Editorial Policies

Focus and Scope

Journal of Governance and Social Policy publishes research and reviews articles promoting varied approaches in the field of government studies, areas include but are not limited to:

  • Governance
  • Local Government
  • Administration
  • Management
  • Development
  • Public Policy
  • E-Government
  • Elections
  • And Other Relevant Subjects

 

Section Policies

Articles

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed
 

Peer Review Process

Double-Blind Peer Review

All submitted manuscripts will be initially screened whether the manuscript has followed the journal scope and author guidelines. If the manuscript does not meet the selection criteria, the manuscript will be rejected, the editor will send it back to the author. The authors are allowed to resend it to the journal after revising it according to the journal's selection criteria.

All submitted manuscript that meets the selection criteria will be screened using Turnitin for plagiarism checking before being sent to reviewers. Manuscript exceeding 25% similarity in a plagiarism check will be automatically rejected. Subsequently, the chief editor will ask the author to fill and send back the ethical statement. Once the ethical statement is received, the manuscript will be assigned to the editor.

The journal employs a Double-blind peer-review mechanism where each submitted article should be anonymously reviewed by two reviewers appointed by the editor. The review process takes about 3 - 4 weeks after the manuscript received by the reviewer, and the editor is responsible for the process.

The manuscript will go through Editorial Review afterwards to check the quality of revision according to the reviewers' comments. This process usually takes up 2 weeks. Most manuscripts will be revise 2-4 times to adjust to the journal's format and standards. The assigned editor will conduct the editorial review according to the number of revision required for the author.

The editorial decision would be based on the advice from the reviewers and the quality of the revision. It could categorize into: (1) Acceptable for publication without changes; (2) Acceptable for publications after minor revisions; (3) Acceptable for publication after major revisions; (4) Not acceptable for publication, but author(s) should be encouraged to resubmit; and (5) Reject.

Once the manuscript is accepted, the author will be asked to fill and send back the copyright transfer. The manuscript will go to copyediting and proofreading. The author will be asked to proofread his/her article before it will be published online.

 

Publication Frequency

Journal of Governance and Social Policy is a peer-reviewed scientific publication which is regularly published 2 (two) times a year in June and December

 

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.

 

Screening Plagiarism

Plagiarism screening will be conducted by the Journal of Governance and Social Policy Editorial Board using Turnitin plagiarism service. The percentage of similarity to other articles should be less than 25%.

 

Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Journal of Governance and Social Policy uses a publication ethics statement based on the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines in order to take all possible measures against malpractice and ensure best practices in publication ethics. This statement clarifies the ethical behaviour of all parties involved in the act of publishing an article in this journal, including the author, the chief editor, the Editorial Board, the reviewers.

Duties of Editors

Accountability

The editor of the Journal of Governance and Social Policy is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editors may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editors may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Fair play

An editor at any time evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality

The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.


Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.

Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.


Duties of Authors

Reporting standards

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.

Originality and Plagiarism

The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication

An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Proper acknowledgement of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.