Peer Review Process
All manuscripts submitted to PIETAS: Jurnal Studi Agama dan Lintas Budaya (Journal of Religious and Cross-Cultural Studies) undergo a rigorous editorial evaluation and peer-review process to ensure academic quality, originality, ethical compliance, and scholarly contribution.
Before entering the peer-review process, all submitted manuscripts must comply with the journal's author guidelines, manuscript template, and publication policies. Each submission undergoes an initial editorial screening conducted by the editorial team to assess its relevance to the journal's aims and scope, originality, academic significance, methodological or conceptual quality, ethical considerations, and compliance with formatting requirements.
Initial Editorial Screening
The editorial team conducts an initial assessment to determine whether the manuscript is suitable for further evaluation. Manuscripts may be rejected at this stage if they fall outside the journal's scope, lack sufficient scholarly contribution, do not meet academic standards, violate publication ethics, or fail to comply with submission requirements.
Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial screening proceed to the peer-review process.
Double-Blind Peer Review
PIETAS employs a double-blind peer-review process, in which the identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed throughout the review process to ensure fairness, impartiality, confidentiality, and academic integrity.
Each manuscript that passes the initial editorial screening is evaluated by at least two independent reviewers who have relevant expertise in the subject area of the submitted manuscript.
Reviewers are selected based on their academic expertise, research experience, and ability to provide objective evaluations related to the theoretical, methodological, or disciplinary aspects of the manuscript.
Reviewer Evaluation Criteria
Reviewers assess manuscripts based on the following criteria:
- Originality and significance of the research contribution
- Relevance to the aims and scope of PIETAS
- Clarity and strength of the research objectives or scholarly arguments
- Adequacy of theoretical framework and engagement with relevant literature
- Appropriateness and rigor of research methodology or conceptual approach
- Quality of analysis, discussion, and interpretation
- Validity and consistency of findings and conclusions
- Contribution to the advancement of religious and cross-cultural studies
- Compliance with publication ethics and research integrity standards
Reviewer Responsibilities
Reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive, and evidence-based evaluations to assist editors in making editorial decisions and to help authors improve the quality of their manuscripts.
Reviewers must maintain confidentiality and must not disclose, distribute, or use unpublished manuscript information for personal, academic, or professional purposes.
Reviewers must declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest. Reviewers who have relationships or interests that may affect their impartiality should decline the review assignment.
Editorial Decision
Based on reviewers' recommendations, editorial assessment, and the overall quality of the manuscript, the Editor-in-Chief makes the final publication decision.
The possible editorial decisions are:
- Accept Submission
- Minor Revisions Required
- Major Revisions Required
- Reject Submission
The Editor-in-Chief may consult members of the Editorial Board or additional experts when necessary to ensure a fair and informed decision.
Revision Process
Authors receiving revision requests are required to revise their manuscripts according to reviewers' and editors' comments. Authors should submit a revised manuscript together with a detailed response explaining how each comment has been addressed.
Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers for further evaluation when necessary to ensure that all significant concerns have been adequately addressed.
Final Acceptance and Publication
A manuscript is accepted for publication only after completing the required review and revision process and receiving final approval from the Editor-in-Chief.
Accepted manuscripts proceed to the final publication stage, including copyediting, proofreading, layout preparation, metadata verification, and online publication.
Confidentiality and Integrity of Peer Review
All information, documents, and communications related to manuscript evaluation are treated as confidential. Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff are responsible for maintaining the integrity, fairness, and transparency of the peer-review process.
