POLICY DOCUMENT
JOURNAL OF Arabic UNIVERSITY OF KARACHI

1. Frequency of journal

Journal of Arabic Karachi University is a Bi Annual Research Journal. It publishes two issues per year.

2. Guidelines for submission of research articles

Authors are requested to upload manuscript that does not carry any author’s and his institution Information or any information that can reveal any author’s identity.
The title page that carries details of authors and their institution, acknowledgment, details of conflict of interest, disclosures and details of contribution of each author must be submitted separately.
Author Agreement Form must be submitted separately with manuscript and title page.
The author has to ensure that the research work, he/she is submitting for publication, is genuine and the same paper has neither been published nor has it been presented elsewhere for publication.
Manuscripts for publication should comprise 3000 to 6000 words, typed in MS-Word format on A-4 size paper should be submitted via submission tab.
An abstract of 150 to 200 words should be a structured summary indicating the purpose, theoretical background, methodology, results and contribution of the study. It should not contain any citations. The summary should be clear and understandable to readers.
Article should be on standard format in Chicago referencing style.
Maximum three contributors will be allowed in one article.
Original drawings should preferably be submitted in a form ready for printing. Each illustration should bear a number, the author’s name, and the title of the paper. Tables should be clear, readable and appropriately labeled. Source of each table should be given at the bottom.
Loanwords accepted in English usage should be spelled in accordance with the standard dictionaries.
All submitted manuscripts will be checked with anti-plagiarism software (Turnitin) before they are sent for blind peer review. Maximum 19% similarity is allowed as per the mandatory condition of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
Every submitted manuscript will be initially screened by the Editor / editorial team in order to determine if the topic fits within the scope of the journal. All manuscripts received, will be accepted after initial screening, undergo double blind peer review process. The reviewer’s response will be shared with the corresponding author. In case of revision, the corresponding author will be given time to incorporate the revisions and resubmit the work.
The Editor / Editorial Board reserves rights to edit the draft and make necessary changes, defer for revision or reject the paper.
Research paper, once reviewed, cannot be withdrawn, provided the Editor / Editorial Board allows upon request of the author/s in some special cases.
Copyright for articles published in journals are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. Journal is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work.

3. Peer review policy

The Journal is a Double-Blind Peer Reviewed Research Journal. All articles submitted to journal are sent to reviewer without the details of authors and their institution.

4. Originality and plagiarism policy

The Journal Publish only original research conducted by authors as mentioned in author guideline. The journal allows similarity index less than 19% as per policy of HEC Pakistan.

5. Subscription Details

The Journal can be subscribed for Print Copy by sending an email to beside this the online copy the journal is freely available for open access at website address http://arabicuok.com/index.php/joa/about .

5.1.Sources of data and ideas

Authors are required to faithfully acknowledge and identify contributions of other persons to their reported work as well as clearly identify sources of both data and ideas. Authors should cite all publications that have been important in development of the submitted study and that will guide the reader to the earlier researchers that are essential for understanding the present analysis.

Authors are required to make reasonable and diligent efforts to find, and then accurately cite, original sources and publications. Authors should only present as reliable either personally verified or peer-reviewed sources of scientific data and literature.

Authors must not engage in plagiarism or self-plagiarism. Plagiarism is verbatim or near-verbatim copying, or paraphrasing without due modification, of text, data, or other material containing results of another person’s work, without explicit identification of the source of such material. Similarly, self-plagiarism is replicating of the author’s own previously published text or results without acknowledgement of the source. Exercising care for publishing only original research, editors of journal are committed to deterring plagiarism and self-plagiarism and may use special software to screen submitted manuscripts for similarity to previously published material. The manuscripts may be screened during the whole editorial cycle, including submission process and until the final publication in online or print form.

5.2. Duplicate publications

It is prohibited for an author to submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal of primary publication, unless it is a resubmission of a manuscript rejected for or withdrawn from publication. An author is required organize his or her paper so that it provides a well-rounded description of the examined issue. Fragmentation of research reports excessively consumes journal space and unduly complicates literature research; therefore, authors are expected to avoid it whenever possible.

5.3. Open Access Policy

Journal provide immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Copyright for articles published in journals are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal. Journal is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author’s responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author. All articles published in Journal can be deposited in public and institutional repositories such as research gate, university libraries, personal websites etc.

5.4.Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered on our site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of our journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

5.5. Content license

Journal applies the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.

