Bulletin of Educational Research Manuscript Review Guidelines

 

Passed during the Editorial Board Committee Meeting on 2001.08.16

Passed during the Editorial Board Committee Meeting on 2013.10.11

Passed during the Editorial Board Committee Meeting on 2015.08.27

Latest amendment passed during the Editorial Board Committee Meeting on 2017.01.20

 

 

I.         Review Process

The review process of the journal is divided into three stages: pre-screening, external review, and review by the editorial board.

A.      Pre-Screening

a.        Submitted manuscripts will first go through pre-screening. Manuscripts that are suitable for the nature of the journal, comply with the format requirements (including word count, formatting, style, etc.), and demonstrate academic rigor, will be accepted by the journal for review.

b.        Manuscripts that do not conform to the journal’s mission, format, or academic standards, and manuscripts where the identity of the author is exposed within the text, will be rejected after discussion and confirmation by the editorial board.

B.       External Review

a.        The external review process includes an initial review, a review by a third party, and a secondary review. The review is conducted anonymously.

b.        Once the manuscript has passed the pre-screening, the editorial board will appoint two reviewers to conduct the initial review anonymously.

Focus of the review process for "Research Articles":

1.     Relevance to the mission of the journal

2.     Clarity of the research perspective and theoretical framework

3.     Adherence to the research methodology

4.     Depth of the conclusion and discussion

5.     Academic innovation

Focus of the review process for "Research Overviews/Academic Reviews":

1.     Relevance to the mission of the journal

2.     The article’s exploratory, progressive, and reflective qualities.

 

＊"Research Notes/Scholarly Commentaries" will have the same academic standards and review process as "Research Articles." The only difference lies in the review focus.

c.        Based on the initial review, each reviewer will classify the manuscript into one of 4 categories: (1) Accepted; (2) Accepted with revision; (3) Reviewed after revision; (4) Not accepted.

d.        If there is a discrepancy between the classifications of the two reviewers, the journal editorial board will appoint a third reviewer to undertake an anonymous review, the standards and form of which will be the same as that of the initial review.                

e.        If the combined result of the initial review and the third party review is "Reviewed after revision," the journal will inform the author to undertake the required revisions. The author must complete the revisions and resubmit the manuscript to the journal within the time limit given, after which the journal will submit the manuscript to the original reviewers

for the secondary review.

f.         The standards and form of the secondary review are the same as that of the initial review. But there are only three categories of feedback: Accepted; Accepted with revision; and Not accepted.

C. Review by the Editorial Board

a.        If the result of the external review is "Not accepted," after discussion and confirmation by the editorial board, the manuscript will be returned to the author.

b.        If the feedback of the external review is "Accepted" or "Accepted with revision," the author must undertake the revisions according to the suggestions of the anonymous reviewers. The revisions must be completed and resubmitted to the journal within the time limit. The journal will discuss and make the final decision on whether or not to accept the paper based on the feedback of the anonymous reviewers, the author's revisions, and any major issues with the content.

 

II.       Revision and Publication of the Manuscript

A.      If the manuscript is being considered for publication by the editorial board, the author is required to complete the revisions according to the suggestions given by the editorial board and resubmit it to the journal within the time limit; otherwise the paper will not be published as scheduled.

B.       Once the manuscript has been accepted for publication, the author is required to submit an English translation of the Chinese reference list.

C.       In principle, other manuscripts by the same author will not be published in a row.

 

III.     Principles of the Review Process

A.      Professionalism


a.        The editorial board will recommend local and international experts in that particular field to conduct the review based on the manuscript content.

b.        The editorial board takes the initiative to learn about the review quality of the reviewers, and to establish a reviewer database to serve as a basis for the recommendation of reviewers. This is to ensure the quality of the papers published by the journal and to enhance the standard of academic dialog.

B.       Recusal

a.        If an editorial committee member or executive editor of the journal submits a manuscript to the journal, he/she is not allowed to participate in any discussions pertaining to the submitted manuscript. He/she is also not allowed to handle or keep any documents related to his/her own manuscript (such as review feedback and reviewer information). The editor-in-chief will appoint a deputy to act in his/her stead.

b.        For the recommendation list of reviewers, in addition to recommending to the best of their abilities the most suitable expert reviewers, the editorial board also takes into consideration any conflict of interest that may exist between the contributor and the reviewers (such as thesis supervisor, colleague, etc.) so as to avoid appointing unsuitable reviewers.

C.       Confidentiality

a.        The review of the manuscript works on the principle of anonymity. During and after the review process, the editorial board and the editorial administrative staff have the responsibility to maintain the anonymity of the author and reviewers.

b.        In order to maintain confidentiality, the management of the contributors’ and reviewers’ information by the journal is handled in accordance with the provisions of the “Guidelines for the Management of Editorial Information by the Bulletin of Educational Research.”