Reviewer Portal & Guidelines

Welcome to the official Reviewer Portal of NYIMAK: Journal of Communication. This comprehensive guide outlines our core governance frameworks, peer review workflows, ethical obligations, evaluation instruments, and engagement recognitions. We align our operations with top-tier international structures to ensure fairness, transparency, and absolute academic integrity.

Core Policies & Reviewer Governance

To ensure our publication practices comply with the standards set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and top international indexes like Scopus, NYIMAK institutes rigorous ethical boundaries for all serving reviewers.

🔒 Confidentiality & Intellectual Property

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as strictly confidential. Reviewers must not share, discuss, or exploit any unpublished data. In alignment with COPE guidelines, reviewers must protect the author’s intellectual property by ensuring that unpublished manuscripts are not uploaded into Generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT), as this violates confidentiality and data security protocols.

⚠️ Conflict of Interest Policy

Reviewers must decline an invitation immediately if they discover any potential conflict of interest, including personal, professional, financial, or institutional connections to the research or its authors. If you identify the author's identity or work despite the double-blind setup, please alert the Editor.

Peer Review Process & Editorial Guidelines

All manuscripts submitted to NYIMAK: Journal of Communication undergo a rigorous, transparent, and high-quality editorial and peer review workflow. The comprehensive publishing cycle operates systematically within the Open Journal Systems (OJS) framework as illustrated in the official process diagram below:

NYIMAK Editorial and Double-Blind Peer Review Publishing Workflow

Figure 1: NYIMAK Editorial and Double-Blind Peer Review Publishing Workflow.

1. Initial Review & Desk Evaluation (Submission Queue)

Upon initial submission by the Author, every manuscript undergoes a strict desk screening by the Managing Editor. The manuscript is evaluated based on its baseline alignment with the journal’s focus and scope, structural adherence to the official template, co-authorship policies, linguistic proficiency, and acceptable similarity thresholds (screened via Turnitin). Papers that fail to meet these essential thresholds will be immediately desk-rejected without formal external evaluation.

2. Rigorous Double-Blind Peer Evaluation (Submission Review)

Manuscripts passing the initial screening are systematically assigned to at least two independent external Peer Reviewers with matching scientific expertise. NYIMAK strictly enforces a Double-Blind Peer Review policy, keeping both reviewer and author identities completely anonymous throughout the process. Reviewers critically assess the study based on:

  • Originality, empirical value, and contribution to communication studies.
  • The appropriateness, transparency, and rigor of the methodological approach.
  • Depth of theoretical engagement and critical synthesis of contemporary literature.
  • Adherence to international publication ethics (COPE principles) and confidentiality.

*Reviewers are expected to submit their evaluations via the OJS portal within 3 to 4 weeks with professional, clear, and constructive arguments.

3. Editorial Decision & Timeline

The timeline from submission to final decision takes a maximum of 12 weeks. Relying on the critical assessments of the peer reviewers, the Editor-in-Chief executes one of the following decisions:

  1. Accept Submission: The manuscript is approved for production without modifications.
  2. Revisions Required: Authors must address minor specific corrections and submit a detailed "Response to Reviewers" document.
  3. Resubmit for Review: The manuscript requires major structural or methodological overhauls and will undergo a second full round of review.
  4. Decline Submission: The paper is rejected due to fundamental scholarly flaws or lack of scientific merit.

4. Copyediting, Production & Publication (Issue Management)

Accepted papers enter the production track. The Copyeditor and Layout Editor refine linguistic style, verify cross-references, and prepare finalized publication galleys (PDF format). Authors review final proof galleys before scheduling. The issue is archived, indexing metadata is synchronized, and the finalized articles are officially published under open-access governance.

Reviewer Toolkits: Assessment Form & Rubric Templates

To maintain high scholastic standards and ensure consistency during the double-blind evaluation process, NYIMAK: Journal of Communication provides a structured peer-review framework. Reviewers and authors may utilize these official templates to understand the core administrative and scientific evaluation baselines.

