Editorial Workflow

The editorial process of Datokarama English Education Journal (DEEJournal) is designed to ensure transparent, accountable, and ethically sound decision-making throughout the lifecycle of a manuscript.

Workflow Overview

Submission Handling

All manuscripts must be submitted through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. Submissions via email or other channels are not accepted.

Initial Technical Screening

The Managing Editor conducts a preliminary check for:

  • compliance with Author Guidelines
  • completeness of submission files
  • formatting and structure
  • plagiarism screening

Manuscripts failing to meet requirements may be:

  • returned for correction, or
  • rejected without external review (desk rejection)

Scope and Quality Assessment

The Editor-in-Chief evaluates whether the manuscript:

  • aligns with the journal’s focus and scope
  • demonstrates minimum academic quality
  • shows potential contribution to the field

At this stage, unsuitable manuscripts may be rejected without peer review.

Editorial Assignment

Manuscripts that pass initial checks are assigned to a Section Editor based on expertise.

The Section Editor is responsible for:

  • overseeing the peer review process
  • communicating with reviewers and authors
  • making recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief

Decision-Making Process

Editorial decisions are based on:

  • reviewer reports
  • academic merit
  • methodological soundness
  • ethical considerations

Final decisions include:

  • Accept
  • Minor Revision
  • Major Revision
  • Reject

The Editor-in-Chief holds ultimate authority over all publication decisions.

Revision Management

Editors ensure that:

  • all reviewer comments are addressed
  • revisions improve the manuscript’s quality
  • authors provide a clear response to reviewers

Failure to adequately revise may result in rejection.

Production Process

Accepted manuscripts undergo:

  • copyediting (language and style consistency)
  • proofreading
  • layout formatting

Authors are given the opportunity to review proofs before publication.

Publication

Final articles are:

  • published online with DOI assignment
  • indexed and archived according to journal policy
  • made immediately available under open access

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for:

  • maintaining confidentiality of submissions
  • ensuring fair and unbiased evaluation
  • managing conflicts of interest
  • upholding publication ethics

Editors must not:

  • use unpublished materials for personal research
  • discriminate based on personal characteristics of authors

Conflict of Interest Management

Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts exist, including:

  • institutional affiliation
  • personal relationships
  • collaborative research

In such cases, another editor will be assigned.

Ethical Oversight

DEEJournal adheres to COPE Core Practices, including:

  • handling complaints and appeals
  • managing allegations of misconduct
  • issuing corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when necessary

Transparency and Accountability

All editorial actions are recorded in the OJS system to ensure:

  • traceability
  • accountability
  • auditability of decisions