Journal Policies

Publication Policies

  1. Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the journal's website. Submission via paper format or digital format through email is not permitted. 
  2. Upon submission of the manuscript, authors will be required to complete the Declaration Form as part of the submission process.
  3. The journal uses “iThenticate” software to check for instances of similar text in submitted manuscripts.

A: Refereeing Process:

  1. All published manuscripts and studies undergo a rigorous review by qualified experts with extensive manuscript experience records and distinguished academic ranking.
  2. Reviewers must hold an academic rank higher than that of the manuscript author (for individual authors) or any co-authors (for multiple authors), with a minimum rank of associate professor.
  3. The journal maintains a regularly updated list of approved reviewers for each subject area and discipline based on previous experience.
  4. Reviewers will provide evaluations on the manuscript by submitting a written report with reviewer form using predefined determinants, such as:
    • The manuscript's originality and its scientific contribution to the field of specialization.
    • The suggested methodology and approach.
    • A sufficient list of sources, references, and notes.
    • The quality of the manuscript in terms of structure, language, and conclusions.
      A summary of the manuscript's quality for publication is required at the review's conclusion.
  5. Each manuscript undergoes review by at least two reviewers. If either rejects the paper, the editor-in-chief may request a third reviewer. Rejection implies non-publication, communicated to the author.
  6. For authors from Kuwait, reviewers must be from outside Kuwait, with the editor-in-chief's discretion to consider exceptions requiring local review.

B: AJAS Rights:

  1. The editorial board reserves the right to conduct the initial examination of the manuscript and report its adequacy for review. The referees’ opinions must be binding on the editorial board and editor-in-chief. 
  2. The editor-in-chief will provide the author of the rejected manuscript with the reviewers’ assessment or a summary thereof - upon request - maintaining the reviewers’ anonymity and will not be obligated to respond to the author’s objections.
  3. The manuscript will be considered withdrawn if the author is late (more than 3 months from the date of receiving the AJAS assessment) in incorporating the necessary amendments into the manuscript unless there are valid reasons acceptable by the editorial board.
  4. The manuscript will not be published in any other academic journal once the decision is made to publish the same in one of the Academic Publication Council journals.
  5. The author is not allowed to submit his manuscript to the journal after it has been published in print or electronically in a scientific journal, conference proceedings, seminars, or with any other entity. In case of a breach of this commitment, the publication of any manuscript by the author in the publications of the Academic Publication Council is prohibited for two years. 
  6. The author whose manuscript has been rejected due to reviewers' opinions is not entitled to re-submit the same manuscript, even if they have made all the required amendments. 
  7. AJAS will have the right to republish papers – paper or electronic form - that have previously been published without the author’s consent. AJAS will have the right to permit others to save its manuscripts on various databases whether or not in return for a fee.

C: Author’s Rights:

  1. The editor-in-chief will inform the author of the eligibility of the paper for publication within two weeks of receiving the reviewers’ assessments.
  2. The author is allowed to republish an article previously published in the journal as a part of a book, provided that at least three years have passed since the journal's publication date. This is subject to obtaining permission from the journal and proper source citation.
  3. The author is allowed to submit the same manuscript he has submitted for publication in one of the journals issued by the Academic Publication Council to a conference, seminar, or other similar event before it is published in the journal, provided it is not published in the conference and seminar proceedings.
  4. The author is allowed to publish an abstract of their accepted manuscript for publication in one of the journals affiliated with the Academic Publication Council, whether in daily or weekly newspapers, on websites, or at conferences and seminars, provided that it is indicated that the manuscript paper has been accepted for publication in the journal.
  5. The author is allowed to submit his manuscript for an award, provided that the awarding organization does not republish it without obtaining written permission from the journal, and it is mentioned in the manuscript that it has been published in the journal, along with the publication details.
  6. The author is allowed to submit his manuscript or study to the journal that was prepared for other entities, as long as it has not been published through the commonly recognized publishing channels.
  7. The author may deposit a version of his/her work in any repository once published in the journal.

