International Journal of Language and Translation Research (IJLTR) is a double-blind peer reviewed quarterly published by West German University Press. IJLTR provides a forum for professionals in translation and EFL/ESL studies to share their research findings. The scope of the Journal includes the following subjects: Second language teaching/learning, translation studies, discourse analysis, sociolinguistics, and language assessment.

IJLTR considers full Scientific/Academic Research Articles (Empirical Research Studies) for publication. All manuscripts must include full Introduction, Review of Literature, Method, Results, Discussions and Conclusion sections. IJLTR also considers Review Articles and Letters to the Editor or short reports.

Papers submitted to this Journal should not have been previously published elsewhere and may not simultaneously be submitted to another journal, conference, symposium, or any other medium/forum.

Duties of IJLTR Editorial Board

Fair play and editorial independence

IJLTR Editorial Board evaluates submitted manuscripts exclusively on the basis of their academic merit (importance, originality, study’s validity, clarity, etc.) and its relevance to the Journal’s scope, without regard to the authors’ nationality, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity expression, religious, political, or any other belief, or institutional affiliation. The decisions to publish or reject a manuscript are solely made by the IJLTR and not at all dictated by the policies of governments or any other public/private agency outside of the IJLTR. The Editorial Board bears full authority over the entire content of the Journal and the timing of the publication of the papers. 

Confidentiality

No information about a submitted manuscript will be disclosed to anyone outside IJLTR other than the corresponding author of that manuscript and the designated reviewers of that manuscript who remain unaware of the name(s) of the author(s).

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

IJLTR Editorial Board will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit written consent. Privileged information or ideas obtained by the Board as a result of handling the manuscript will be kept confidential and not used for their personal advantage. The Board will recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers; instead, they will ask another member of the Board to handle the manuscript.

Publication decisions

IJLTR Editorial Board ensures that all submitted manuscripts being considered for publication undergo a double-blind peer review. The Board is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the Journal will be published, based on the validation of the work in question, its importance to researchers and readers, the reviewers’ comments, and such legal requirements as are currently in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

1. The first action of the journal Editor is to inform the Editorial Office of IJLTR by supplying copies of the relevant material and a draft letter to the corresponding author asking for an explanation in a nonjudgmental manner.
2. If the author’s explanation is unacceptable and it seems that serious unethical conduct has taken place, the matter is referred to the Publication Committee via Editorial Office.  After deliberation, the Committee will decide whether the case is sufficiently serious to warrant a ban on future submissions. 
3. If the infraction is less severe, the Editor, upon the advice of the Publication Committee, sends the author a letter of reprimand and reminds the author of IJLTR publication policies; if the manuscript has been published, the Editor may request the author to publish an apology in the journal to correct the record.
4. Notification will be sent to the corresponding author and any work by the author responsible for the violation or any work these persons coauthored that is under review by IJLTR journal will be rejected immediately.
5. The authors are prohibited from serving on the IJLTR editorial board and serving as a reviewer for JORAR. JORAR reserves the right to take more action.
6. In extreme cases, notifications will be sent to the affiliations of the authors, and the authors are prohibited from submitting their work to IJLTR for 5 years.
7. In serious cases of fraud that result in the retraction of the article, a retraction notice will be published in the journal and will be linked to the article in the online version. The online version will also be marked “retracted” with the retraction date.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to editorial decisions

Peer review assists IJLTR Editorial Board in making editorial decisions and, through editorial communications with authors (without the disclosure of either parties’ names), may assist authors in improving their manuscripts. Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication and lies at the heart of the scientific endeavor.

Promptness

Any invited referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should immediately notify the IJLTR and decline the invitation to review so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts received for review are confidential documents and must be treated as such; they must not be shown to or discussed with others except if authorized by the Editorial Board (who would only do so under exceptional and specific circumstances). This applies also to invited reviewers who decline the review invitation.

Standards of objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively and observations formulated clearly with supporting arguments so that authors can use them for improving the manuscript. Personal criticism of the authors is inappropriate.

Acknowledgment of sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that is an observation, derivation, or argument that has been reported in previous publications should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also notify IJLTR of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other manuscript (published or unpublished) of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Any invited referee who has conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the manuscript and the work described therein should immediately notify the Editorial Board to declare their conflicts of interest and decline the invitation to review so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.

Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the authors. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for the reviewer’s personal advantage. This applies also to invited reviewers who decline the review invitation.

Duties of Authors

Reporting standards

Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed and the results, followed by an objective discussion of the significance of the work. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Review articles should be accurate, objective, and comprehensive, while editorial 'opinion' or perspective pieces should be clearly identified as such. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data access and retention

Authors may be asked to provide the raw data of their study together with the manuscript for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least 10 years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release.

Originality and plagiarism

Authors should ensure that they have written and submit only entirely original works, and if they have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the work reported in the manuscript should also be cited. Plagiarism takes many forms, from "passing off" another's paper as the author's own, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another's paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is not at all acceptable.

Multiple, duplicate, redundant, or concurrent submission/publication 

Papers describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal or primary publication. Hence, authors should not submit for consideration a manuscript that has already been published in another journal. Submission of a manuscript concurrently to more than one journal is unethical publishing behavior and unacceptable.

The publication of some papers (such as clinical guidelines and translations) in more than one journal is sometimes justifiable, provided that certain conditions are met. The authors and editors of the journals concerned must agree to the secondary publication, which must reflect the same data and interpretation of the primary document. The primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication.

Authorship of the manuscript

Only persons who meet the following authorship criteria should be listed as authors in the manuscript as they must be able to take public responsibility for the content: They should have (i) made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, and analysis/interpretation of the study, (ii) drafted the manuscript or revised it critically for important intellectual content, and (iii) approved the final version of the paper and agreed to its submission for publication. All persons who made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript (such as technical help, writing and editing assistance, and general support) but who do not meet the criteria for authorship must not be listed as an author, but should be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgements" section after their written permission to be named has been obtained. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors (according to the above definition) and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the author list and verify that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Authors should – at the earliest stage possible (generally by submitting a disclosure form at the time of submission and including a statement in the manuscript) – disclose any conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript. Examples of potential conflicts of interest that should be disclosed include financial cases such as honoraria, educational grants or other funding, participation in speakers’ bureaus, membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interest, and paid expert testimony or patent-licensing arrangements, as well as nonfinancial cases such as personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge or beliefs in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the work should be disclosed (including the grant number or other reference number, if any).

Acknowledgement of sources

Authors should ensure that they have properly acknowledged the work of others, and should also cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately (from conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties) must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Authors should not use information obtained in the course of providing confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, unless they have obtained the explicit written permission of the author(s) of the work involved in these services.

Peer review

Authors are obliged to participate in the peer review process and cooperate fully by responding promptly to IJLTR’s requests for raw data, clarifications, and proof of ethics approval, and copyright permissions. In the case of a first decision of "revisions necessary", authors should respond to the reviewers’ comments systematically, point by point, and in a timely manner, revising and re-submitting their manuscript to the Journal by the deadline given.

Fundamental errors in published works

When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their own published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify IJLTR and cooperate with them to either correct the paper in the form of an erratum or to retract the paper. If IJLTR learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error or inaccuracy, then it is the author’s obligation to promptly correct or retract the paper or provide evidence to IJLTR of the correctness of the paper.

Appeal to the editor

Authors can appeal the journal editor's decision. They can submit an appeal letter to the journal's online editorial office. They, should address this to the editor and explain clearly the basis for an appeal.