📥 Download Official Guidelines

1. Manuscript Assessment Form & Rubric (Ms. Word) Download File

Core Evaluation Criteria & Weight Matrix

Evaluation Criteria Focus Areas & Scientific Indicators
1. Title & Abstract Clarity, density, and precision of the title. The abstract must concisely state the research gap, methodology, core arguments, and fundamental conclusions within the journal's word limit.
2. Introduction & Novelty Identification of a critical academic gap in communication studies. Presence of systematic research questions, explicit conceptual value, and a solid statement of scientific novelty.
3. Theoretical Framework Appropriateness and integration of communication theories or conceptual models. Critical synthesis of contemporary literature over the past 5-10 years.
4. Methodology Rigor Explicit disclosure of research paradigms, data collection pipelines, sampling techniques, and data analysis methods (e.g., framing, semiotics, text analysis, or quantitative surveys).
5. Findings & Deep Discussion Logical, non-repetitive presentation of analytical data. The discussion must cross-examine findings with previous empirical references to build novel scholarly arguments.
6. Conclusion & References Answers to research problems without over-generalizing. Recommendations for future studies, alongside strict adherence to the APA 7th referencing style and a minimum of 80% primary journal citations.
Ethical Note for Reviewers: By accepting the review invitation on the OJS dashboard, reviewers formally declare that they have no conflict of interest (financial, institutional, or personal) with the manuscript's authorship or substance. Reviewers must ensure that both quantitative scoring and qualitative textual recommendations are integrated directly within the OJS editorial system during the active evaluation cycle. Thank you for preserving NYIMAK's scientific integrity.

Call for International Reviewers: Expand Your Academic Network

As part of our strategic expansion toward broader international indexing, NYIMAK: Journal of Communication is actively building an inclusive, diverse, and dynamic global community of peer reviewers. We warmly welcome passionate scholars, mid-career researchers, and doctoral candidates in communication and media studies to collaborate with us. By joining our panel, your insights will play a pivotal role in elevating regional communication research to the global stage.

📌 Who Can Join Us?

We seek enthusiastic contributors who meet the following general profiles:

  • Academic Background: Holds a Ph.D., Doctoral degree, or is an advanced Doctoral Candidate in Communication, Journalism, Media Studies, or related digital humanities.
  • Research Familiarity: Has a strong understanding of empirical research designs, qualitative/quantitative methodologies, and general familiarity with international journal publishing standards.
  • Professional Integrity: Committed to offering constructive, respectful, and educational feedback to help authors improve their work within a flexible timeline (typically 21 days).

💎 Why Review for NYIMAK? (Professional Value)

Incentive & Support How It Benefits Your Academic Career
Formal Recognition Receive an official institutional Certificate of Appreciation for every manuscript reviewed, essential for tracking your professional service academic footprint.
Academic Visibility Your name, institution, and country will be prominently featured in our Reviewer Roll of Honor, visible to global readers and indexers.
Editorial Mentorship For early-career researchers, reviewing offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at the editorial decision-making process, directly sharpening your own manuscript writing skills.
Networking Opportunities Outstanding reviewers will be prioritized for future invitations to join our permanent International Editorial Board as the journal grows.

Express Your Interest Today

Joining is simple. Click the button below to submit a short form with your research interests and a brief link to your academic CV or online profile.

Submit Reviewer Interest Form 

Reviewer Recognition Policy

The Editorial Board of NYIMAK: Journal of Communication deeply values the time, intellectual rigor, and scholarly generosity volunteered by our external reviewers. To ensure your invaluable contribution is formally recognized within the global scientific community, we implement a strict recognition pipeline:

  • Continuous Institutional Certification: Upon the successful completion of each manuscript evaluation cycle, reviewers are immediately issued an official, digitally verifiable Certificate of Reviewer Excellence via email.
  • Annual Editorial Acknowledgement: Comprehensive lists of actively contributing reviewers are compiled and formally acknowledged in the final issue of each publication volume, ensuring permanent visibility on our platform.
Contact Our Editorial Office: For inquiries regarding upcoming review assignments, metadata verification, or institutional certificate validation, please reach out directly to our editorial secretariat at nyimakjournal@umt.ac.id