PUBLISHING PROCESS

PUBLISHING PROCESS

JOCER: Journal of Civic Education Research

JOCER: Journal of Civic Education Research follows a systematic editorial and publishing process to ensure that manuscripts are properly evaluated, edited, prepared, and published. The publishing process involves authors, editors, reviewers, copyeditors, layout editors, proofreaders, and journal managers.

The publishing process consists of the following stages:

  1. Submission → 2. Submission Review → 3. Submission Editing → 4. Issue Management → 5. Publication

The editorial and publishing process is described below.

  1. SUBMISSION

The publication process begins when the author submits a manuscript through the JOCER online journal system.

At this stage, the author is responsible for:

  1. Preparing the manuscript according to the JOCER Author Guidelines and manuscript template;
  2. Uploading the manuscript through the online submission system;
  3. Completing the required submission metadata;
  4. Providing complete information about all authors;
  5. Providing the title, abstract, keywords, affiliation, and other required metadata;
  6. Ensuring that the submitted manuscript is complete and ready for editorial evaluation; and
  7. Providing accurate metadata to support indexing and online dissemination.

After submission, the manuscript enters the journal's Submission Queue.

The editor then assigns the submission to the appropriate editorial process.

  1. SUBMISSION REVIEW

The Submission Review stage consists of the initial editorial assessment and peer-review process.

2.1 Initial Editorial Assessment

The editor reviews the submitted manuscript to determine whether it is suitable for further processing.

The editorial assessment may include:

  • Relevance to the focus and scope of JOCER;
  • Compliance with the manuscript template;
  • Completeness of the submission;
  • Basic academic quality;
  • Appropriateness of the manuscript structure;
  • Relevance of the research topic; and
  • Compliance with the journal's submission requirements.

Manuscripts that require correction may be returned to the author for revision before continuing to the next stage.

2.2 Reviewer Selection

For manuscripts that pass the initial editorial assessment, the editor selects appropriate reviewers.

Reviewers are selected based on their:

  • Expertise;
  • Research interests;
  • Academic background; and
  • Relevance to the topic of the submitted manuscript.

The editor may select reviewers from the journal's reviewer database or other appropriate academic sources.

2.3 Peer Review

The selected reviewers evaluate the manuscript and provide recommendations to the editor.

The review may consider:

  1. Relevance and significance of the research;
  2. Clarity of the research objectives;
  3. Adequacy of the theoretical framework;
  4. Appropriateness of the research methodology;
  5. Quality of the research findings;
  6. Depth and relevance of the discussion;
  7. Contribution to civic education or related fields;
  8. Quality of references; and
  9. Overall academic quality of the manuscript.

Reviewers submit their comments, suggestions, and recommendations through the journal's online system.

2.4 Editorial Decision

After considering the reviewers' recommendations and the overall quality of the manuscript, the editor makes an editorial decision.

The manuscript may be:

  • Accepted;
  • Returned to the author for revision;
  • Sent for further review; or
  • Rejected.

The author can monitor the progress of the manuscript through the online journal system and respond to editorial requests when revision is required.

  1. SUBMISSION EDITING

After a manuscript has been accepted for publication, it enters the submission editing stage.

This stage consists of:

Copyediting → Layout → Proofreading

The purpose of this stage is to prepare the accepted manuscript for publication.

3.1 Copyediting

The copyediting process is conducted to improve the presentation and consistency of the accepted manuscript.

The copyediting process may include:

  • Checking language and grammar;
  • Improving sentence clarity;
  • Checking spelling and punctuation;
  • Checking consistency of terminology;
  • Checking citations and references;
  • Checking headings and subheadings;
  • Checking tables and figures; and
  • Ensuring consistency with the journal's publication style.

The author may be asked to review or approve the copyedited manuscript.

3.2 Layout

After copyediting, the manuscript is prepared for publication layout.

The Layout Editor prepares the article according to the journal's publication format.

The layout process may include:

  • Applying the journal's page layout;
  • Formatting headings and paragraphs;
  • Formatting tables and figures;
  • Preparing page numbers;
  • Formatting references;
  • Preparing the article for the journal's publication format; and
  • Preparing the final publication files.

The final article may be prepared in appropriate electronic formats for online publication.

3.3 Proofreading

The proofreading stage is conducted after the layout process.

Proofreading is intended to identify and correct final errors before publication.

The proofreading process may include checking:

  • Typographical errors;
  • Spelling;
  • Punctuation;
  • Author names;
  • Affiliations;
  • Article title;
  • Abstract;
  • Tables and figures;
  • References;
  • Page layout; and
  • Other publication details.

Authors may be asked to review the final proof and report necessary corrections.

Only essential corrections should be made at this stage to avoid unnecessary changes to the accepted manuscript.

  1. ISSUE MANAGEMENT

After the article has completed the editing process, it enters Issue Management.

The journal manager and editorial team organize accepted articles into the appropriate journal issue.

The Issue Management stage includes:

  1. Creating the journal issue;
  2. Selecting and scheduling accepted submissions;
  3. Organizing articles according to the issue structure;
  4. Arranging the order of published articles;
  5. Preparing the Table of Contents; and
  6. Completing the issue's publication information.

The editorial team ensures that the articles assigned to an issue are properly organized before publication.

  1. PUBLICATION

After all editorial and production processes have been completed, the issue is published through the JOCER online journal system.

