Peer Review Process

Decision Sciences in Human Learning and Development adopts a double-blind peer review process to ensure an objective, impartial, and rigorous evaluation of all submitted manuscripts. The journal publishes interdisciplinary scholarship in human learning and development, education, cognitive science, psychology, data science, and artificial intelligence.

Under this review model, the identities of both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process. Manuscripts are assessed solely on their scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, significance, and relevance to the journal’s aims and scope.

The peer review process consists of the following stages:

1. Manuscript Submission

Authors submit their manuscripts through the journal’s online submission system. Submitted manuscripts must comply with the journal’s author guidelines and must not contain information that could reveal the authors’ identities in the version prepared for peer review.

2. Initial Editorial Screening

The Editorial Office conducts a preliminary assessment to verify that the submission is complete, adheres to the journal’s formatting requirements, and falls within the journal’s scope of human learning and development, education, cognitive science, psychology, data science, or artificial intelligence. The manuscript is also screened for plagiarism using similarity-detection software.

Manuscripts that fail to meet the journal’s basic requirements may be returned to the authors for correction or rejected before external review.

3. Editorial Assessment

The handling editor evaluates the manuscript’s originality, scholarly quality, methodological soundness, ethical considerations, clarity, and potential contribution to the relevant field. Particular attention is given to the manuscript’s relevance to the journal’s interdisciplinary focus and its contribution to understanding learning, development, cognition, psychological processes, educational practice, data-driven research, or artificial intelligence.

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s standards may be rejected without external review.

4. Reviewer Selection

The handling editor invites at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise in the manuscript’s subject area. Depending on the interdisciplinary nature of the study, reviewers may be selected from fields such as education, psychology, cognitive science, human development, data science, or artificial intelligence.

Reviewers are selected based on their academic qualifications, publication record, subject expertise, and absence of conflicts of interest. Throughout this process, the identities of both authors and reviewers remain confidential.

5. Double-Blind Peer Review

Reviewers evaluate the manuscript independently according to the journal’s review criteria, including originality, theoretical relevance, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, validity of findings, clarity of presentation, quality of evidence, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

For studies involving data science or artificial intelligence, reviewers may also assess the appropriateness of data sources, analytical procedures, model development, reproducibility, transparency, and responsible use of technology. Reviewers provide constructive comments for authors and confidential recommendations to the editor.

Possible recommendations include:

• Accept without revision;

• Minor revision;

• Major revision; or

• Reject.

6. Editorial Decision

The handling editor considers all reviewer reports before making a recommendation. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final publication decision.

When reviewer recommendations differ substantially or additional subject expertise is required, the editor may invite an additional reviewer to provide an independent assessment before reaching a decision.

7. Revision and Resubmission

If revisions are requested, the corresponding author is invited to revise the manuscript and submit a detailed response to each reviewer comment. Revised manuscripts may be evaluated by the handling editor and, when necessary, returned to the original reviewers for further assessment while maintaining the double-blind review process.

8. Final Decision

Once the revised manuscript satisfactorily addresses the reviewers’ and editors’ comments, the Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection. Authors are notified of the editorial decision together with the anonymous reviewer comments.

9. Production and Publication

Accepted manuscripts proceed to copyediting, proofreading, typesetting, and final author approval before publication. The final version is then published online as part of the journal’s official issue.

Throughout the review process, Decision Sciences in Human Learning and Development upholds the principles of confidentiality, impartiality, transparency, academic integrity, and responsible research conduct. Editorial decisions are based exclusively on the scholarly merit, ethical standards, and relevance of each manuscript and are free from discrimination, bias, and conflicts of interest.