D: Disciplinary Procedures in Case of Breach of Undertaking:

  1. If evidence emerges that the author has previously published the paper, whether in written or electronic form before, during, or after submission to the journal, the journal reserves the right to disqualify any future association with the author in both the journal and other journals of the Academic Publication Council for two years. The author's affiliated institution will be duly informed.
  2. In the event of proven scientific plagiarism in a submitted manuscript, the scientific journal, following verification of plagiarism, takes the following actions and measures, irrespective of the author's affiliation with the University of Kuwait or employment status within it:
  3. If the Author is from outside Kuwait:
    In the event of scientific plagiarism in a manuscript, the following measures will be implemented:
    1. The manuscript, along with its records and archives, will be withdrawn from the Journal, and an announcement will be issued. The plagiarized manuscript will be retained for documentation purposes.
    2. An explanatory notice will be published in a subsequent issue of the journal.
    3. The author is responsible for covering all expenses and fees incurred by the journal due to the publication of the manuscript.
    4. The relevant authority affiliated with the author will be notified of the scientific plagiarism.
    5. The author will be permanently banned from publishing in scientific journals issued by the Academic Publication Council at the University of Kuwait.
  4. If the Author is from the University of Kuwait:
    1. The same procedures and measures as those for authors from outside Kuwait will apply.
    2. Additionally, the Academic Publication Council will escalate the matter to the university's administration, forming an investigation committee to impose sanctions by the university's regulations based on the investigation's results.

Publication Ethics

For Author:

Submission Standards
Authors should present an account of their submitted work specifying its approach, significance, method, results, and discussion. The report should be detailed, well-referenced, accurate, and objective. Expressed opinions of authors or editorial views should be clear and lucid. Falsified statements are regarded as unethical and unacceptable.

Data Access
Authors must provide access to their raw data via data repositories, provided that confidentiality is protected, and intellectual property is safeguarded upon release. Please include a link to the data location inside the manuscript.

Plagiarism
Violation of scientific research ethics misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in performing or reporting research results. The manuscript must be original and free of plagiarism. Correct citation and use of quote marks to identify content derived from other sources must be appropriately followed.  If there is any overlap in the manuscript with any published or submitted content, the author should acknowledge and cite it. Undocumented use of the work, ideas, or words of others, or ascribing them to oneself is regarded as unethical and unacceptable. The journal uses “iThenticate” software to check for instances of similar text in submitted manuscripts.

Multiple, Duplicate, or Concurrent Submission/Publication
Authors should declare that their work has not been previously published in any form, nor simultaneously submitted elsewhere and that the data, in full or part, have not been previously used with other published works. Duplicate submission is regarded as unacceptable and unethical behavior. However, by the Academic Publishing Council’s bylaws, permissions to re-publish the research elsewhere can be granted, in writing, by the editor-in-chief only after the passage of at least three whole years following its date of publication in the Arab Journal of Administrative Sciences (AJAS), provided the primary publication is cited in the second publication.

Authorship of the Manuscript
The list of authors should only contain those who have contributed significantly to the formation of the manuscript. They are the ones who are held responsible for the work’s content, data acquisition, investigation, analysis, drafting, and revising the manuscript. Others who offered technical or general assistance or support, and who do not meet the criteria for authorship, will be only included in the acknowledgment section after their written consent is obtained. Names of co-authors (according to the above definition) must be provided in full. All co/authors must give their approval to the manuscript's final version and agreement to its publication.

Conflicts of Interest
Authors must-as quickly as possible any conflicts of interest that may be seen to have affected their interpretation of the submitted manuscript in any way or form. All sources of financial funding should be identified in the manuscript including research grants if any. A detailed description of or reference to the grant’s type and number must also be provided. 

Acknowledgment of Sources
Authors must acknowledge their use of the work of others, and appropriately reference all influences that have been seminal to their research. Authors should not use any information that is disclosed confidentially or obtained privately from a third party without their written permission.

Hazards of Experimenting with Human Participants
If the work involves human participation or animals, the researchers must confirm that all procedures follow relevant laws and institutional directives approved by an institutional review board. They should also provide ample information on the possible impact of the adopted procedures on the participants and indicate that they have obtained the approval of all those involved in the experiments/study as well.

Compliance with the Peer Review
If a preliminary decision is made, and a specific amendment is requested, authors must respond to the reviewers' comments fully and implement all suggestions point by point before resubmitting the revised version to the AJAS within the prescribed time.