6. Author agreement Form

Authors of the research article are required to submit Author Agreement Form that declares originality, not accepted for publication anywhere, consent of Authors for paper publication in the journal and nomination of corresponding authors. The Author Agreement Form must be signed by all the authors of research paper.

Deadlines of all processes

The authors can submit their research paper though out the year. There is no submission deadline.

7. Reviewing and Editing

Journal is double blind peer-reviewed journal. Submitted papers and short communication are evaluated by independent referees/reviewers and Editorial Board members specialized in the article field. Two independent Reviewers evaluate submitted material’s scientific significance and novelty, define its accordance to general journal profile, scrutinize its content for compliance with the journal’s publication ethics. After the refereeing process is complete, the paper may be rejected, returned to the author for revisions, or accepted for publication.

The authors are responsible for the contents of their paper or short communication. Editors may request an author, when considered necessary, to elaborate on the content or technical details of the paper. Scientific editing might change format and correct the writing to render it compliant with editorial policy of the journal.

Pictures and graphs are special subject to editorial consideration, as their quantity should be optimal and only necessary in the content of papers. Pictures, graphs and textual content alike are subject to ethical standards concerning authorship and integrity. Additionally, whenever images are included in accounts of research process or results, or in data collections, the author must provide an accurate description of how the images originated.

8. Acceptance of articles and publication of articles

The acceptance and publication of article is based on decision of the Editor of the journal. The Editor take decision in the light of review report received from reviewer.

9. Timelines of publication of issues

The Journal release two issues per year. The first issue release on 30^th June of every year and Second issue release on 31^st of every December. The Journal take at least one month/ 4 weeks to complete review process after the date of submission. The Journal publish all research articles in the next issue which are being received in less than 4-week time before the release of current issue.

10. Steps involved from date of receipt of research article till the publication of article

Authors are required to submit complete manuscript without details of authors and their institution along with separate title page carries details of authors and their affiliation and Author Agreement form.
The Editor/Manager of the Journal assign manuscript with anonymous author to an editor from editorial board for desk review. The Journal use open journal system for Management of the journal. The editor of the journal also has right of the journal manager.
The Editorial board member sent article to editor after desk review/ Initial screening.
The Editor sent to review all those articles which successfully clear desk review and assign two reviewers including national/international reviewers to the article.
The review receive notification on his email and on Open Journal System.
The Editor take decision whether article is fine for publication or not. If the article is fine for publication. The Editor further sent article for Copy editing after receiving two positive review rom authors. Otherwise sent from revision.
The Copy editing involve in further proof reading of research article and doing correction inn formatting of article.
Once the copyediting is done. The editor sent article for Production and Publication. A Pdf of research article is being attached on Open Journal System with Abstract and Affiliation details of Authors.

9. Article processing and publication fee

The Journal charge 25000 fee for article submission, article process and for online publication.

10. Disclosure and Conflicts of interest

Conflict of interest is a situation in which the process of research and publication may be corrupted or its results may be biased because of some other interests of its participants. It may concern any one or more of the participants of research and publication process – the author, the reviewer, or the editor. Conflicts of interest may occur for financial (e.g. Employment opportunities, fees or other compensation arrangements, beneficial ownership of stock) or other reasons (e.g., personal relationships, pursuit of academic career, intellectual passion, political involvement etc.) that can reasonably be expected to influence motivations or results of actions of participants of the publication process.

Conflicts of interest constitute a serious threat to the integrity and objectivity of both scientific research and publishing. Therefore, best practice for authors, reviewers and editors alike, is to avoid conflicts of interest situations whenever possible.

All participants in publication process who are in the situation of a conflict of interest, must disclose this fact. Of special importance is that if the original research study reported in the manuscript or the preparation of the manuscript was supported by one or more grants, the title and number of the grant(s) and the name of the institution(s) that provided the grants or financial support to conduct, analyze or write-up the study, must be specified in the manuscript.

Editors of journal may use information disclosed in conflict-of-interest and financial-support statements as a basis for editorial decisions. The corresponding author must either notify the editor at the time of submission that there is no conflict of interest to declare, or fairly and effectively communicate all conflicts of interest, which will then be acknowledged in the published article.

11. Correction and retraction of research articles

The Editor of the Journal sent an email to the authors of the article for revision/correction proposed by Editorial board member and reviewers after the initial screening and the final review respectively.

12. Contribution and consents of each author and any other information

Authors are required to submit details of contribution of each author in title page that is uploaded separately, and submit consent of each author in Author Agreement Form

Journal of Arabic, University of Karachi

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