About the Journal

Aims and Scope

The ACADEME University of Bohol, Graduate School, and Professional Studies is a peer-reviewed, open-access publication that offers scholars a platform to disseminate their research findings for advocacy and practical application. Published by the University of Bohol Research Center, the university strives to present novel discoveries across diverse knowledge disciplines, contributed by researchers from around the globe.

As a peer-reviewed journal, ACADEME is dedicated to consistently offering a supportive environment for researchers and scientists. This commitment involves facilitating the publication of original and unpublished scholarly papers that contribute to the development of new knowledge and comprehension of diverse societal issues. These published works serve as a foundation for the formulation of policies and programs, aimed at enhancing organizational practices and ultimately improving the overall quality of life.

ISSN: 2362-9215 (Online) and 2362-9142 (Print)

Editorial Team

The Editorial Team of ACADEME consists of esteemed academics within the journal's field, spanning the globe. Handpicked by the journal editor, these individuals offer expert guidance on significant journal policies and content. Additionally, they evaluate submitted articles, extend invitations to new authors, encourage submissions, and actively promote the journal within the global academic community. Leveraging their expertise and extensive experience as scientists and researchers, the Editorial Team members play a crucial role in elevating and fortifying the quality, integrity, prestige, and sustainability of our journal.

Journal Indexing/Abstracting

As an open-access journal, ACADEME is dedicated to providing free access to its published scientific papers, enhancing its credibility and visibility for the swift dissemination of scientific findings. ACADEME is currently included in the following indexes/lists:

CrossRef

Google Scholar

Hollis Library

Submission Policy

Manuscripts that are presently being reviewed by another journal or publisher should not be presented for consideration. Authors are required to declare during submission that the work has not been submitted or published elsewhere.

Authors are obligated to complete the Declaration Agreement, confirming the originality of their contribution and their sole responsibility in preventing plagiarism, while also addressing the hierarchy of authorship in cases involving multiple authors.

Furthermore, authors must acknowledge and comply with the journal's Open Access and Copyright Policy.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to ACADEME are expected to adhere to the following responsibilities:

1. Originality and Submission Declaration: Authors must affirm that the submitted work is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not under consideration by any other journal or publisher.
2. Declaration Agreement: Authors are required to complete and sign the Declaration Agreement, confirming the originality of their contribution and acknowledging their sole responsibility in preventing plagiarism. In cases of multiple authors, the agreement should address the hierarchy of authorship.
3. Open Access and Copyright Policy: Authors must accept and comply with ACADEME's Open Access and Copyright Policy, ensuring that the publication aligns with the principles and guidelines set forth by the journal.
4. Accuracy of Information: Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the information presented in their manuscripts. Any errors or inaccuracies should be promptly addressed and corrected upon discovery.
5. Acknowledgment of Funding and Conflicts of Interest: Authors should disclose the sources of funding for their research and any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of their findings.
6. Ethical Considerations: Authors must adhere to ethical standards in research and publication, including proper citation of sources, avoidance of plagiarism, and ethical treatment of human or animal subjects if applicable.
7. Peer Review Process: Authors should actively participate in the peer review process, responding promptly to editorial inquiries and revising the manuscript based on constructive feedback from reviewers.
8. Data Sharing and Accessibility: Authors are encouraged to share research data supporting their findings whenever possible and to make the data accessible for verification or further research.
9. Timely Communication: Authors are expected to communicate promptly with the editorial team, responding to queries and providing any additional information or clarifications as needed.
10. Post-publication Corrections: In the event of errors or inaccuracies discovered after publication, authors should promptly inform the journal's editorial team and work collaboratively to issue corrections or retractions if necessary.

