Policy Document Nuqtahjts

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1. Frequency of Journal

Nuqtah Journal of Theological Studies is a Bi Annual Research Journal. It Publishes two issue per year.

2. Guidelines for submission of research article

2.1. Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines

The article is not contradicted to mainstream Islamic teachings.
The submission is an original research work and has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
The submission file is in Microsoft Word format. Submission should include a provisional title both in English and Urdu. Each submission must be attached with an English abstract of approximately 300 words along with English translation of the title.
The article is in correct language without spelling mistakes and the verses of Quran and sayings of Prophet Muhammad PBUH are mentioned with full accuracy. Transliteration of all historical names and titles of non-English terminology has to be done by author according to Nuqtahjts’transliteration table.
The article is not plagiarized and where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
The references are included in the endnotes as per Nuqtahjts format.

2.2. Guidelines and Submission Process

2.2.1. Author Information

The authors should provide their names, email addresses, phone number(s), present position/title besides the names of the universities/colleges on the title page separately submitted with the manuscript to facilitate academic review and production. Thus manuscript should not contain any mention or details of author(s).

Author Agreement Statement must be submitted separately with manuscript and title page. In which 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.

2.2.2. Manuscript Submission

Draft must be submitted at the website http://nuqtahjts.com/index.php/njts with a covering letter carrying the title of the article, author’s full name, institutional affiliation, mailing address and any other information that the author wishes to send related to the paper. The authors are requested to submit their scholarly works while following these instructions:

The manuscript should be composed in only Microsoft Word, A4 size paper with margins of at least 1.5cm on all sides.
Number of pages should not exceed 20 pages.
Paper title font size should be 18 (Bold)
Main-headings font-size: 16 (Bold)
Sub-heading font-size: 14 (Bold)
Text font-size: (Urdu-13, Jameel Noori Nastaleeq, Arabic-13, Sakkal Majalla, English-12, Times New Roman)
References should be inserted as Endnotes and numbered consecutively.
Endnotes font size should be (Urdu & Arabic-11, English-10).
Quotations font size in all languages should be 12.
Line Spacing: 1.5 throughout the paper.
Page Numbering: On the top left corner of the paper with the title on the top right corner.
Paragraph Indention: Indent each paragraph’s first line by 0.5 inches and apply the indention consistently throughout the paper.

2.2.3. Paper Structure

Title: The title should be comprehensive, precise, and reflect the original theme of the article. The titles of Arabic and Urdu articles are to be translated into the English Language as well.

Abstract: An abstract of 200 to 300 words in English should accompany each manuscript. It should summarize the content of the paper written in simple sentences without subheadings.

Keywords: 4-6 keywords of the articles may also be listed just beneath the English abstract.

Introduction: Discuss the purpose of the Research and summarize the foundation for the study.

Results & Conclusion: Describe your results in logical sequence at the end of the text. The conclusion of the study should be expressed very clearly and an influential perspective.

Transliteration of Arabic and Urdu Words: For Urdu and Arabic words in English articles, Transliteration must be followed.

2.2.4. Citation and References

All citations should follow the Chicago Manual of Style. The details of the style can be observed on www.chicagomanualofstyle.org

– Reference from the Qur’an: Al-Quran, 3: 212

– Reference from Classical Hadith Compilations

Muhammad b. Isma‘il al-Bukhari, al-Jami‘ al-Sahih, Kitab al-Zaba’ih wa al-Sayd, Bab Akl Kull Dhi Nab min al-Siba‘, Hadith No. 5530.

– Books with single author:

Jerel A. Rosati, The Politics of United States Foreign Policy (Belmont: Wadsworth, 2004), 17.
Rosati, The Politics of United States,

– Books with two authors:

Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, The War: An Intimate History, 1941-1945 (New York: Knopf, 2007), 52.
Ward and Burns, The War: An Intimate History,

– Books with Three Authors:

Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang, eds., Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997), 32.
Jacobs, Thomas, and Lang, Two-Spirit People, 65-71.

– Books with more than Three Authors:

Jeri A. Sechzer et al., eds., Women and Mental Health (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), 243.
Sechzer et al., Women and Mental Health, 276.

– Books in more than one Volume:

Muriel St. Clare Byrne, ed., The Lisle Letters (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981), 4:243.
Byrne, The Lisle Letters, 4:243.

– Chapter in a Book:

John D. Kelly, “Seeing Red: Mao Fetishism, Pax Americana, and the Moral Economy of War,” in Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency, ed. John D. Kelly et al. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2010), 77.
Kelly, “Seeing Red,” 81–82.

