EDITORIAL PROCESS
- Submission
The author submits the manuscript through the online platform or to the official editorial email address. The paper must include all required elements as specified in the Guidelines for Authors (title, abstract, keywords, references, etc.). - Initial Check
The Managing Editor ensures that the submission complies with the journal’s formal and thematic requirements, including formatting, structure, citations, and publication ethics. At this stage, manuscripts may be returned to the author for corrections or rejected without being sent for peer review. - Peer Review
After the initial check, the manuscript is forwarded to the Editor-in-Chief and to the Section Editors-in-Chief (or to the Special Issue Editors, if applicable). The paper is then sent for evaluation to two reviewers from the Review Board under a double-blind review process (author and reviewers remain anonymous). Reviewers assess originality, methodology, clarity, and scientific significance according to the Reviewer Evaluation Form. - Editorial Decision
Based on the reviewers’ evaluations, the editorial board decides one of the following outcomes:- Accepted
- Accepted with minor or major revisions
- Rejected
- Editing and Proofreading
Once accepted, the article undergoes final editing and proofreading under the supervision of the Managing Editor. The process ensures compliance with ethical standards, proper citation, spelling, formatting, and academic style.
The author reviews and approves the final version before publication. - Publication
The article is published in the corresponding issue of the UniVlora Scientific Journal (or Scientific Bulletin) and becomes openly accessible on the official website of the University of Vlora “Ismail Qemali”, under the Open Access Publications section. - Postpublication
- In cases where errors are identified by the authors themselves or by readers in articles already published in their final version, the journal accepts either corrections or retractions of the article. Corrections may take different forms and levels, including:
- Minor errors within the text of a scientific paper. These errors do not affect the results or conclusions of the study. They may include typographical errors, mistakes in various sections of the article, errors in names, etc. Such errors are corrected by the respective section editor of the journal within a short period of time, after informing the Editor-in-Chief, who confirms the approval of the corrections.
- Major errors, which may lead to incorrect conclusions, flawed methodology or data analysis, errors in references, the removal or addition of an author, etc. Such corrections must be made as soon as possible after the discovery of the error(s). The correction is requested by the editorial board or the section editor, who forwards their proposals to the Editor-in-Chief. The latter makes the final decision regarding the acceptance of these corrections.
- In both cases (minor or major errors), the article is updated, and all databases in which the journal is indexed are notified of the corresponding changes.
- In rare cases, an article may be retracted for major reasons such as plagiarism, data fabrication, or serious errors during the research process.
- In such cases, the journal informs readers about the retraction of the article, as well as the various databases in which it is indexed.
- Depending on the reason for the article’s retraction, this may result in consequences for the authors, such as non-acceptance of their future submissions, etc.
- Errors may be identified either by the authors of the article or by readers. If an error is found by the authors, they must immediately inform the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, who, following the above-mentioned procedures, decides on the correction or retraction of the article.
- In cases where the notification of a possible error is made by readers, the Editor-in-Chief informs the authors of the article about the raised claim. Within 15 days, the authors must submit their response regarding the raised concerns. If they acknowledge the possible errors, the above-mentioned procedure is followed. If they do not accept the claims, the Editor-in-Chief appoints an ad hoc committee to review the matter. This commission is composed of three members (the section editor and two other members of the editorial board). The commission’s proposal is submitted to the Editor-in-Chief, who makes the final decision.
- In cases where errors are identified by the authors themselves or by readers in articles already published in their final version, the journal accepts either corrections or retractions of the article. Corrections may take different forms and levels, including: