Pee Review Process

Jurnal Pembangunan Kota Medan publishes manuscripts following editorial assessment and peer review. Rejection at this stage may occur if the work lacks novelty, falls outside the journal’s scope, has a Turnitin score exceeding 30%, or fails to meet basic quality standards. 

Initial Editorial Assessment and Peer Review

  1. During the initial assessment, the editorial committee evaluates the manuscript’s relevance to the journal’s aims, compliance with author guidelines, and overall language quality. All submissions are also screened for originality using Turnitin or equivalent plagiarism detection software. The similarity report is interpreted by an editor, excluding references, quotations, and standard phrases. Manuscripts with substantial unattributed overlap are rejected without review. As part of the journal’s internal standard, submissions with an overall similarity index above 20% are normally declined at this stage.
  2. Manuscripts that pass the initial assessment are assigned to at least two independent reviewers with relevant subject expertise. The journal operates a double‑blind review process, ensuring that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other. The review focuses on originality, methodological rigor, clarity of presentation, ethical compliance, and the contribution of the work to the field. 
  3. The article review process usually takes average 12 weeks. This review period depends on the editors and reviewers' duration in reviewing the manuscript.
  4. All reviewing activities are managed by the editorial team through the Open Journal Systems platform.  

Decision‑Making  

  1. The Editors then make a decision based on the reviewer's recommendation from among several possibilities: rejected, require major revision, need minor revision, or accepted. 
  2. A decision to accept a manuscript generally requires two positive recommendations from reviewers. If the reviewers’ recommendations differ, the editor may seek input from a third reviewer. 
  3. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to decide which of the submitted articles should be published.

Revision and Resubmission  

When revisions are requested, authors must address all reviewer and editor comments in a detailed, point‑by‑point response. Revised manuscripts may be re‑screened for similarity to ensure that no new overlap has been introduced during the revision process.