Peer Review Process

GOTAVA employs a rigorous peer-review process to maintain the quality, originality, and scholarly integrity of the manuscripts it publishes. The journal follows a double-blind peer review system, ensuring that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the evaluation process. Reviews are conducted by independent experts in the relevant fields and reviews are conducted by at least 2 reviewers who assess each manuscript based on scientific merit, originality, and alignment with the scope of the journal.

Initial Assessment
Upon submission, manuscripts undergo an initial screening by the editorial board to evaluate their relevance to the journal's aims and compliance with submission guidelines. Manuscripts that fall outside the journal’s scope, do not meet basic quality standards, or exhibit more than 20% similarity index (based on originality-checking tools) are rejected. Additionally, the editorial office checks formatting, citation style, and structural consistency. Authors may be invited to reformat and resubmit if necessary.

Reviewer Assignment
The editorial board appoints a minimum of two independent reviewers with subject-matter expertise aligned with the manuscript. Reviewers and authors remain anonymous to one another. Authors must ensure that identifying information—including names, affiliations, acknowledgments, and self-citations—is omitted from the manuscript and uploaded separately in the Title Page file. Reviewers are selected from institutions distinct from that of the corresponding author and are invited based on their expertise, availability, and lack of conflict of interest. Reviewer assignments are typically completed within two weeks of submission.

Review Process
Reviewers are given eight weeks to evaluate manuscripts. They assess scientific rigor, originality, methodological soundness, ethical considerations, and relevance. Constructive feedback is provided to guide authors in improving their work. Based on the review, reviewers may recommend acceptance, rejection, or revision (minor or major).

Editorial Decision
The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision by considering the reviewers’ reports and the manuscript’s compliance with the journal’s standards. In cases of conflicting reviewer opinions, the editorial board may seek a third reviewer. Authors receive editorial decisions via the online submission system, along with anonymized reviewer comments. The average time from submission to initial decision is approximately three months, and the overall timeline from submission to publication is 8–12 weeks.

Revision Process
If revisions are required, authors are given two weeks for minor revisions and four weeks for major revisions. Major revisions are typically re-evaluated by the original reviewers to ensure that the concerns have been adequately addressed. Minor revisions may be checked solely by the handling editor without further peer review.

Publication
Once accepted, manuscripts proceed to copyediting and layout formatting before publication in the journal. This marks the final step of the peer-review and editorial process.

Through this robust and transparent review procedure, GOTAVA is committed to publishing research that upholds the highest standards of scientific integrity, ethical conduct, and scholarly quality.