The International Journal of Poultry Science (IJPS) is committed to maintaining the quality, integrity, and academic relevance of the research it publishes. All research articles and other scholarly manuscripts submitted to the journal are evaluated through a rigorous editorial assessment and peer review process before a final publication decision is made.

Peer Review Model

The International Journal of Poultry Science follows a double-blind peer review process. The identities of the authors are not disclosed to the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers are not disclosed to the authors during the review process.

Each manuscript that proceeds to external peer review is evaluated by a minimum of three independent reviewers with relevant expertise in the subject area of the manuscript.

Initial Editorial Assessment

After submission, each manuscript undergoes an initial assessment by the editorial office and a designated editor. The purpose of this assessment is to determine whether the manuscript is relevant to the journal's aims and scope, meets the journal's basic submission and ethical requirements, and is of sufficient scholarly quality to proceed to external peer review.

Manuscripts that are outside the scope of the journal, do not meet basic scholarly or ethical requirements, or are otherwise unsuitable for consideration may be declined without external peer review.

Selection and Independence of Reviewers

Reviewers are selected on the basis of their expertise and their ability to provide an independent and objective assessment of the manuscript. Reviewers should not have relationships or interests that could reasonably compromise, or appear to compromise, the impartiality of their evaluation.

Reviewers involved in the external peer review of a manuscript are independent of the authors and are not part of the journal's editorial team for the purpose of reviewing that manuscript.

Reviewers are expected to disclose any potential conflict of interest before accepting a review assignment. If a significant conflict exists, the reviewer should decline the invitation.

Reviewer Evaluation

Reviewers are asked to evaluate manuscripts on the basis of their scientific quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, clarity of presentation, interpretation of results, and contribution to the field of poultry science.

Reviewers may recommend that a manuscript be accepted, revised, or declined. Reviewer recommendations are advisory, and the final editorial decision is made by the responsible editor on the basis of the reviewers' reports, the manuscript itself, and the journal's editorial and ethical standards.

Revisions

When revision is requested, authors are expected to address the reviewers' and editor's comments carefully and provide a clear response explaining how the comments have been addressed or, where appropriate, providing a reasoned explanation for any recommendation that has not been followed.

A revised manuscript may be returned to the original reviewers or evaluated by the responsible editor, depending on the nature and extent of the revisions required. Additional independent review may be sought when necessary.

Conflicting Reviewer Reports

If reviewer reports differ substantially or do not provide a sufficient basis for an editorial decision, the editor may seek an assessment from an additional independent reviewer before making a decision.

Editorial Decisions

Editorial decisions are based on the scholarly merit of the manuscript, the reviewers' assessments, relevance to the journal's scope, compliance with ethical and editorial requirements, and the overall quality of the work.

The possible editorial decisions include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection. Acceptance of a manuscript is not guaranteed at any stage of the review process until a final acceptance decision has been formally communicated by the journal.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts submitted for review are treated as confidential documents. Editors and reviewers must not disclose, share, or use unpublished information contained in a submitted manuscript for personal or professional advantage.

Reviewers must not share the manuscript or their review assignment with another person without prior authorization from the journal.

Peer Review of Manuscripts Submitted by Editors or Editorial Board Members

Manuscripts submitted by an editor or a member of the Editorial Board are subject to the same editorial and peer review standards as other submissions. Such manuscripts are handled by another qualified editor who has no conflict of interest with the authors. The submitting editor or Editorial Board member is excluded from the review process and editorial decision concerning their own manuscript.

Special Issues

Articles submitted to a special issue, where applicable, are subject to the same editorial standards and external peer review requirements as articles submitted to regular issues of the journal.

The Editor-in-Chief retains overall responsibility for the scholarly content and editorial standards of special issues. Guest Editors, where appointed, operate under the oversight of the Editor-in-Chief or designated members of the Editorial Board. Manuscripts submitted by a Guest Editor are handled independently by another qualified editor, and the Guest Editor does not participate in the peer review or decision-making process for their own manuscript.

Research Integrity and Ethical Concerns

If concerns relating to plagiarism, duplicate publication, data integrity, authorship, conflicts of interest, research ethics, or other forms of potential misconduct arise during peer review, the journal may suspend the review process while the matter is investigated in accordance with its relevant editorial and publication ethics policies.

Final Responsibility

Peer reviewers provide expert recommendations to assist the editorial process; however, responsibility for the final decision on a manuscript rests with the journal's editors. Editorial decisions are made independently and are not determined by commercial considerations or the payment of article processing charges.