Peer Review

The International Journal of Computational Intelligence (IJCI) uses a double-anonymous peer review process. The identities of authors and reviewers are kept confidential during peer review to support fair, objective, and impartial evaluation.

Preparing an Anonymous Manuscript

Authors should remove information that could directly identify them or their institutions from the manuscript and supplementary files. This includes author names, affiliations, email addresses, ORCID iDs, acknowledgements, identifying funding information, and other unnecessary personal details. Author information should be provided separately through the submission system.

File Metadata

Authors should check the properties and metadata of Word, PDF, image, and other submitted files and remove identifying information where possible. Particular attention should be given to document authorship fields, file properties, embedded names, institutional logos, and image metadata.

Self-Citations

Authors may cite their previous work when relevant, but citations should be presented objectively and should not unnecessarily reveal authorship during anonymous review. Identifying language such as “in our previous study” should be avoided where it could compromise anonymity.

Figures, Data, and Software

Figures, datasets, source code, supplementary materials, and repository links should be checked for information that may reveal the identity or institution of the authors. Where technically feasible, authors should use anonymized repository access or other appropriate measures during peer review.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers should respect author anonymity and must not deliberately attempt to identify authors. Reviews should focus on the manuscript's originality, scientific quality, methodology, clarity, significance, and reproducibility. Any suspected conflict of interest should be reported to the handling editor.

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors and editorial staff are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of authors and reviewers. If identifying information is found before peer review, the Editorial Office may request an appropriately anonymized version before the manuscript proceeds to external review.

Limitations of Anonymity

Complete anonymity cannot always be guaranteed, particularly where research involves distinctive datasets, public preprints, specialized software, or highly identifiable research topics. Reviewers must nevertheless maintain an objective and impartial assessment.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and unpublished materials must be treated as confidential. Information obtained during peer review must not be disclosed or used for personal or professional advantage.

Policy Review

IJCI periodically reviews this policy to maintain appropriate standards of confidentiality, fairness, and integrity in the peer-review process.