– Articles: Author, “Title of paper,” Journal name, volume x, no. x (year): x-x. If only volume is given issue is not mentioned then: Author, “Title of paper,” Journal name, volume x (year): x-x.

Example:

Mohd Aliff Abdul Majid, et al., “Issues of Halāl Food Implementation in Malaysia,” Journal of Applied Environmental and Biological Sciences5, no. 6 (2015): 50-56.
Majid, “Issues of Halāl Food,” 51.

Joshua I. Weinstein, “The Market in Plato’s Republic,” Classical Philology104 (2009): 440.
Weinstein, “Plato’s Republic,” 452–53.

– Online Journals:

Gueorgi Kossinets and Duncan J. Watts, “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network,” American Journal of Sociology115 (2009): 411, accessed February 28, 2020, doi:10.1086/599247.
Kossinets and Watts, “Origins of Homophily,” 439.

– Websites:

“McDonald’s Happy Meal Toy Safety Facts,” McDonald’s Corporation, accessed July 19, 2008, http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/about/factsheets.html.

– Encyclopedia:

H.A.R. Gibb, J. H. Karamers and others, The Encyclopedia of Islam, (Leiden: E. J. Brill & London: Luzac & Co., 1960), s.v. “Shahādah.”

Note: All-known figures mentioned in the article must be briefly introduced and references from books should also be quoted.

3. Peer Review Policy

3.1. Review Procedure

All submitted manuscripts are reviewed through 'double-blind' peer review process that means the identities of the authors are kept confidential from the reviewers, and vice versa. To make this possible, anonymized version of the manuscript are sent to referees.

3.2. Desk Review

Submitted papers are first considered by the editor after submission. Papers that do not fall within the scope of the journal are 'desk-rejected'. In addition, papers that fail to meet a minimum threshold for quality and originality are also rejected without being sent out to the reviewers. The standard procedure of an initial editorial review by the internal editorial committee consists of the content, scope, formatting, citations according to recommended Style, i.e., Chicago Manual of Style, (Bibliographies and Notes format) and is usually completed in three to four weeks.

3.3. Further Process

Papers passing through this initial editorial scrutiny are then typically sent out to minimum two referees (one national and one international). ". If one or more of these turn down the invitation to provide a review, other referees will subsequently be appointed. The authors will be informed when Editors decide further review is required. All publication decisions are made by the journal’s Editor on the basis of the referees’ reports (reviewers report). The peer review process takes another two- three weeks. Therefore, the contributors are expected to bear with us as we complete the process to ensure, that the Nuqtahjts adheres to the highest quality standards.
In case if a manuscript is found to be plagiarized (see plagiarism policy) after publication, the Editor will conduct a preliminary investigation, maybe with the help of a suitable committee constituted for the purpose. If the manuscript is found to be plagiarized beyond the acceptable limits, the journal will contact the author’s Institute / College / University and Funding Agency, if any. We are advising all the author(s), do not submit the same paper to multiple journals. Author(s) should wait for the review status of the paper.

3.4. Steps in Peer Review Process

Peer review process can be broadly described as:

S.No	Steps of Review Process	Estimated Time
1	Submission of paper	-
2	First internal review *	3-4 weeks
3	External review	4-5 weeks
4	Communication of review reports to authors for minor/major revision **	1 week
5	Submission of the revised paper	4-8 weeks
6	Second internal review (to assess whether reviewers suggestions have been incorporated satisfactorily) ***	2-4 weeks
7	Acceptance of paper (on successful submission of revised paper)	1 week

* Paper is returned to authors if it does not meet the basic criteria.
** Paper is returned to authors if external reviewers find that the research paper has so serious faults that cannot be resolved through a major revision.
*** Authors are requested for further revision if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily.
Note: Authors are requested to revise the paper carefully in accordance with the reviewers’ suggestions to avoid unnecessary delay in the review process.

3.5. Resubmission of paper (after peer review)

Nearly every published paper goes through at least one revision. Authors should take a revision request as good news and an opportunity to learn and improve the quality of their research paper. They are directed to revise the paper carefully in accordance with the reviewers’ suggestions to avoid needless interruption in the review process. Generally, when the review report is provided each review point is required to either be incorporated in the revised version of the paper or an appropriate response is expected from the Author. Author(s) should be very careful regarding accuracy and completeness in accordance with the reviewers’ suggested points, so as to avoid further review and delay (further revision can be recommended if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily).

Keeping in view the other academic/professional commitments, authors may request extra time, if they feel that revision needs more effort and time to improve the quality of the paper.