Guide to Authors

1. Authors must adhere strictly to the journal's format and style to prevent the rejection of their manuscripts. Therefore, authors are advised to thoroughly review the instructions for authors before submitting their work.
2. Submit the manuscript in MS Word Format via the journal's online submission portal. Remove self-identifying references from the text and notes.
3. Prepare a cover page containing a concise and informative title, author(s) names, affiliation(s), email address(es), and ORCID number(s). Include an abstract of 150 words with at least 3-5 keywords.
4. Organize the paper with the following major sections/headings: Title, Abstract (150 words) with at least five keywords, Introduction, Methodology, Results and Discussion, Conclusion, and References.
5. Format the entire manuscript in single-spaced on 8.5x11-inch white bond paper, with 1-inch margins using Times New Roman font size 12.
6. Number all pages sequentially, including tables, appendices, and references. Major sections should be numbered, but subsections should remain unnumbered.
7. Maintain two spaces before and after major and sub-headings. Single-space References, Acknowledgments, Table Titles, and Figure Legends, numbering them consecutively on all pages.
8. Spell out acronyms or unfamiliar abbreviations when first mentioned in the text.
9. Write scientific names of species completely with author(s) upon first mention, and without an author in subsequent references, in italics or boldface.
10. Avoid spelling out numbers unless they begin a sentence. Spell out numbers from one to ten, except in tables, lists, and with mathematical, statistical, scientific, or technical units. Use the word "percent" in non-technical text.
11. Use the metric system or the International System of Units, abbreviating units only next to numerals. Use the bar for compound units. Precede decimals less than 1 with a zero (e.g., 0.25).
12. When creating tables and figures, consider the journal's page size and necessary reduction. Place Table titles on top and Figure captions below. Figures should be clear even after a 50% reduction. Use Adobe Photoshop CS, Adobe InDesign CS, or PDF for graphics.
13. Cite sources predominantly from current content-covered or peer-reviewed journals, following the latest edition of the American Psychological Association (APA) citation and referencing format. Avoid footnotes; use endnotes if necessary.
14. Keep the manuscript concise, typically ranging from 4,000 to 6,000 words, single-spaced, considering the subject and research method.

Peer Review Process

Every research article undergoes a stringent double-blind peer review process, involving an initial screening by the editor and an anonymized evaluation by two or three anonymous referees who are experts in the research topic's content and methodology.

To maintain an unbiased technical review, the identities of authors and reviewers remain undisclosed. Authors are therefore asked to remove personal details such as names, affiliations, email addresses, and ORCID numbers from their manuscripts.

Guide to Referees

ACADEME adheres to ethical peer-review principles outlined in the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Referees are expected to assess their expertise, potential conflicts of interest, commitment to meeting journal deadlines, and familiarity with double-blind review processes and journal guidelines before accepting or declining an invitation to review. They must treat the received manuscript confidentially, not sharing or discussing it without authorization from the author/editor. Any insights gained during the review process should be kept confidential and not utilized for personal advantage.

Referees utilize a provided review form during the evaluation, offering comments and suggestions by the specified deadline. Their input, along with that of other referees, contributes to refining the manuscript for publication.

Referees conduct a technical evaluation of the paper, considering its suitability for publication, content and presentation, novelty, and accessibility. Their comments and suggestions form the basis for manuscript improvement, and they recommend an appropriate course of action: Accept without revision(s), Accept with minor revision(s), Accept with major revision(s), Reject with the option to resubmit or Reject. If revisions are advised, referees must provide specific guidance to the authors and express their willingness to review the revised paper. In cases of substantial disagreement among referees, the editor may seek additional reviews as tie-breakers, ultimately making the final decision on acceptance or rejection.

Criteria for Acceptance and Rejection

For the manuscript to be approved for publication, it must fulfill the following criteria: (1) receive recommendations from two or three referees; (2) incorporate the comments and suggestions provided by the referees; (3) align with ethical standards and protocols; (4) conform to the prescribed journal format and style; (5) successfully pass a Plagiarism Detection Test with a score of 10% or lower and achieve a Grammarly Rating of 95% or higher; and (6) obtain an endorsement for publication from the International Editorial Advisory Board.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice

All papers accepted for publication undergo a thorough review process and rigorous grammar and plagiarism assessments. Additionally, authors are required to confirm that the paper or abstract submitted to PSSJ has not been published, nor is it under consideration for publication, either partially or entirely, in any other journal or magazine for public or private circulation. Authors must adhere to the authorship hierarchy, acknowledging their significant contributions in cases of co-authorship to qualify for authorship. In the case of funded research papers, authors are expected to disclose and acknowledge the valuable support received from agencies, institutions, and individuals involved in the research projects.

Any papers suspected of intellectual dishonesty or authorship falsification will not be published or will be retracted from the website.

Policy on Handling Complaints

If the Journal receives a complaint asserting copyright infringement, violation of intellectual property rights, or inclusion of inaccurate, libelous, or unlawful material in any contribution, the Journal will initiate an investigation into the matter. This investigation may involve requesting substantiation of claims from the concerned parties. The Journal will then make a good-faith determination on whether to remove the allegedly problematic material. The decision not to remove material indicates the Journal's belief that the complaint lacks sufficient grounds. If the complaint is well-founded, the decision may be based on the application of a legal defense or exemption, such as fair use for copyright infringement or the truthfulness of a statement for libel. The Journal will thoroughly document its investigation and decision-making process. If, following the investigation, an author is found to be in violation, the article will be subject to the retraction policy.

