Manuscript Submission Guidelines
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Submission of Manuscript
Overview
Manuscripts are to be reached the Editorial by uploading the related documents (in certain format) for publication to the JAPA manuscript submission platform.
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Authors are welcomed to submit any of these manuscripts:
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Original Articles
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Review Articles (SCOPING/systematic and/or meta-analysis)
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Commentaries
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Case Report
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Letters to the Editor
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Checklist and Preparation of Documents before Manuscript Submission:
O Read and understand Journal Policy. View
O Read and understand Editorial Policies & Ethical Requirements. View
O Prepare manuscript documents following specific format in JAPA Author Guidelines
O Download and fill up Authorship Agreement form ( Download Form ). All author need to sign the form before uploading it in manuscript submission page/form (PDF format) ​
O Download and fill up Copyright Transfer & Disclosure form ( Download Form ). All author need to sign the form before uploading it in manuscript submission page/form (PDF format)
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O Fill in the manuscript submission page/form and follow all the necessary instruction. View
O Submit Title page (.docx) (View example)
O Submit full manuscript without table and figure (.docx) (View structure of manuscript)
O Submit table and figure only (.docx)
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Manuscripts are accepted for publication in the journal with the understanding that the research is original and the content has not been published or submitted or under consideration for publication elsewhere. The evaluation of research done by the JAPA editors is on the basis of high ethical standards and rigorous scientific methodology.
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All submission will undergo rigorous quality and statistical checks and peer-review evaluation process before a final decision.
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Editorial, Reviewer and Publication Process
JAPA authors will be notified by email of the manuscript's receipt and editorial decisions. During the peer-reviewing process, authors can access the Online Manuscript Submission System to check the status of their manuscript.
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To ensure content quality, all submissions to JAPA are subjected to a double-blind peer-review process. A technical editor checks the format and style of the manuscript at the first stage to ensure compliance with the JAPA's author guide. If the authors have not followed the guidelines, the manuscript will be returned to them for revision.
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Based on the subject area and the editor-chief's decision, the manuscript will be assigned to section editors for a quick pre-review screening within 5 working days. Section editors review the manuscript for content quality (with an emphasis on methodology, originality, and contribution to knowledge and practise) and English usage. At this point, the decision is whether to reject, revise and resubmit, or assign to external reviewers for a thorough evaluation.
External reviewers are chosen based on their scientific background and experience, previous works, author recommendations, and expertise. JAPA makes every effort to obtain at least 2-3 strong reviews for each manuscript.
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JAPA uses a double-blind peer-review process that is quick, fair, and ensures that published articles are of high quality. JAPA reviewers are required to declare any conflicts of interest and to keep the manuscripts they review confidential. Since JAPA is a rapid response journal, the review process can take anywhere from 3 to 6 months.
The status of a manuscript is ascertained by the JAPA decision letter in five ways:
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1. Acceptance: The manuscript could be made available electronically. This procedure takes one to two weeks. Before submitting the paper for electronic publication, the corresponding author should review a proof copy. JAPA supports the initiative in which papers that have been copyedited and typeset but have not yet been paginated for inclusion in an issue of the journal are published online after the review process is completed. Advance access papers will be placed in a queue to be published in one of the upcoming issues of JAPA.
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2. Minor Revision: Authors will receive comments on their manuscript and will be asked to submit a revised copy (showing all changes made to the manuscript using Track Changes or highlighted colour) as well as a response to reviewer file in which they must respond to each and every reviewer's comment one by one (for each reviewer separately). Revisions should be submitted in 4 weeks after decision letter.
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3. Major Revision: It means that the manuscript can be reorganised to meet the scientific criteria for another review process. Authors are also required to submit a revised copy (showing all changes made to the manuscript using Track Changes or highlighted colour) in addition to a response to reviewer file in which they must respond to each and every comment of reviewer one by one (for each reviewer separately). Revisions should be submitted in 6 weeks after decision letter. Otherwise, authors need to go through a resubmission process.
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4. Rejection: The most common reasons for rejection but not limited to, are methodological and scientific concerns. The reasons for rejection will be sent to the authors in order to increase their chances of publication in other journals.
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Editing
Accepted manuscripts will be edited in accordance with the JAPA's Author's Guide (exclusive of language editing) and returned to the corresponding author for final approval. All contributing authors are liable for all statements made in their manuscript during editing and production that have been authorised by the corresponding author.
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Corrections
Corrections for publication should be sent to the editorial office. Corrections will be reviewed by editors before being published and linked to the original paper online.
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