referred to them for peer review. External reviewers generally comment and suggest originality, quality of presentation, research design, data/results/conclusions, the usefulness of the study, and interest in the researcher's community. During an external review, if reviewers find that the research paper has significant flaws that cannot be resolved through a significant revision, they can recommend declining the paper.

  • Suggesting Reviewers

Following the HEC guidelines in letter and spirit, authors submitting their research papers to PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS are not allowed to suggest potential reviewers for reviewing their research papers. At the same time, authors may indicate those scholars (due to any actual or perceived conflict of interest) to whom they feel unsuitable to serve as reviewers for their specific paper.

  • Criteria for Selection of Reviewers

Reviewers are selected carefully based on the following criteria:

  1. Must hold a Ph.D. degree or advanced professional qualification with extensive professional/academic experience, i.e., CFA, CMA, etc.
  2. Recognized as well reputed expert in the field (having publications in reputable academic or professional research journals).
  3. Never coauthored a paper with the author(s).
  4. Not affiliated with the institution of author(s).
  5. Should have a good understanding of data analysis.
  • Resources Available to Reviewers

Reviewers of PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS are reputable academic and professional researchers with access to various research-related databases and other latest material. It also provides additional viewers who need additional material to complete their review.

  • Publication Ethics (for reviewers)

All reviewers are encouraged to follow the HEC guidelines for reviewers to meet their responsibilities regarding objectivity, promptness, conflict of interest, confidentiality, and reporting.

  • Steps in Peer Review Process

The peer review process can be broadly described as follows:

S.No

Steps of the Review Process

Estimated Time

1

Submission of paper

-

2

First internal/desk review*

1-2 weeks

3

External review

3-4 weeks

4

Communication      of    review    reports    to    authors    for minor/major revision**

1 week

5

Submission of the revised paper

4-8 weeks

6

Second internal/desk review (to assess whether reviewers’ suggestions have been incorporated satisfactorily) ***

1 weeks

7

Acceptance of paper (on successful submission of revised paper)

1 week

* Paper is returned to authors if it does not meet the essential criteria.

** Paper is returned to authors if external reviewers find the research paper has serious faults that cannot be resolved through a significant revision.

*** Authors are requested for further revision if editors find reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily.

Note: Authors are requested to revise the paper carefully to the reviewers’ suggestions to avoid unnecessary delay in the review process.

  • Resubmission of paper (after peer review)

Nearly every published paper goes through at least one revision. Authors should take a revision request as good news and an opportunity to learn and improve the quality of their research paper. They are directed to revise the paper carefully by the reviewers’ suggestions to avoid needless interruption in the review process. Generally, when the review report is provided, each review point must either be incorporated in the revised version of the paper or an appropriate response expected from the Author. Author(s) should be conscientious regarding the accuracy and completeness of the reviewers’ suggested points to avoid further review and delay (further revision can be recommended if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily).

Keeping in view the other academic/professional commitments, authors may request extra time if they feel that revision needs more effort and time to improve the quality of the paper.

4.     Originality and plagiarism policy

PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS Publish only original research conducted by authors as mentioned in the author guideline. The allowed similarity index is less than 19%, as per HEC Pakistan’s policy.

5.     Ethical guidelines

5.1 Authorship

Authorship credit should be based on meeting the following criteria:

  1. Substantial contribution to paper concept or design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
  2. drafting the article or reviewing and introducing fundamental changes to it;
  3. Final approval of the version to be published.

All persons designated as authors and co-authors should meet these criteria. As co-authors of a paper, all persons who have made significant scientific contributions to the work reported should be identified and who therefore share responsibility for its content and results. Authors should also appropriately recognize the contributions of technical staff and data professionals. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g., financial support) should be listed in the section “Acknowledgements” (financial disclosure). Editors retain the right to request information about the contributions of each person in writing the article.

Authors should also be aware that the following phenomena are examples of scientific misconduct and must be avoided: ghostwriting and guest writing authorship.

A group of co-authors should jointly decide the order in which their names are given. During manuscript submission, the submitting author must provide contact information (full name, email address, institutional affiliation, and mailing address) for all co-authors. The author who submits the manuscript for publication accepts the responsibility of notifying all co-authors of the submitted manuscript. The author must submit an Author Agreement statement duly signed by each author, which should be submitted with the manuscript.

All detected cases of scientific misconduct will be documented, and the appropriate institutions and entities will be notified.

5.2. Sources of data and ideas

Authors are required to faithfully acknowledge and identify contributions of other persons to their reported work and clearly identify sources of data and ideas. Authors should cite all publications that have been important in developing the submitted study, which will guide the reader to the earlier researchers that are essential for understanding the present analysis.

Authors must make reasonable and diligent efforts to find and accurately cite sources and publications. Authors should only present reliable, personally verified, or peer-reviewed scientific data and literature sources.

Authors must not engage in plagiarism or self-plagiarism. Plagiarism is verbatim or near-verbatim copying, or paraphrasing without due modification, of text, data, or other material containing results of another person’s work, without explicitly identifying the source of such material. Similarly, self-plagiarism replicates the author’s previously published text or results without acknowledging the source. Exercising care for publishing only original research, editors of PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS are committed to deterring plagiarism and self-plagiarism. They may use special software to screen submitted manuscripts for similarity to previously published material. The manuscripts may be screened during the whole editorial cycle, including the submission process, and until the final publication in online or print form.

5.3. Duplicate publications

It is prohibited for an author to submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal of primary publication unless it is a resubmission of a manuscript rejected for or withdrawn from publication. An author must organize his or her paper to provide a well-rounded description of the examined issue. Fragmentation of research reports excessively consumes journal space and unduly complicates literature research; therefore, authors are expected to avoid it whenever possible.

