Journal Publication System

The journal publication system operates through a series of collaborative processes involving various roles, including authors, editors, peer reviewers, and technical support personnel, all facilitated within the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. The following outlines the complete workflow:

  1. Manuscript Submission by Authors

    Authors upload their manuscripts via the journal's submission webpage, ensuring adherence to the prescribed format and guidelines. Authors must also provide mandatory documents, such as the ethical statement during submission. Additionally, authors are required to input metadata relevant to their manuscripts to optimize the indexing process. Once submitted, the manuscript enters the Editorial Queue for further processing.

  2. Initial Editorial Process

    The journal’s editors oversee the structural organization of the publication, including the assignment of section editors, peer reviewers, copy editors, and proofreaders. Upon initial manuscript submission, the Section Editor conducts a preliminary assessment, which includes:
    1. Reviewing the completeness and alignment of the manuscript with the journal’s scope.
    2. Determining whether the manuscript qualifies for the peer review process or should be rejected.
    3. If necessary, the editor may return the manuscript to the author for initial revisions before proceeding to peer review by the appointed reviewers.

  3. Peer Review Process

    The editor selects at least two peer reviewers based on their expertise and research interests relevant to the manuscript’s topic. This process follows a double-blind peer review system, ensuring that both the authors and the reviewers remain anonymous to each other, thereby upholding academic integrity. The reviewers conduct a thorough evaluation, providing recommendations and substantive feedback. The review outcomes are then returned to the editor for final assessment.

    At this stage, there are two possible editorial decisions:
    1. Accepted with revisions
    2. Rejected

  4. Author Revisions

    If the manuscript is accepted with revisions, the author must revise the manuscript according to the reviewers’ feedback. The revised manuscript is then resubmitted to the editor, who evaluates whether the revisions align with the reviewers’ recommendations.

    1. Manuscripts that do not meet the required revisions may be rejected.
    2. Manuscripts that satisfy the revision requirements proceed to the next stage of the publication process.

  5. Copyediting

    During the copyediting stage, the Layout Editor refines the manuscript by improving grammar, writing style, and formatting consistency. The manuscript is then converted into the final publication format, and galleys (print-ready versions) are prepared. This stage also includes proofreading, where any remaining technical errors in the galleys are identified and corrected. Authors are invited to review the galleys, suggest minor revisions, and sign an authorship approval agreement before final publication.

  6. Issue Compilation and Publication

    The editor curates the journal’s new issue by selecting the articles to be published. All processed manuscripts, whether accepted or rejected, are digitally archived with complete metadata. The journal issue is then indexed by OAI search engines, Google Scholar, and other relevant platforms to ensure global visibility and academic accessibility.

Theological Didacticum's journal publication system is simplified in the following chart: