Editorial Policies

Focus and Scope

The University of Bohol Multidisciplinary Research Journal aims to publish new discoveries in the various disciplines of knowledge which are contributed by member researchers from around the world.

 The University of Bohol Multidisciplinary Research Journal is an international peer-reviewed and multidisciplinary journal that provides a venue for scholars to publish their research findings for advocacy and utilization.

 

Section Policies

 

Peer Review Process

Definition. Peer review (also known as refereeing) is the process of subjecting an author’s scholarly work, research or ideas to the scrutiny of others who are experts in the same field. Peer review requires a community University of Bohol Multidisciplinary Research Journal of experts in a given (and often narrowly defined) field, who are qualified and able to perform impartial review. Peer review refers to the work done during the screening of submitted manuscripts and funding applications. This normative process encourages authors to meet the accepted standards of their discipline and prevents the dissemination of unwarranted claims, unacceptable interpretations and personal views. Peer review increases the probability that weaknesses will be identified, and, with advice and encouragement, fixed. For both grant-funding and publication in a scholarly journal, it is also normally a requirement that the subject is both novel and substantial.

Type. The double-blind review process is adopted for the journal. The reviewer and the author do not know each other’s identity.

Recruiting Referees. The task of picking reviewers is the responsibility of the editorial board. When a manuscript arrives, an editor solicits reviews from scholars or other experts to referee the paper.

 Manuscript. In some cases, the authors may suggest the referees’ names subject to the Editorial Board’s approval. The referees must have an excellent track record as researchers in the field as evidenced by researches published in refereed journals, research-related awards, and an experience in peer review. Referees are not selected from among the author’s close colleagues, students, or friends. Referees are to inform the editor of any conflict of interests that may arise. The Editorial Board often invites the research authors to name people whom they consider qualified to referee their work. The author’s input in selecting referees is solicited because academic writing typically is very specialized. The identities of the referees selected by the Editorial Board are kept unknown to research authors. However, the reviewer’s identity can be disclosed under some special circumstances.

Peer Review Process. Members of the Editorial Board review first the manuscript and, when necessary, require the revision to be complied prior with the submission of the paper to the external referees. The Editorial Board sends advance copies of an author’s work to experts in the field (known as “referees” or “reviewers”) through e-mail or a Web-based manuscript processing system. There are two or three referees for a given article. Two are experts of the topic of research and one is an expert in research and statistics who shall review the technical components of the research. These referees return to the board the evaluation of the work that indicates the observed weaknesses or problems along with suggestions for improvement. The board then evaluates the referees’ comments and notes opinion of the manuscript before passing the decision with the referees’ comments back to the author(s).

Criteria for Acceptance and Rejection. A manuscript is accepted when it is (1) endorsed for publication by 2 or 3 referees, (2) the instructions of the reviewers are substantially complied; (3) the manuscript passes the plagiarism detection test with a score of at least 80 for originality; (4) the manuscript has an English writing readability score of below 60 in the Flesch Reading Ease test and a Gunning Fog Index of at least 12; (5)the entries in the literature cited pass the reference checker software; (6) the formula passes the formula checker software; the spelling and grammar passes the “grammarly” software checker; and, (7) human academic writing expert; otherwise the manuscript is rejected. The referee’s evaluations include an explicit recommendation of what to do with the manuscript, often chosen from options provided by the journal, most recommendations are along the following lines:

•   To unconditionally accept the manuscript,

•   To accept it in the event that its authors improve it based on referees’ recommendation,

•   To reject it, but encourage revision and invite resubmission,

•   To reject it outright

In situations where the referees disagree substantially about the quality of a work, there are a number of strategies for reaching a decision. When the editor receives very positive and very negative reviews for the same manuscript, the board will solicit one or more additional reviews as a tie-breaker. In the case of ties, the board may invite authors to reply to a referee’s criticisms and permit a compelling rebuttal to break the tie. If the editor does not feel confident to weigh the persuasiveness of a rebuttal, the board may solicit a response from the referee who made the original criticism. In rare instances, the board will convey communications between an author and a referee, in effect allowing them to debate on a point. Even in such case, however, the board does not allow referees to confer with each other and the goal of the process is explicitly not to reach consensus or to convince anyone to change his/her opinions.

 

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

 

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice

The University of Bohol Multidisciplinary Research Journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against any publication malpractices. All authors submitting their works to the University of Bohol Multidisciplinary Research Journal for publication as original articles attest that the submitted works represent their authors’ contributions and have not been copied or plagiarized in whole or in part from other works. The journal shall retract published articles if the authors are found to have committed self-plagiarism, whereby authors copy large parts of one of their previous manuscripts word-for- word and duplicate publication, which is a form of plagiarism when authors submit previously-published work as if it were original. The authors acknowledge that they have disclosed all and any actual or potential conflicts of interest with their work or partial benefits associated with it. In the same manner, the University of Bohol Multidisciplinary Research Journal is committed to objective and fair double-blind peer-review of the submitted for publication works and to preventing any actual or potential conflict of interests between the editorial and review personnel and the reviewed material. Any departures from the above-defined rules should be reported directly to the Editor-in-Chief who is unequivocally committed to providing swift resolutions to any of such type of problems.

Stages of the Publication Process and Advocacy

1.  Quality Assurance by the Editorial Board Preliminary quality assurance evaluation

a. Word count for abstract and content

b. English writing readability and Gunning Fog Index

c. Plagiarism detection and Grammar Checker

d. Technical editing

e. Application of corrections

f. Technical review by the editorial board

g. Submission of the signed copyright transfer

2. Selection of Peer Reviewers / Peer Review Process

a.    Editorial Board's review of the paper to determine its readiness for review by external referees

b.    Notification to the author(s) of the results of the double blind review

c.    Submission of the revised draft

d.     Re-submission of the revised copy to the peer reviewers for confirmation as to compliance

e.     Decision of the editorial board to accept or reject the manuscripts based on the compliance of the peer reviewers’ recommendations

3. Publication Process

a.    Formatting of the manuscripts for publication

b.    Forwarding of the prototype copy of the published manuscript to the authors for confirmation

c.    Submission of signed copyright transfer prior to final printing

4. Circulation and Advocacy

a. Launching of the Journal with the author(s)

b. Presentation in Fora

c. Translational Research / Utilization: Policy, Patent, Program, Modules d. Conferment of awards and citations

e. Publication Awards