Policy on Retraction

Retraction involves the journal publisher taking action to eliminate a published article from the digital record. This action is prompted by the post-publication revelation of fraudulent claims by the researcher, plagiarism, or significant errors in methodology that were not detected during the quality assurance process. Retraction is initiated based on complaints from third-party researchers, validated by the editorial office. However, this process is activated only after notifying the author and providing an opportunity for them to present their perspective in adherence to due process.

Policy on Conflicts of Interest

The publication of articles in the journal will proceed only upon confirmation from the author(s) that they have openly declared any possible conflicts of interest.

Policy on Digital Preservation

Digital Preservation involves systematically storing electronic files in various formats, including compact discs, cloud computing platforms, Google Drive, email accounts, external hard drives, and other storage mediums. The purpose of this process is to ensure the preservation of files in case of website crashes, natural disasters, fires, man-made destruction, virus invasions, and similar events. To address this, all our electronic content is stored on diverse sources. One copy is accessible online to readers on a server, while the same content is backed up on two other sources.

Essential information about our journal's articles is stored in abstracting/indexing services. These services archive not only metadata but also electronic versions of the articles. Consequently, copies of the articles are accessible to the scientific community through their systems as an alternative to the journal's platform.

Authors have the option to archive the final published version of their articles in personal or institutional repositories immediately after publication.

Policy on Use of Human Subjects in Research

The publication of research articles involving human subjects in the Journal will only occur once the author(s) have confirmed compliance with all laws and regulations governing the protection of human subjects in research studies within the relevant jurisdiction where the described research study was conducted.

The manuscript should include, as an attachment, ethics clearance and, if applicable, a National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) permit for consideration.

Open Access and Copyright Policy

The journal operates on the principle of open access, aiming to freely and permanently provide research to the public, fostering a broader global exchange of knowledge. Consequently, ACADEME does not impose subscription fees on readers for accessing, reading, downloading, copying, distributing, printing, and linking the full text of all published articles. No prior permission from the publisher or author is required for these actions. Additionally, the journal does not charge fees to potential authors for the publication of their papers.

ACADEME license under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

Authors enter into an exclusive license agreement, where they retain copyright but grant exclusive rights to the publisher. Under this agreement, authors have the right to (a) share their article in ways permitted to third parties under the relevant user license, including the journal logo, end-user license, and a link to the version of record on the Philippine Social Science Journal; (b) retain patent, trademark, and other intellectual property rights, including research data; and (c) receive proper attribution and credit for the published work.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Publication Frequency

ACADEME is a twice-a-year publication. It comes out in March and September. Special issues may be published in a year.

Sources of Support

The journal is funded by the University of Bohol.

Journal History

The University of Bohol Multidisciplinary Research Journal welcomes scholars globally who seek to publish their research in a peer-reviewed journal. Access to the website is available at www.ejournals.ph. The Editorial Board extends invitations to guest editors and peer reviewers both from the Philippines and abroad for each issue.

The primary criterion for publication in the University of Bohol Multidisciplinary Research Journal is the substantial contribution an article makes to the body of knowledge, encompassing various disciplines in higher education. The efficiency and effectiveness of the editorial review process hinge on the collaboration between research authors and reviewers. Authors bear the responsibility of preparing their research papers for evaluation by independent reviewers, undergoing peer assessment, and revising before submission. The review process is not intended for obtaining early-stage feedback. Reviewers and editors play a crucial role in delivering constructive and prompt evaluations of submitted research papers, considering their significance and the rigor of analysis and presentation. The success of the editorial review process relies on the proactive engagement of both research authors and reviewers.

Disclaimer

The viewpoints expressed in the articles featured on the ACADEME University of Bohol, Graduate School and Professional Studies (ACADEME) website solely represent the authors of the research papers. They do not mirror the opinions of the Editor or the members of the Editorial Board. The authors bear complete responsibility for the content of the research paper. However, recognizing the potential for human error by authors, editors, publishers, and others involved in the preparation of the work, no assurance is provided that the information presented here is entirely accurate or comprehensive. They disclaim responsibility for any errors or omissions or the outcomes derived from using such information. Readers are encouraged to verify the information from alternative sources.