5.4. Open Access Policy

PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. The authors retain the copyright for articles published in the PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS journal, with first publication rights granted to the journal. PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. The author is responsible for bringing an infringement action if the author desires. All articles published in PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS can be deposited in public and institutional repositories such as research gates, university libraries, personal websites, etc.

5.5. Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered on our site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of our journals and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

5.6. Content license

PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS applies for the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY). License for scholarly work it publishes. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

6.     Author Agreement Form

Authors of the research article must submit an Author Agreement Statement that declares originality, not accepted for publication anywhere, consent of Authors for paper publication in the journal, and nomination of corresponding authors. All authors of a research paper must sign the statement of author agreement.

  • Deadlines of all processes

The authors can submit their research papers though out the year. There is no submission deadline.

7.     Reviewing and Editing

PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal. Submitted papers and short communication are evaluated by independent referees or Editorial Board members specialized in the article field. Our Reviewers evaluate the submitted material’s scientific significance and novelty, define its accordance with the general journal profile, and scrutinize its content for compliance with the journal’s publication ethics. After the completion of the refereeing process, the paper may be rejected, returned to the author for revisions, or accepted for publication.

The authors are responsible for the contents of their paper or short communication. Editors may request an author, when necessary, to elaborate on the content or technical details of the paper. Scientific editing might change the format and correct the writing to render it compliant with the journal's editorial policy.

Pictures and graphs are particular subjects for editorial consideration, as their quantity should be optimal and only necessary in the content of papers. Pictures, graphs, and textual content are subject to ethical standards concerning authorship and integrity. Additionally, whenever images are included in accounts of the research process or results or data collection, the author must accurately describe how the images originated.

8.     Acceptance of articles and publication of articles

The acceptance and publication of the article are based on the decision of the Editor of the journal. The Editor decides the light of the review report received from the reviewer.

9.     Timelines of publication of issues

The Journal releases four issues per year. The journal issues release in March, June, September, and December, respectively. The journal takes at least one month/ 4 weeks to complete the review process after submission. The Journal publishes all research articles in the next issue, which are being received less than the 4-week time before the release of the current issue.

10. Steps involved from the date of receipt of the research article till the publication of the article

  1. Authors must submit a complete manuscript without details of authors and their institution, along with a separate title page carrying details of authors and their affiliation.
  2. The Editor/Manager of the Journal assigns the manuscript with the anonymous author to an editor from the editorial board for desk review. The Journal uses the Open Journal System            (OJS) to manage journals. The editor of the journal also has the rights of the journal manager.
  3. The Editorial board member sent the article to the editor after desk review/ Initial screening.
  4. The Editor sent to review all those articles, which successfully cleared desk review and assigned two reviewers, including national/international reviewers, to the article.
  5. The review receives a notification on his email and Open Journal System (OJS).
  6. The Editor decides whether the article is accepted for publication or not accepted. Suppose the article is acceptable for publication. The Editor further sent the article for Copy editing after receiving two positive reviews from the reviewers. Otherwise sent from revision.
  7. Copyediting involves further proofreading the research article and correcting the formatting of the article.
  8. Once the copyediting is done. The editor sent the article for Production and Publication. A Pdf of the research article is attached to Open Journal System (OJS) with the Abstract and           Affiliation details of the Authors.

11. Article processing and publication fee

PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS (An International Journal of Islamic and Social Sciences) is full of open access and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License; and published by: Muslim Intellectual Research Center, Multan-Pakistan. This allows the research community and the general public to gain unlimited, accessible, and immediate access to scholarly articles and to reuse the content freely, provided that proper attribution is given to the original authors. To cover the cost of providing our high-quality publishing service and free access to readers, authors pay Article Processing Charges (APC) after internal/desk review. There are no submission charges or surcharges based on the length of an article, figures, or supplementary data.

The Journal Charge $135US for the article processing fee, including a $55US initial deposit at the time of article submission and $80US at the time of Publication.

12. Disclosure and Conflicts of interest

Conflict of interest is a situation in which the research and publication process may be corrupted, or its results may be biased because of some other interests of its participants. It may concern one or more participants in the research and publication process – the author, the reviewer, or the editor. Conflicts of interest may occur for financial (e.g., employment opportunities, fees or other compensation arrangements, beneficial ownership of stock) or other reasons (e.g., personal relationships, the pursuit of an academic career, intellectual passion, political involvement, etc.) that can reasonably be expected to influence motivations or results of actions of participants of the publication process.

Conflicts of interest constitute a serious threat to the integrity and objectivity of both scientific research and publishing. Therefore, the best practice for authors, reviewers, and editors is to avoid conflicts of interest whenever possible.

All participants in the publication process who are in a situation of a conflict of interest must disclose this fact. Of particular importance is that if the original research study reported in the manuscript or the preparation of the manuscript was supported by one or more grants, the title and number of the grant(s) and the name of the institution(s) that provided the grants or financial support to conduct, analyze or write-up the study, must be specified in the manuscript.

Editors of PAKISTAN ISLAMICUS may use information disclosed in conflict-of-interest and financial-support statements as a basis for editorial decisions. The corresponding author must either notify the editor at the time of submission that there is no conflict of interest to declare or fairly and effectively communicate all conflicts of interest, which will be acknowledged in the published article.

13. Correction and retraction of research articles

The Editor of the Journal emailed the article’s authors for revision/correction proposed by Editorial board members and reviewers after the initial screening and the final review, respectively.

14. Contribution and consent of each author and any other information

Authors are required to submit details of each author's contribution on the title page, which is uploaded separately, and submit the consent of each author in the Author agreement statement.

 

Seal and Signature

 

HAFIZ MUHAMMAD USMAN
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Muslim Intellectuals Research Center,
(SMC-Private), Limited, Multan-Pakistan.