Most guides to publishing focus on what to do before you submit. This page covers what happens after you click submit — how a peer-reviewed journal handles your manuscript through acknowledgement, desk screening, peer review, the decision letter, and either acceptance or revision. Knowing the full lifecycle reduces the most common source of author anxiety: the silence between submission and decision.
This guide describes how IJARST handles submitted manuscripts. The general shape of the process is similar across reputable peer-reviewed journals, but specific timelines and screening criteria vary. Where IJARST does something specific, we say so.
Step 1 — Submission acknowledgement (1–2 working days)
When you submit your manuscript through the submit article manuscripts page, the system records the submission and emails you an acknowledgement within one to two working days. The acknowledgement contains:
- A unique manuscript reference number (use this for all subsequent correspondence)
- The title and author list as we received them — verify they match your submission
- A timestamp of submission receipt — useful for any priority disputes later
- A pointer to the next steps and expected screening turnaround
If you do not receive an acknowledgement within three working days, write to editorijarst@gmail.com with the title and approximate submission time. Acknowledgement failures are usually email-deliverability issues, not lost submissions.
Step 2 — Editorial desk screening (a few working days)
Before your manuscript reaches reviewers, it goes through editorial desk screening. The desk editor checks for fit and clean compliance with submission requirements:
- In scope? Does the paper fall within the journal’s aim & scope?
- Format compliance? Does the manuscript match the authors guidelines? Out-of-template submissions are returned with reasons.
- Plagiarism threshold? Similarity index below 20% verified through iThenticate, Turnitin, or Grammarly. Higher than that is desk-rejected — this rejection is not appealable for the same paper.
- Required sections present? Title, Abstract (150–250 words), Keywords, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Conclusion, References.
- Single-journal submission? Submitting to multiple journals simultaneously is desk-rejection per COPE peer-review ethics guidelines.
Manuscripts that fail desk screening are returned to the corresponding author with specific reasons within a few working days. Manuscripts that pass move to peer review.
Step 3 — Peer review (typically under two weeks)
IJARST routes desk-passed manuscripts to two to five independent subject experts. Reviews are double-blind: neither authors nor reviewers know each other’s identities. Reviewers evaluate against the criteria in our commitment to research quality — originality, methodological soundness, conclusion validity, and citation appropriateness.
While your manuscript is under review:
- Do not contact reviewers. Even if you suspect who they are, attempting contact compromises the review.
- Do not submit the same paper elsewhere. Single-journal submission applies until you receive a decision.
- Do feel free to contact the editorial office with status enquiries by referencing your manuscript number, especially after the typical review window has elapsed.
Review duration depends on reviewer availability and the depth of the manuscript. Most decisions arrive in under two weeks. Complex methodology, contested fields, or papers requiring specialized expertise can take longer; in those cases the editorial office communicates an updated estimate.
Step 4 — The decision letter
One of four outcomes arrives by email when reviewers have completed their work:
- Accept as-is — rare on first submission. The paper moves directly to production.
- Minor revisions — the most common positive outcome. Reviewer comments highlight specific issues; you address each one and resubmit, usually within a stated window.
- Major revisions — the paper has merit but requires substantial rework. After resubmission it goes back to (often the same) reviewers for a second round.
- Reject — the paper is out of scope, methodologically unsound, or fails core review criteria. The decision letter explains the specific reasons.
For every revision request, the cover letter you send with your resubmission should respond to each reviewer comment individually — even ones you disagree with. Disagreement is fine; silence reads as evasion.
Step 5 — Acceptance and production (6 days)
Once the editorial decision is final accept (after revisions if any), production begins. IJARST’s published timeline is six days from acceptance to live publication with a Crossref Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
During production:
- The paper is copy-edited for typography and reference formatting
- A DOI is registered with Crossref
- Author proofs are sent for final approval
- The paper is published on the IJARST site and indexed across our listed services (Crossref, Google Scholar, SJIF, Index Copernicus, EuroPub, Academia.edu)
The Article Processing Charge (₹1,600 for Indian authors / USD $50 for international) is paid only at this stage — never before. There is no submission fee at IJARST.
What to expect that you might not
You may receive contradictory reviewer comments. Two or more reviewers reading the same paper sometimes disagree on what the paper does well or poorly. The editor handling your manuscript reconciles the comments and tells you which to prioritise.
A revision request is good news. It means at least one reviewer believes the work is publishable with improvement. Authors sometimes panic at major-revision letters; they are usually a path to acceptance.
A reject decision can be appealed only on procedural grounds. If you believe the rejection was based on a clear misunderstanding of the work or a procedural error, you can request a review of the decision. Appeals based on disagreement with reviewer judgement are not entertained.
