Editorial Process

EDITORIAL PROCESS

Media Wisata applies a transparent, rigorous, and ethical editorial process to ensure the quality, originality, relevance, and integrity of published manuscripts. The editorial process involves the Editorial Team, Editor-in-Chief, and independent peer reviewers with relevant expertise.

All editorial and peer-review decisions are based on the scientific quality, methodological rigor, originality, relevance, and ethical integrity of the manuscript. Editorial decisions are not influenced by the author's nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, religion, political views, or other personal characteristics unrelated to the scientific quality of the manuscript.

A summary of the editorial process is presented in the following workflow:

Submission → Initial Editorial Screening → Similarity & Ethics Check → Reviewer Assignment → Single-Blind Peer Review → Editorial Decision → Revision/Re-Review → Final Acceptance → Production → Publication

 

Submission

Authors submit manuscripts through the Media Wisata Open Journal Systems (OJS) according to the Author Guidelines and Submission Checklist.

At the time of submission, authors are required to confirm that:

  • the manuscript is within the focus and scope of Media Wisata;
  • the manuscript is original and has not been published previously;
  • the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal;
  • all authors have approved the submitted manuscript;
  • the manuscript complies with the journal's formatting and ethical requirements;
  • the required declarations have been provided; and
  • any use of Generative AI or AI-Assisted Technologies has been disclosed in accordance with the journal's policy.

 

Initial Editorial Screening

Immediately after submission, the editorial team conducts an initial screening to assess:

  • conformity with the focus and scope of Media Wisata;
  • compliance with the Author Guidelines and manuscript template;
  • completeness of the manuscript and submission metadata;
  • originality and publication ethics;
  • adequacy of the manuscript structure;
  • basic methodological and scientific quality; and
  • completeness of required declarations.

The editorial team may return the manuscript to the author for technical correction or reject it without external peer review (desk rejection) if it is outside the journal's scope, does not meet essential submission requirements, or has fundamental scientific or ethical deficiencies.

The initial editorial screening normally takes 1–2 weeks.

 

Similarity and Ethical Screening

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial screening may undergo a similarity check using appropriate similarity-detection software.

Media Wisata applies a maximum similarity threshold of 10% as an editorial screening requirement. The similarity percentage is not, by itself, a determination of plagiarism. The editorial team considers the nature, location, and source of similarities before making an editorial decision.

The editorial team may also examine:

  • duplicate or redundant publication;
  • plagiarism or inappropriate reuse of text;
  • citation manipulation;
  • authorship concerns;
  • competing interests;
  • research ethics and ethical approval, where applicable;
  • data integrity and availability, where applicable; and
  • inappropriate or undisclosed use of Generative AI.

Manuscripts with serious ethical concerns may be rejected or referred for further investigation before the peer-review process continues.

 

Reviewer Assignment

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are assigned to at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise.

Reviewers are selected based on:

  • expertise relevant to the manuscript;
  • academic and/or professional qualifications;
  • recent scholarly publications relevant to the subject;
  • availability to complete the review within the expected timeframe; and
  • absence of actual, potential, or perceived competing interests.

The editorial team does not normally assign reviewers who have a close personal, professional, institutional, or research relationship with the authors that could compromise impartiality.

Authors may suggest potential reviewers during submission. Such suggestions are considered at the discretion of the editorial team and do not guarantee reviewer selection.

Authors may also identify individuals who should not be invited to review their manuscript, together with a reasonable explanation. The final decision remains with the editorial team.

 

Single-Blind Peer Review

Media Wisata applies a single-blind peer-review model. Under this model, the identity of reviewers is not disclosed to authors, while reviewers may have access to the identity and affiliation of the authors.

Each manuscript is normally evaluated by at least two independent reviewers.

Reviewers are asked to assess:

  • relevance to the focus and scope of the journal;
  • significance and clarity of the research problem and objectives;
  • state of the art, research gap, novelty, and contribution;
  • appropriateness and rigor of the research design and methodology;
  • adequacy of data sources, participants, instruments, and analytical procedures;
  • validity and clarity of the research results;
  • quality of interpretation and discussion;
  • consistency between objectives, findings, discussion, and conclusions;
  • contribution and implications of the research;
  • quality and relevance of references and citations; and
  • compliance with research and publication ethics.

The normal peer-review period is 3–8 weeks, depending on reviewer availability, manuscript complexity, and the need for additional review.

