Double Blind Review

The International Informatics Express Journal (IIEJ) is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity, fairness, and objective evaluation. To ensure that every manuscript is judged solely on its scientific merit, originality, and relevance to the field, the journal employs a rigorous Double-Blind Peer Review process.

What is Double-Blind Peer Review?

In a double-blind peer review system, the identities of both the authors and the reviewers are kept strictly confidential throughout the evaluation process:

  • The reviewers do not know the names, institutional affiliations, or nationalities of the authors.
  • The authors do not know the identities of the expert reviewers evaluating their work.

This model is designed to minimize potential biases (such as gender, geographical, or institutional bias) and ensures a fair, impartial, and transparent assessment of the research.

The Peer Review Process

  1. Initial Desk Screening: Upon submission, the Editorial Board conducts an initial triage to verify that the manuscript aligns with the journal’s focus and scope, adheres to author guidelines, and passes a strict similarity/plagiarism check.
  2. Reviewer Assignment: Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are completely anonymized by the editorial team and assigned to at least two independent expert reviewers within the specific subject area.
  3. Blind Evaluation: Reviewers assess the manuscript based on its originality, methodological rigor, data validity, clarity of presentation, and overall contribution to informatics and computing.
  4. Editorial Decision: Based on the reviewers' reports and recommendations, the Chief Editor (or assigned Section Editor) makes the final decision. The possible outcomes are:
    • Accept Submission (without any changes)
    • Revisions Required (Minor or Major revisions needed before acceptance)
    • Resubmit for Review (Manuscript requires heavy revisions and another round of review)
    • Decline Submission (Rejected)

Ensuring a Blind Review (Instructions for Authors)

To facilitate the double-blind review process, it is the authors' responsibility to ensure that their main manuscript file is completely anonymized before submission. Please adhere to the following steps:

  • Separate Title Page: Submit a separate document (Title Page) containing the manuscript title, authors' full names, affiliations, email addresses, and acknowledgments. This document will only be visible to the editorial staff.
  • Anonymized Main Manuscript: The main manuscript file must not contain any author names, affiliations, or biographical notes.
  • Neutral Self-Citations: When citing your own previous work, avoid self-revealing phrases such as "In our previous study [1]...". Instead, use a neutral third-person perspective, such as "As demonstrated by Smith et al. [1]...".
  • Remove Hidden Document Properties: Ensure that personal identification metadata is removed from the word processor's file properties. For example, in Microsoft Word, go to: File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document, and click Remove on "Document Properties and Personal Information".

By adhering to these guidelines, authors help us maintain the integrity and efficiency of the peer-review process.