3.5. Disclaimer

The Editor reserves the right to copy-edit and make necessary amendments to the submitted text.
The editor also reserves the right to modify or omit material if deemed unsuitable for publication.
However, all responsibility for opinions expressed in articles as well as the precision of stated
facts rests with the author and not with the editors of the Journal.

4. Originality and Plagiarism Policy

It is the author’s responsibility to ascertain that she/he has submitted an entirely original work, giving due credit, by proper citations, to the works and/or words of others where they have been used.
Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is not acceptable. Material quoted verbatim from the author's previously published work or other sources must be placed in quotation marks.
As per HEC policy, in case the manuscript has a similarity index of more than 19%, it will either be rejected or left at the discretion of the Editorial Board for the purpose of a conditional acceptance. For further guidance see HEC plagiarism policy.

5. Subscription details

Not Applicable yet.

6. Ethical Guidelines:

This Journal’s publication ethics and publication malpractice statement is loosely based on the
Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (Committee on
Publication Ethics, 2011).

6.1. Editors’ Duties

The editor will use his/her intellectual discretion in deciding which of the manuscripts submitted will be forwarded for editing. This decision is solely based on the research conducted in the manuscript, originality, clarity of narrative, language and grammar as relevance to the paradigm of the journal. The important factors of copyright infringement, intellectual plagiarism and libel will also be accounted for.
The authors’ gender, race, religious belief and political background will not be a definitive factor in the decision process
Editors’ need to outline clearly and concisely what is expected of authors in the form of regularly updated guidance. This link should be mentioned:
http://publicationethics.org/resources/code-conduct.
Editors need to provide guidance to reviewers on what exactly is expected of them. This includes the information on confidentiality. This guidance should be regularly updated.
Editors should encourage good practice and comment on the originality of the research and
be alerted to plagiarism.
Editors should have the resources to be able to check plagiarism. (e.g. software, searching for
new titles).
The Editor will not use any additional material from his own volition.
Editors should try and improve the journal and take it towards betterment by taking the views of the board members and reviewers into consideration.
Be generally cognizant of new peer reviews and publishing methods and constantly reassess the processes of the Journal.
They should ensure that all published reports and reviews of research have been reviewed by suitably qualified reviewers.
Peer reviewers should be encouraged to comment on ethical questions and misconduct raised by submissions.
Academic institutions should be encouraged to recognize peer reviewing as being part of the scholarly process.
Editors should have a maintained database on the reviewers and consistently update the reviewer’s performance.
Editors should use a range of sources to look at potentially new reviewers. They should not just use personal contacts.
Manuscripts should be handled with utmost care and confidentiality.
Editors should protect the identities of peer reviewers. They should have a system in place that ensures that manuscripts submitted for publication retains confidentiality whilst being processed.
Reviewers’ comments and suggestions should be openly forwarded to authors, unless they contain malicious language, libel or offensive remarks.
Editorial board members should be consulted annually to get their feedback on the Journal.
Journals should have policies and systems in place to ensure that commercial considerations do not affect editorial decisions.
A general description of the Journal’s income sources should be declared (e.g. print charges, reprint sales).

6.2. Authors’ Duties

The work should be as original as possible and appropriately cite the work or words and ideas of others. Borrowing of ideas and knowledge and research is also permitted provided it is cited correctly. If the work and/or words of others have been used, this has been appropriately acknowledged.
Authors should present an objective discussion of the significance of research work as well as sufficient detail and references.
Authors should follow the submission guidelines of the Journal. These are outlined at:
https://nuqtahjts.com/index.php/njts/submission-guidelines
The manuscript should only be submitted and published in one paper and multiple publications of the same manuscript is unacceptable and completely unethical. Previously published manuscripts cannot be submitted under any circumstances.
The manuscript should be limited to those who have made a substantial contribution to the body of work and to its genesis. Those who have made a significant contribution should be listed as coauthors.
In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject based data repository or other data centre), provided that the confidentiality of the participants.
Authors should use well reputed, substantiated and well-known sources only.
Authors should provide a plagiarism report along with the submission of the manuscript.

6.3. Reviewers' Responsibilities:

Manuscripts should be treated as confidential documents. They must not be disclosed or discussed with other persons apart from the editor.

An editor must not use unpublished information in the editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.
Editors should evaluate manuscripts exclusively on the basis of their academic merit.
Reviews should be conducted in an objective fashion. Personal remarks should not be passed and will be regarded as inappropriate. Supporting arguments in the case of disagreements should be presented.
Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
Peer reviewing process is in place in order to help the editorial changes to be made in addition to ensuring the quality of the journal is maintained.