Reviewers are expected to provide constructive, objective, evidence-based, and professional comments.

 

Reviewer Confidentiality and Competing Interests

Reviewers must treat submitted manuscripts and all associated materials as confidential.

Reviewers must not:

  • disclose the manuscript or review materials to others without editorial permission;
  • use unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage;
  • reproduce or distribute unpublished manuscript content; or
  • contact the authors directly about the manuscript unless authorized by the editorial team.

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived competing interests before accepting a review assignment.

Competing interests may include personal, financial, professional, institutional, intellectual, or research relationships that could reasonably affect the reviewer's objectivity.

Reviewers who have a significant competing interest should decline the review assignment.

 

Use of Generative AI in Peer Review

Reviewers and editors must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and editorial materials.

Reviewers and editors must not upload unpublished manuscripts, reviewer reports, or other confidential editorial materials to public or third-party Generative AI systems when such use could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, or research integrity.

Generative AI must not replace the professional judgment of reviewers or editors. Reviewers remain responsible for the accuracy, fairness, originality, and confidentiality of their review reports.

Any permitted use of AI-assisted tools must comply with the Media Wisata Generative AI Policy.

 

Editorial Decision

After peer review, the Editor-in-Chief or designated editor evaluates the reviewer reports and the overall scientific quality of the manuscript.

The possible editorial decisions are:

  • Accept – the manuscript is suitable for publication;
  • Minor Revision – limited revisions are required;
  • Major Revision – substantial revisions are required and further review may be necessary;
  • Resubmit for Review – substantial improvement is required before the manuscript can be reconsidered; or
  • Reject – the manuscript does not meet the scientific, methodological, ethical, or editorial requirements of the journal.

Reviewers provide recommendations, but the final editorial decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief or designated editor.

Where reviewer recommendations substantially conflict, the editor may:

  • request clarification from the reviewers;
  • invite an additional independent reviewer;
  • request further revision; or
  • make an editorial decision based on the available evidence.

The editor should provide an appropriate justification when the final decision differs substantially from the reviewers' recommendations.

 

Conflict of Interest in Editorial Decision-Making

Editors and Editorial Board members must not participate in editorial decisions involving manuscripts in which they have a competing interest.

If a manuscript is submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, an Editorial Board member, or another person directly involved in the editorial management of Media Wisata, the manuscript must be handled by another qualified editor who has no competing interest with the authors.

The assigned editor must ensure that the manuscript is evaluated by independent reviewers and that the author does not receive preferential treatment.

 

Revision and Re-Review

When revision is required, authors must submit:

  1. a revised version of the manuscript; and
  2. a response to the reviewers' comments explaining how each substantive comment has been addressed.

The revised manuscript may be returned to the original reviewers or assigned to other qualified reviewers, depending on the nature of the revisions and the editor's judgment.

Major revisions will normally undergo further review.

The editorial team may request additional revision rounds when necessary to ensure the scientific quality and integrity of the manuscript.

Failure to adequately address substantive reviewer and editorial comments may result in rejection.

 

Final Acceptance

A manuscript is considered accepted for publication only after the final editorial decision has been made by the Editor-in-Chief or an authorized academic editor.

Acceptance indicates that the manuscript has successfully completed the required editorial and peer-review process. Acceptance does not prevent the editorial team from making necessary technical, language, formatting, or ethical checks before publication.

 

Production

After final acceptance, the manuscript proceeds to the production stage, which may include:

  • copyediting;
  • language editing;
  • formatting and layout;
  • reference and citation checking;
  • metadata verification;
  • proofreading; and
  • preparation of the final publication files.

Authors may be asked to review the final proof and report any factual or typographical errors before publication.

Changes at the proof stage should normally be limited to necessary corrections and should not introduce substantial changes to the scientific content.

 

Publication

After completion of the production process, the article is published according to the Media Wisata publication schedule.

Where the journal applies an In Progress publication mechanism, an accepted and fully processed article may be published online before the completion of the regular issue, subject to the journal's publication policy.

Published articles receive their final bibliographic information and may be indexed and cited according to the availability and policies of the relevant indexing services.

 

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently based on scientific and editorial considerations.

Neither authors, reviewers, institutional affiliations, sponsors, nor other external parties may influence editorial decisions.

The editorial team is committed to maintaining a fair, transparent, consistent, and accountable publication process in accordance with applicable journal standards and publication ethics.