Pre-check
Upon submission, the Managing Editor of Azerbaijan Pharmaceutical and Pharmacotherapy Journal conducts a technical pre-check to evaluate:
- Overall suitability of the manuscript for the journal, specific section, or Special Issue.
- Adherence of the manuscript to high-quality research and ethical standards.
- Rigor of the study to meet the requirements for further review.
The Associate Editor for regular submissions, Guest Editor for Special Issue submissions is informed about the submission and performs an editorial pre-check. This involves assessing the manuscript’s suitability for the journal’s scope and the scientific soundness, including references and methodology. Based on the pre-check, the academic editor may reject the manuscript, request revisions before peer-review, or proceed with the peer-review process.
Peer-Review
After passing the initial checks, the manuscript is assigned to at least two independent experts for peer-review. This follows a single-blind review process where the reviewers are aware of the authors’ identities. Peer review comments are confidential and shared with reviewer consent only.
For regular submissions, Associate Editor or Managing Editor invite experts, which may include Editorial Board Members and Guest Editors. Suggestions from the authors for potential reviewers are also considered. Reviewers must not have published with any of the co-authors in the past three years and should not have current collaborations with the authors’ institutions.
Editorial Decision and Revision
All articles, reviews, and case studies featured in the Azerbaijan Pharmaceutical and Pharmacotherapy Journal undergo a thorough peer-review process, involving a minimum of two reviews. After the requisite number of reviews is completed, the Associate Editor, considering the reviewers' feedback alongside their own assessment, provides a recommendation, which can be one of the following:
- Accept after Minor Revisions: The paper is accepted pending minor revisions based on the reviewer’s comments. Authors have five days for revisions.
- Reconsider after Major Revisions: Acceptance depends on the revisions made. Authors should provide a point-by-point response or a rebuttal if certain reviewer comments cannot be addressed. Normally, two rounds of major revision are allowed per manuscript. Authors are requested to resubmit the revised paper within a suitable timeframe for further comments from the reviewer. If the revision time exceeds 2 months, authors are advised to withdraw the manuscript to ensure adequate revisions.
- Reject and Encourage Resubmission: If additional experiments are required to support the conclusions, the manuscript is rejected but authors are encouraged to resubmit after conducting further experiments.
- Reject: The article has serious flaws or lacks significant original contribution. No opportunity for resubmission is provided.
Following the receipt of comments from the Associate Editor, the final decision is conveyed to the authors by either the Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor. Authors are expected to respond to all reviewer comments in a detailed manner, even if there is disagreement, providing clear explanations.
Author Appeals
Authors have the option to appeal a rejection by emailing the Editorial Office, providing a detailed justification and point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ and/or Editor’s comments. Appeals can only be made after a “reject and decline resubmission” decision and must be submitted within three months of the decision date. Failure to meet these criteria will result in the appeal not being considered. The Managing Editor forwards the manuscript and related information to a designated Editorial Board Member, who seeks an advisory recommendation from the Academic Editor. The recommendation may include acceptance, further peer-review, or upholding the original rejection decision. The final decision is validated by the Editor-in-Chief, and once a reject decision is made at this stage, it is final and cannot be reversed.
Production and Publication
Accepted manuscripts undergo professional copy-editing, English editing, proofreading by the authors, final corrections, pagination, and then they are published in Azerbaijan Pharmaceutical and Pharmacotherapy Journal (APPJ).
Promoting Equity and Diversity
The Managing Editors encourage Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors to form diverse Editorial Boards comprising experts from different backgrounds. We prioritize inclusivity in our multinational workplace, providing equal opportunities regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, or socio-economic status. Discrimination has no place in our workplace, and our editors uphold these principles with utmost regard.
The following flow chat describe the editorial process;
