Submission Guidelines, Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Submission Guidelines

International Journal of the Asian Philosophical Association (IJAPA) is an international, multi-disciplinary, peer-refereed journal, the aim of which is to provide a worldwide forum for the publication of scholarly work on Asian cultures and civilizations. The scope of the journal is not intended to be limited to that of philosophy narrowly defined, but also to include and encourage rigorous interdisciplinary and comparative work.  As such, we welcome original submissions undertaken from a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodologies.

Submissions should be prepared according to the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style.  However, we reserve the right to make slight changes wherever it is deemed necessary.  The journal may accept previously published submissions, provided there is no copyright infringement, and that the article makes an important contribution to Asian studies, of which publication in the journal would make more widely available to the academic community.  This might include, for example, translations of important work originally written in a less widely accessible language. Authors are requested to submit their papers by electronic mail (address provided on inside of the front cover). This site will guide authors stepwise through the submission process. Authors are requested to submit the text, tables, and artwork in electronic form to this address.

IJAPA seeks to publish in as wide a range of Asian languages as possible, given editorial resources. Each issue of the journal will be specifically devoted to one Asian language.  We consider English as the semi-official language of the journal, in order to facilitate communication among the members, as well as a wider circulation of scholarly ideas to our global readership. Therefore, in each issue there will be papers in English and one other Asian language. Each time, a special call for papers in a selected language will be made, and we shall invite specific scholars to submit a paper in that language for the respective issue.  In this way we hope to develop a good, linguistically diverse range of work in the journal.

Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Peer Review Process

International Journal of the Asian Philosophical Association (IJAPA) applies a double-blind peer-review process in which both the reviewer and the author are anonymous. This is the new policy starting January 2024 which applies only to the article section of the Journal. However, with regard to the special issues devoted to an Asian country, it is the responsibility of the issue editor to check and get the appropriate peer-review for the articles. The other sections, such as the Discussions and Graduate Student Forum, as well as book reviews, are selected by the editors. Reviewer selection for each submitted article is up to area editors, and reviewers are selected based on the reviewer’s expertise.

The editor evaluates every article submitted for the articles section, and if the paper reaches minimum quality criteria and fulfills the aims and scope of IJAPA, it is sent to at least two reviewers for evaluation. The reviewers evaluate the paper according to the Review guidelines set by editorial board members and return it to the editor, who conveys the reviewers' anonymous comments back to the author. Anonymity is strictly maintained. The double-blind peer-review process is managed using “ULAKBİM Dergi Sistemleri”, namely the Dergipark platform: https://dergipark.org.tr/en/.

Originality and Plagiarism Policy

Authors, by submitting their manuscript to IJAPA, declare that their work is original and authored by them; has not been previously published nor submitted for evaluation; original ideas, data, findings, and materials taken from other sources (including their own) are properly documented and cited; their work does not violate any rights of others, including privacy rights and intellectual property rights; provided data is their own data, true and not manipulated. IJAPA does not tolerate plagiarism in whole or in part without proper citation. Manuscripts submitted to the journal will be checked for originality using anti-plagiarism software. These strict criteria apply only to the article section. In other sections, plagiarism definitely applies, but the originality criterion can change. Previously published articles may be reprinted in IJAPA if we find them more relevant for the new circumstances. As a matter of policy, we publish the English translations of articles that are already published in any of the Asian languages or other languages concerning Asian studies. These translations are published in the article section or in the discussion section based on the decision of the editors, and they are thus not sent to the double-blind peer-review process.

Journal Ethics and Malpractice Statement

For all parties involved in the publishing process (the author(s), the journal editor(s), the peer reviewers, the society, and the publisher), it is necessary to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior. The ethics statements for IJAPA are based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct guidelines available at www.publicationethics.org.

1. Editor Responsibilities

Publication Decisions & Accountability

The editor of IJAPA is responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal should be published and, moreover, is accountable for everything published in the journal. In making these decisions, the editor may be guided by the journal’s editorial board and/or area (issue) editors and consider the journal’s policies. The editor should maintain the integrity of the academic record, preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards, and always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when needed.

Objectivity

The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the author(s).

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, Conflicts of Interest and Other Issues

The editor will be guided by COPE’s Guidelines for Retracting Articles when considering retracting, issuing expressions of concern about, and issuing corrections pertaining to articles that have been published in IJAPA. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in any other research without the explicit written consent of the author(s).

The editor should seek so ensure a fair and appropriate peer-review process. The editor should recuse himself/herself from handling manuscripts (i.e. should ask a co-editor, associate editor, or other members of the editorial board instead to review and consider) in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers. The editor should require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication. If needed, other appropriate action should be taken, such as the publication of a retraction or expression of concern.

2. Reviewer Responsibilities

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and, through the editorial communication with the author, may also assist the author in improving the manuscript.

Promptness

Any invited referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its timely review will be impossible should immediately notify the editor so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.

Confidentiality

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

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author(s) is unacceptable. Referees should express their views clearly with appropriate supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the author(s). Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. Reviewers should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published data 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 evaluating 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 submission.

3. Author Responsibilities

Reporting Standards

Authors reporting results 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 manuscript. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Originality and Plagiarism

The authors of the articles should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, 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. Parallel submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal constitutes unacceptable publishing behavior.

Acknowledgment of Sources

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

Authorship of a Manuscript

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 named in an Acknowledgement section. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included in the author list of the manuscript and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication. All co-authors must be clearly indicated at the time of manuscript submission.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

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

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

In case 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’s editor to either retract the paper or to publish an appropriate correction statement or erratum.

4. Publisher Responsibilities

Editorial Autonomy

Academic Perspective Foundation is committed to working with editors to define clearly the respective roles of publishers and of editors in order to ensure the autonomy of editorial decisions without influence from advertisers or other commercial partners.

Intellectual Property and Copyright

We protect the intellectual property and copyright of Academic Perspective Foundation, its imprints, authors, and publishing partners by promoting and maintaining each article’s published version of the record. Academic Perspective Foundation ensures the integrity and transparency of each published article with respect to: conflicts of interest, publication and research funding, publication and research ethics, cases of publication and research misconduct, confidentiality, authorship, article corrections, clarifications, and retractions, and timely publication of content.

Scientific Misconduct

In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the publisher, in close collaboration with the editors, will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and amend the article in question. This includes the prompt publication of a correction statement or erratum or, in the most severe cases, the retraction of the affected work.