The publication stage includes:

  • Publishing the completed issue;
  • Making published articles available to readers;
  • Providing article metadata;
  • Providing access to the published articles;
  • Linking published articles with relevant indexing and external resources where applicable; and
  • Maintaining the published issue as part of the journal's publication record.

Once published, the article becomes part of the current journal issue and is available through the journal website.

  1. CURRENT ISSUE

Published articles appear in the relevant Current Issue of JOCER.

The Current Issue provides readers with access to:

  • Article titles;
  • Author information;
  • Abstracts;
  • Article files;
  • Article metadata;
  • Publication information; and
  • Other relevant article information.

Published articles may also provide links to related internal and external resources where applicable.

  1. JOURNAL ARCHIVE

After publication, the issue becomes part of the JOCER Journal Archive.

The journal archive serves to preserve and provide continued access to the journal's published content.

The archive contains the journal's published issues and articles and supports the discovery and retrieval of previously published research.

The journal archive may also support indexing and discovery through relevant academic search engines and indexing services.

  1. ROLES IN THE PUBLISHING PROCESS

The publishing process involves several parties with different responsibilities.

Author

The author is responsible for:

  • Preparing the manuscript;
  • Submitting the manuscript and metadata;
  • Responding to editorial and reviewer comments;
  • Revising the manuscript when requested;
  • Reviewing copyedited material where applicable; and
  • Checking the final proof before publication.

Editor and Section Editor

The Editor and Section Editor are responsible for:

  • Managing submitted manuscripts;
  • Conducting initial editorial assessment;
  • Assigning manuscripts to the appropriate editorial process;
  • Selecting or assigning reviewers;
  • Managing the peer-review process;
  • Communicating editorial decisions; and
  • Coordinating the editing process.

Reviewer

The reviewer is responsible for:

  • Evaluating the manuscript objectively;
  • Providing constructive comments;
  • Assessing the quality and relevance of the research;
  • Providing recommendations to the editor; and
  • Completing the review within the specified period.

Copyeditor

The Copyeditor is responsible for:

  • Improving language and readability;
  • Checking consistency;
  • Checking citations and references;
  • Correcting editorial errors; and
  • Preparing the manuscript for layout.

Layout Editor

The Layout Editor is responsible for:

  • Preparing the article according to the journal layout;
  • Formatting text, tables, and figures;
  • Preparing publication files; and
  • Ensuring that the article is visually consistent with the journal format.

Proofreader

The Proofreader is responsible for:

  • Checking the final article proof;
  • Identifying typographical and formatting errors;
  • Checking publication details; and
  • Ensuring that the article is ready for publication.

Journal Manager

The Journal Manager is responsible for supporting the overall management of the journal system, including:

  • Configuring the journal;
  • Managing users and editorial roles;
  • Supporting the submission and publication workflow;
  • Managing journal issues;
  • Supporting the editorial team; and
  • Maintaining the online journal system.
  1. PUBLISHING WORKFLOW SUMMARY

The overall publishing workflow of JOCER can be summarized as follows:

Author Submission
↓
Submission Queue
↓
Initial Submission Review
↓
Reviewer Selection
↓
Peer Review
↓
Editorial Decision
↓
Revision, if required
↓
Acceptance
↓
Copyediting
↓
Layout
↓
Proofreading
↓
Issue Management
↓
Create and Organize Issue
↓
Publication
↓
Current Issue
↓
Journal Archive

This workflow ensures that manuscripts submitted to JOCER pass through a structured process from initial submission to final publication.

  1. AUTHOR PARTICIPATION IN THE PUBLISHING PROCESS

Authors are expected to actively participate in the publishing process after submission.

Authors should:

  1. Monitor the status of their submission through the online journal system;
  2. Respond to editorial and reviewer requests;
  3. Submit revisions within the specified period;
  4. Review copyedited manuscripts when requested;
  5. Check the final proof carefully;
  6. Report any necessary corrections before publication; and
  7. Ensure that the final article information is accurate.

The author's active participation helps ensure that the article can proceed efficiently from submission to publication

  1. EDITORIAL AND PRODUCTION FLOW

JOCER's publishing process consists of two interconnected workflows.

Editorial Workflow

Submission → Submission Review → Reviewer Selection → Peer Review → Editorial Decision

Production Workflow

Acceptance → Copyediting → Layout → Proofreading → Issue Management → Publication

The two workflows work together to ensure that manuscripts are academically evaluated and professionally prepared before being made available to readers.

PUBLISHING PROCESS AT A GLANCE

Stage

Main Activity

Responsible Party

1. Submission

Manuscript and metadata submission

Author

2. Submission Queue

Assign submission to editorial process

Editor / Section Editor

3. Submission Review

Initial assessment and peer-review management

Editor / Section Editor

4. Reviewer Selection

Select appropriate reviewers

Editor

5. Review Conducted

Evaluate manuscript and provide recommendation

Reviewer

6. Editorial Decision

Accept, revise, further review, or reject

Editor

7. Submission Editing

Copyediting, layout, and proofreading

Copyeditor / Layout Editor / Proofreader

8. Author Review

Review revisions, copyediting, and proofs

Author

9. Issue Management

Create issue and organize articles

Journal Manager / Editorial Team

10. Publication

Publish completed issue

Editorial Team / Journal Manager

11. Current Issue

Make published articles available

Journal

12. Journal Archive

Preserve published issues and articles

Journal

JOCER follows this structured publishing workflow to support the orderly management of manuscripts from submission through peer review, editing, issue preparation, publication, and archiving.