7. Privacy Statement

The information and opinions given by the reviewers during the review process are all kept confidential and are never used for the advantage of anyone. The submission of an article, as a special presentation, is kept confidential completely. Before the publication of an article, the reviewers and editor cannot utilize the data, ideas, or subjects without the permission of the author.

8. Author Agreement Form

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

9. Deadlines of all processes

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

9.1. Reviewing and Editing

Nuqtah Journal of Theological Studies is double blind peer-reviewed journal. Submitted papers and short communication are evaluated by independent referees or Editorial Board members specialized in the article field. Our 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.

9.2. 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 takes decision in the light of review reports received from reviewer.

9.3. Timelines of publication of the issues

The Journal publishes two issues per year. The first issue is published on 30^th June of every year whereas Second issue is released on 31^st December. The Journal takes approximately one month/ 4 weeks to complete review process after the date of submission. The Journal considers all research articles for the upcoming issue which are being received at least 4-weeks prior to the release of current issue.

Publication Timelines

Issue No.	Bi-annual	Publishing Month
1	Jan-Jun	June
2	Jul – Dec	December

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

Authors are suggested to submit complete manuscript (comprising title of the paper, Abstract and complete paper) without the mention of authors details. Separate title page including all details of authors i.e. their names, email addresses, current working positions and affiliations should be submitted along with manuscript.
Author is also advised to submit similarity report with less than 19% similarity.
The Editor/Manager of the Journal assign manuscript to an editor from editorial board for internal/desk review.
The Editorial board member forwards article back to the editor after desk review/ initial screening. Paper could be rejected and returned back to authors if it does not meet the basic criteria.
The articles successfully cleared by desk review are assigned for external reviews. The Editor forwards manuscript with anonymous author(s) towards two reviewers including national and/or international.
The reviewer receives notification on his email and/or on Open Journal System.
After getting reports from reviewers, the Editor takes decision whether article is fine for publication or not.
Paper could be rejected and returned to authors if external reviewers find that the research paper has serious faults that cannot be resolved through major revision.
In case of positive reports the editor forwards manuscript along with anonymous reports for minor/major revision to author.
On getting back the revised paper, the Editor assigns paper to another member of editorial board for second internal review to assess whether reviewers’ suggestions have been incorporated or not. Here Authors could be requested for further revision if editors find that reviewers’ suggestions have not been incorporated satisfactorily.
If the article is fine for publication, the Editor further forwards article for Copy editing.
The Copy editing involves further proof reading of research article, checking referencing style and doing correction in formatting of article.
Once the copyediting is done. The editor forwards article for Production and Publication. A Pdf of research article is being attached on Open Journal System with Abstract and Affiliation details of Authors.

10. Article processing/publication fee:

Nuqtah Journal of Theological Studies has no funding agencies. Thus the Management decided publishing fee of 25,000 RS. It contains the expenses of National and International reviews, publishing, long time archiving, website running, typesetting, copyediting and other necessary charges.

11. Disclosure and conflict 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 Nuqtah Journal of Theological Studies 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.

12. Correction and retraction of research articles,

Authors who discover errors in articles they have published should have the corresponding author contact the journal’s editorial office with a detailed description of the correction that is needed. Corrigenda (corrections of author’s errors) and errata (corrections of publisher’s errors) will be published at no charge to the authors. Requests for corrections that affect the interpretation or conclusions of a published article will be reviewed by the editors.

An article may be retracted when the integrity of the published work is substantially undermined owing to errors in the conduct, analysis, and/or reporting of the study. Violation of publication or research ethics may also result in a study’s retraction. The original article is marked as retracted but a PDF version remains available to readers, and the retraction statement is bi-directionally linked to the original published paper. Retraction statements will typically include a statement of assent or dissent from the authors.

In exceptional circumstances, the editorial office reserves the right to remove an article from the journal’s online platforms. Such action may be taken when (i) the editorial office has been advised that content is defamatory, infringes a third party’s intellectual property right, right to privacy, or other legal rights, or is otherwise unlawful; (ii) a court or government order has been issued, or is likely to be issued, requiring removal of such content; (iii) content, if acted upon, would pose an immediate and serious risk to health. Removal may be temporary or permanent. Bibliographic metadata (e.g. title and authors) will be retained and will be accompanied by a statement explaining why the content has been removed.

13. 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 statement.

ISSN [Print]:	2790-5330
ISSN [Online]:	2790-5349