Errors in Published Works
Should the author discover any significant error or inaccuracy in the published work, they must notify the editorial board promptly and cooperate with them to either correct or withdraw the manuscript. If the editorial board is notified of any significant errors or inaccuracies, the author must correct the error, withdraw the research containing the error, or provide proof of its correctness. Any published data the journal found inaccurate or misleading, will be corrected promptly. The authors are expected to cooperate with the editors to provide such corrections. If an item proves to pose a violation of the publishing policies, it will be retracted, and legal consequences to its author. If misconduct is suspected, the journal will act according to the published relevant policies outlined in the Editorial Policies documents.

For Editorial Board:

Editorial Independence
The editorial board should judge received manuscripts based only on their academic merit. Specifically, on their work’s originality, importance, clarity, validity, and relevance to the Journal of the AJAS scope of interest without regard to the author’s nationality, affiliation, ethnic origin or race, gender, orientation, political philosophy, or beliefs.

Confidentiality
The principle of confidentiality in dealing with research information is one of the most important principles of AJAS.

Conflicts of Interest
Manuscript submitted to the AJAS is not to be used by editors or Board members for their purposes. The Board members should refrain from reviewing manuscripts that may personally have conflicts of interest resulting from competition, collaboration, or personal relationships with any parties involved, such as the authors, companies, or institutions relevant to the said research.

Publication Decisions
The Editor-in-Chief must make sure that all material submitted for publication is peer-reviewed by at least two expert reviewers in the field. The Editor-in-Chief is accountable for publication decisions based on the opinion of the reviewers, the importance of the work to researchers and readers, and reviewers’ comments and amendment requests.

Measures against the Violation of Publication Ethics
The Editorial Board takes quick action in the event of any ethical problems relating to the submitted research. Any work that violates the publication ethics is to be investigated, even if discovered years after publication, and appropriate legal measures shall be taken accordingly.

For Reviewer:

Contribution to Editorial Board Decisions
Reviewers assist the editorial board in making acceptance decisions; they further contribute to improving the quality of the manuscript by reviewing it objectively within the specified time frame.

Promptness
The AJAS shall make all reasonable efforts to stay in contact with the reviewers and urge them to submit their assessments on time. Should the delay be noted, the Editorial Board may have to choose another reviewer.

Confidentiality
Confidentiality is to be respected throughout the peer-review process. Submitted material or information must not be shared or discussed with anyone unless prior permission is provided by the editor-in-chief. This applies to board members as well as referees.

Standards of Objectivity
Reviewers must assess the submitted manuscripts objectively. Comments and suggested amendments must be made to help authors improve their work avoiding personal criticism.

Acknowledgment
Reviewers should point out any source the author used yet failed to acknowledge or reference in their manuscript. Reviewers must notify the editorial board of any salient similarity they spot between the submitted article and any other known to them.

Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers who may have conflicts of interest for any reason should notify the Editorial Board so the latter can select a replacement. Information contained in the submitted material should not be used in the reviewers’ work.  All information involved throughout the review process should be regarded as confidential. This also applies to all invited reviewers including those who decline the invitation.

For Publisher:

Dealing with Unethical Publication Conduct
In the event of an alleged or proven scientific violation, including but not limited to fake information or plagiarism, the Editorial Board is committed to taking prompt and appropriate measures to thoroughly investigate the case. Actions will be taken according to the established procedures and bylaws of the Kuwait University Academic Publication Council. Should the investigation reveal any misconduct, the Editorial Board reserves the right to take corrective actions, which may include the complete withdrawal of the work from publication.

Privacy Statement

Arab Journal of Administrative Sciences: Privacy and Information Use Policy

Purpose of Collecting Personal Data:
AJAS collects personal information, such as names and email addresses, exclusively for journal-related activities. Rest assured that this information is strictly confined to the operational scope of the journal and will not be disclosed for unrelated purposes or to third parties.

Application of Personal Information:
AJAS is committed to using the personal information you provide solely for the following purposes:

  1. The processing and publication of your manuscript.
  2. Facilitating your access to its website and its various services.
  3. The publication process of your manuscript.

For any queries or concerns regarding how AJAS handles your personal information by our privacy policy, please feel free to reach out to ajas@ku.edu.kw.  AJAS values your trust and is dedicated to maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of your data.