Peer Review Policy

Bharati Darpan – Multidisciplinary International Journal of Humanities, Social Sciences and Science follows a structured and impartial peer-review process to maintain the academic quality, originality, relevance, and integrity of all published research.

Initial Editorial Screening

Every submitted manuscript is first reviewed by the editorial team to determine whether it:

  • Falls within the aims and scope of the journal;
  • Follows the prescribed author guidelines;
  • Demonstrates sufficient academic relevance and originality;
  • Meets basic standards of language, structure, and presentation;
  • Complies with ethical and publication requirements.

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s basic requirements may be returned to the author for correction or rejected before external peer review.

Double-Blind Peer Review

The journal follows a double-blind peer-review process. During this process, the identities of the authors are not disclosed to the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers are not disclosed to the authors.

Each manuscript is normally evaluated by at least two independent reviewers who possess appropriate subject knowledge and academic expertise relevant to the submitted research.

Evaluation Criteria

Reviewers are requested to assess manuscripts on the basis of:

  • Originality and significance of the research;
  • Relevance to the journal’s scope;
  • Clarity of the research objectives;
  • Appropriateness of the methodology;
  • Accuracy and reliability of the analysis;
  • Logical presentation of findings;
  • Quality of discussion and conclusions;
  • Adequacy of references and citation practices;
  • Academic writing quality;
  • Ethical compliance and scholarly contribution.

Review Recommendations

After evaluating a manuscript, reviewers may recommend one of the following decisions:

  • Accept without revision;
  • Accept with minor revisions;
  • Reconsider after major revisions;
  • Reject and encourage resubmission;
  • Reject the manuscript.

The final publication decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief or an authorised editor after considering the reviewers’ reports, the quality of the revised manuscript, and the journal’s editorial standards.

Revision Process

When revisions are requested, authors must submit:

  • A revised version of the manuscript;
  • A detailed response to each reviewer comment;
  • A clear explanation of any recommendation that has not been followed.

Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers for further assessment when necessary.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial communications, and associated documents are treated as confidential. Reviewers must not share, reproduce, discuss, or use unpublished material for personal or professional advantage.

Conflict of Interest

Editors and reviewers must disclose any personal, academic, institutional, or financial conflict of interest that may affect their impartiality. In such cases, another qualified reviewer or editor will be assigned.

Research Ethics and Misconduct

The journal does not tolerate plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified data, manipulated citations, authorship disputes, or other forms of research misconduct.

Where ethical concerns arise, the editorial team may request clarification, supporting documents, data, or institutional approval before reaching a decision.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based solely on academic merit, originality, relevance, ethical compliance, and scholarly contribution. Decisions are not influenced by the author’s nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, religion, political views, or personal background.

Reviewer Conduct

Reviewers are expected to provide fair, constructive, respectful, and evidence-based comments. Personal criticism, discriminatory remarks, and unsupported recommendations are not acceptable.

Final Decision

Acceptance of a manuscript is subject to satisfactory completion of peer review, required revisions, editorial approval, language and formatting checks, and compliance with the journal’s publication policies.

The journal reserves the right to reject a manuscript at any stage when significant academic, ethical, legal, or procedural concerns are identified.