Academic Journal Submission System

A comprehensive platform for academic publishing that connects authors, reviewers, and editors in a streamlined digital workflow. This system supports the entire lifecycle of academic publishing from journal creation to article submission, peer review, and publication.

Project Overview

The Academic Journal Submission System consists of two main components:

1. Client Application: A React-based web interface for users to interact with the system
2. Server API: A Node.js/Express backend that handles data processing and business logic

This full-stack application is designed to modernize and streamline academic publishing workflows.

Features

User Management

• Role-based access control (Admin, Editor, Author, Reviewer)
• User authentication and authorization
• Profile management for all stakeholders

Journal Management

• Create and manage academic journals with detailed metadata
• Categorize journals by field and relevant tags
• Assign editors to journals
• Track journal metrics (impact factor, review times, etc.)
• Define submission guidelines for authors

Article Submission

• Submit articles with title, abstract, and full manuscript
• Upload supporting documents (cover letters, supplementary files)
• Track submission status
• Collaborative authorship management

Peer Review Process

• Assign reviewers to articles
• Structured peer review workflow
• Manage the review process
• Track review metrics and timeline

Search & Discovery

• Advanced filtering and search capabilities for journals
• Tag-based journal categorization
• Journal pinning/bookmarking for quick access

Email Notifications

• Automated email notifications for key events
• Editor assignment notifications
• Review request and submission confirmations

Theme Support

• Light and dark mode themes
• Responsive design for mobile and desktop views

Technology Stack

Frontend

• React (v19) with Vite
• React Router (v7)
• SCSS for styling
• React Icons
• Axios for API requests
• React Toastify for notifications
• CryptoJS for secure data handling

Backend

• Node.js with Express
• MongoDB with Mongoose ODM
• JWT for authentication
• Multer for file handling
• Nodemailer for email functionality
• Zod for input validation
• Winston for logging
• Helmet, Express Rate Limit, and CORS for security

Project Structure

journal_project/
├── client/            # Frontend React application
│   ├── public/        # Static assets
│   └── src/           # Source code
│       ├── assets/    # Images, styles, and other static resources
│       ├── components/# Reusable UI components
│       ├── config/    # Configuration files
│       ├── contexts/  # React context providers
│       ├── hooks/     # Custom React hooks
│       ├── pages/     # Page components
│       ├── services/  # API services
│       └── utils/     # Utility functions
│
├── server/            # Backend Node.js/Express API
│   ├── config/        # Configuration files
│   ├── controllers/   # Request controllers
│   ├── keys/          # JWT keys
│   ├── middleware/    # Express middleware
│   ├── models/        # Mongoose models
│   ├── public/        # Static files (uploads)
│   ├── routes/        # API routes
│   ├── utils/         # Utility functions
│   └── validators/    # Input validation
│
└── README.md          # This file

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or higher)
• MongoDB (local or cloud-based)
• npm or yarn

Installation and Setup

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/your-username/journal_project.git
cd journal_project

2. Set up the Backend

cd server
npm install

# Create .env file with your configuration
# Generate JWT keys
mkdir -p keys
openssl genrsa -out keys/private.key 2048
openssl rsa -in keys/private.key -pubout -out keys/public.key

# Start the server
npm run dev

Example .env file for server:

PORT=5000
MONGODB_URI=mongodb://localhost:27017/journal_db
JWT_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH=./keys/private.key
JWT_PUBLIC_KEY_PATH=./keys/public.key
JWT_EXPIRY=30d
NODE_ENV=development
EMAIL_SERVICE=smtp.yourservice.com
EMAIL_USER=your-email@example.com
EMAIL_PASS=your-email-password
CLIENT_URL=http://localhost:3000

3. Set up the Frontend

cd ../client
npm install
npm run dev

The client application will be available at http://localhost:5173

API Endpoints

Authentication

• POST /api/auth/register - Register a new user
• POST /api/auth/login - User login
• POST /api/auth/logout - User logout
• POST /api/auth/refresh-token - Refresh JWT token

Journals

• GET /api/journal - Get list of journals
• GET /api/journal/:journalId - Get journal details
• POST /api/journal - Create a new journal
• PUT /api/journal/:journalId - Update journal details
• DELETE /api/journal/:journalId - Delete a journal
• GET /api/journal/categories - Get list of journal categories
• GET /api/journal/tags - Get list of journal tags
• POST /api/journal/editor - Add an editor to a journal
• DELETE /api/journal/:journalId/editor - Remove editor from a journal

Articles

• POST /api/article - Submit a new article
• GET /api/article - Get list of articles
• GET /api/article/:articleId - Get article details
• PUT /api/article/:articleId - Update article details
• DELETE /api/article/:articleId - Delete an article

Reviewers

• POST /api/reviewer - Add a new reviewer
• GET /api/reviewer - Get list of reviewers
• GET /api/reviewer/:reviewerId - Get reviewer details
• PUT /api/reviewer/:reviewerId - Update reviewer details
• DELETE /api/reviewer/:reviewerId - Delete a reviewer

Error Handling

The API uses a centralized error handling mechanism with custom ApiError class and middleware. This ensures consistent error responses across the application with appropriate HTTP status codes.

Security Measures

• Helmet for setting various HTTP headers
• Rate limiting to prevent brute force attacks
• JWT-based authentication
• Secure password storage with bcrypt
• Input validation with Zod
• CORS configuration

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License

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Developed as a comprehensive solution for academic publishing workflows.