All submissions will be acknowledged on receipt and undergo double-blind peer review. At least two external reviewers will be invited to judge the validity, significance, and originality of your work. Copies of reviewers’ comments will then be forwarded to the corresponding author, along with the Editor-in-Chief’s (EIC) decision. Below you can learn more about the peer review process in IJVLMS.

I. Manuscript Submission: The corresponding or submitting author submits the manuscript to IJVLMS via the online submission system. They will be notified of manuscript receipt and editorial decisions by email. Prior to submission, authors are strongly advised to consult the Author Guidelines, Aims & Scope and Publication Ethics.

II. Preliminary Screening: The Editor-in-Chief briefly reviews the manuscript to verify its originality and relevance. Then, the Executive Director checks the manuscript to ensure that it adheres to the guidelines on composition and formatting. The paper will also be scanned for plagiarism. The decision at this point could be fast reject or revise and re-submit, or assign to reviewers for evaluation.

III. Peer Review: Manuscripts will be subject to a double-blind peer review process by at least two external reviewers. EIC invites these reviewers based on their areas of expertise and relevant research background. Every attempt will be made to ensure that a minimum of two substantial reviews are obtained for each manuscript. IJVLMS asks reviewers to complete their reviews within 3-4 weeks. The reviews are submitted to the journal, along with a recommendation to accept or reject the paper, or a request for revision (major or minor revision).

IV. EIC Decision:  The Editor-in-Chief considers all the returned reviews before making an overall decision. In case the reviewers’ comments differ widely, EIC may deem it necessary to invite additional reviewers before coming to a decision. The decision will be communicated to the author along with the reviewers’ comments. EIC decision at this stage can be accepted, rejected, or revised if needed.

V. Revision Required: If minor/major revision is required, authors will be advised to revise and resubmit the manuscript in accordance with the provided comments. They will have 15 days (with limited extensions possible) to resubmit the manuscript (with revised areas highlighted) along with a “Response to Reviewers” file. Once received, the paper will be subject to another review to determine if revisions have been properly made. If only a minor revision was requested this follow-up review might be handled by the EIC.

VI. Final Decision: If accepted, the manuscript will undergo a final screening for technical and language correctness. The paper will proceed to the next step provided the authors fully cooperate at this stage. The manuscript will then be forwarded for proofreading and publication.