1. Editorial Policies
1.1 Peer Review Policy
Peer review process in Desert Ecosystem Engineering Journal (DEEJ) is mostly double-blinded in which the reviewer’s name is unknown to the author and, vice versa (editors mediate all interactions between reviewers and authors, peer reviews are not published). Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two referees.  The review process is done as quickly as possible, and a final editorial decision is normally made within 6 - 8 weeks of submission.
Manuscripts are initially reviewed by the Editors and only those in accord with the aims and scope of the journal which advance its scientific and editorial standards are sent for outside review.
1.2 Authorship
The list of authors should include anyone who has significantly contributed to the writing of the article. Relative scientific or professional influences of contributors should be considered while specifying principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits. In multiple-authored articles which are derived from a student’s dissertation or thesis, normally the name of the student is listed as the principal author. 

2. Publishing Policies
2.1 University of Kashan Press
University of Kashan Press accepts all the terms and conditions of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors may refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors for comprehensive information.
 
2.1.1 Plagiarism
Plagiarism or other breaches in publication are taken extremely serious in the journal  of  Desert Ecosystem Engineering Journal (DEEJ). The rights of authors are protected, and claims of plagiarism or misuse of articles published in the journal are investigated. Articles submitted are checked using duplication-checking software. In case an article is found to have plagiarized other works, to have contained a third-party copyright material without authorization or adequate acknowledgement, or to have contested authorship , University of Kashan Press reserves the right to take following action, though not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum; removing the article from the journal; taking up the matter with the head of department or the dean of the author’s institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; proscripting the author from publication in the journal, or taking proper legal action.
Plagiarism, as it is described in Wikipedia, “is the "wrongful appropriation" and "stealing and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions" and the representation of them as one's own original work. The idea remains problematic with unclear definitions and unclear rules.
Plagiarism is not in itself a crime, but can constitute copyright infringement. In academia and industry, it is a serious ethical offense. Plagiarism and copyright infringement overlap to a considerable extent, but they are not equivalent concepts, and many types of plagiarism do not constitute copyright infringement, which is defined by copyright law and may be adjudicated by courts. Plagiarism is not defined or punished by law, but rather by institutions (including professional associations, educational institutions, and commercial entities, such as publishing companies).”
 
2.2 Experimentation Ethics
Authors who study on human subjects need to state that in the materials and methods section: a) patients’ consent and b) the specification of the fact whether the procedures followed have been gauged by a responsible review committee. Where no formal committee is available, the research must be in accordance with Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013. In cases in which animals are included, all animals should have received human care according to the criteria outlined in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals prepared by the National Academy of Science and published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH publication 23-86, revised 1985).
 
3. How to Submit your Manuscript
Prior to submitting your manuscript, make sure that you have carefully read and followed all the following guidelines and instructions addressed to authors. Needless to say, those manuscripts which are not in line with these instructions will be returned.
 Manuscripts which meet all the criteria in the Manuscript Submission Guidelines can be sent to the Editor.

Covering Letter: To every submission, attach a covering letter approving that all authors have agreed to the submission. The letter should be written and signed by the corresponding author on behalf of all authors. It should also confirm that the manuscript has not been previously published nor is being considered for publication elsewhere. It also should include authors’ completed contact information such as addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail.
 
 
4. Journal Copyright Issues
For authors, as the holder of the rights, it is required by the journal of   Desert Ecosystem Engineering Journal (DEEJ) to sign Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. The Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive license agreement assuring that the author will preserve the work’s copyright; however, it also provides  Desert Ecosystem Engineering Journal (DEEJ)  with the only and exclusive right and license to publish for the complete lawful period of copyright. Nevertheless, there may be cases of exception, when the copyright is needed or proffered to be assigned by some owner other than  Desert Ecosystem Engineering Journal (DEEJ) .
Issues related to copyright violation, plagiarism, or any other deviations from the best practice in publication are taken very seriously by Energy  Desert Ecosystem Engineering Journal (DEEJ). We are dedicated to protect our authors’ rights and shall always investigate any reports concerning plagiarism or misapplication of articles authors publish in the journal. Likewise, we are bound to keep the journal away from any case of misuse. We employ duplication-checking software to check the articles submitted to the journal. If it turns out that the article is an instance of plagiarism from other works, or if some copyright material is included in the submitted article without prior permission or proper acknowledgement, or if there are disputes over the authorship of the article, we shall maintain our right to take necessary actions. We may publish an erratum or corrigendum (correction); remove the article from Journal; take up the issue to the head of the institution, department or any other pertinent academic society, or take any other lawful action such as prohibiting the author from publishing articles in this specific journal or all the journals belonging to  Desert Ecosystem Engineering Journal (DEEJ).
It is essential for you to confirm a statement of conflicting interests in your Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement.
 
5. Declaration of Conflicting Interests
Your statements should be placed at the end of your manuscript after acknowledgements and before the references. This part should have a heading: ‘Statement of Conflicting Interests. If there is no statement, in your article under this heading, the term ‘None Stated’ will be printed. Conversely, you may prefer to express ‘The author(s) state(s) that there is no conflict of interests’.
 When you make a statement, please bear in mind that the disclosure information need to be specific while including any financial relationship that exists among authors of the article and any supporting institute and the for-profit interests the institute signifies as well as any for-profit product which is discussed or implicitly mentioned in the article.
Any marketable or monetary contributions that may signify the presence of a conflict of interests should be made known in the covering letter that goes with your article to help the Editor decide if you have made adequate disclosure in the Statement of Conflicting Interests you provide in your article.
 
6. Acknowledgements
You should include your acknowledgements at the end of your article before the Statement of Conflicting Interests (if there is any). It should also precede your notes and References.
The ‘Acknowledgements’ section should include a list of any contributors who lack necessary conditions for authorship. For example, you may acknowledge those who only provided technical help, those who assisted you in writing, or any authority who helped you merely through general support. Authors are required to mention if they have been helped in writing, and should disclose the identity of the party that has paid for this help.
  
6.1 Funding Acknowledgement
All writers are asked to report their funding on a regular basis and under a separate heading. You need to affirm, “This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors”.
 All research articles are required to have a funding acknowledgement in the form of the sentence below. The name of the funding agency must be written in full followed by the grant number in square brackets:
  This work was supported by the Kashan University [grant number xxx].
 In cases where the paper has various grant numbers, they should be divided by commas and space. If the research was financed by numerous agencies, these different agencies should be mentioned in the acknowledgment, separated by semi-colon, with ‘and’ before the final name, as follows:
 This work was supported by  … University [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; the … University [grant number zzzz]; and the Ministry of Technologies and Sciences [grant number aaaa].
Occasionally, a research may not be funded by a particular project funding but by the block grant and other resources of a university, college, or other research institution. In cases where no specific granting has been provided, researchers are required to use the following sentence: “This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors”.
Under the separate heading of Funding, take in this information directly after any other Acknowledgements and before your Declaration of Conflicting Interests, any Notes and References.
 
7. Permissions
It is authors’ responsibility to obtain permission from copyright holders for copying figures, tables, illustrations, etc. previously published.