Author Guidelines
Publishing in VELES Journal offers researchers, educators, and practitioners in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education a platform to share their insights, innovations, and research findings. All submissions must undergo a structured editorial and peer review process to maintain high academic standards. Authors are expected to adhere to VELES submission policies, formatting requirements, and ethical standards to ensure the integrity and quality of published work. Below are the detailed guidelines for manuscript submission, review, and editorial decisions.
1. Submission Process
The Voices of English Language Education Society (VELES) journal operates a fully web-based manuscript submission and review system. Authors must ensure their submissions comply with the Author Guidelines before uploading them to the VELES Submission Portal. Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere. All submissions must adhere to VELES formatting and ethical guidelines. Manuscripts may be returned without scientific assessment if they fail to meet submission requirements, are not in the correct format, or contain errors that make them unreliable for peer review.
2. Initial Editorial Assessment
Upon submission, each manuscript undergoes an initial evaluation by one or more editors to determine its suitability for review. A manuscript may be rejected without external peer review if it lacks sufficient educational content, does not have clear applications to education, focuses solely on methodology development without educational application, has serious issues with study design, methodology, or data quality, exceeds the word limit, is formatted incorrectly or is poorly written or unclear. Manuscripts that pass the initial assessment are assigned to an editor with subject expertise who oversees the peer review process.
3. Peer Review Process
All manuscripts that pass the initial screening undergo double-blind peer review, ensuring that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to maintain fairness and objectivity. Authors can expect a decision or an explanation for delays within one month of submission. If revisions are required, the corresponding author must submit the revised manuscript within two weeks. A senior editor determines a manuscript's final acceptance or rejection based on reviewer feedback and editorial evaluation.
4. Types of Editorial Decisions
Following peer review, the editorial team will issue one of the following decisions:
Decline: The manuscript does not meet VELES journal standards and is unsuitable for publication. Resubmission is not possible.
Resubmit: The submitted manuscript requires major revision but has clear potential for publication. VELES journal will consider a revised version as a new submission. Resubmitted manuscripts are re-evaluated by the original editor and possibly new reviewers.
Revision: The manuscript requires modifications before a final decision can be made. Authors must submit a revised version within two weeks, along with a point-by-point response letter addressing reviewer comments and a tracked changes document highlighting revisions. Revisions may undergo further peer review, and multiple rounds of revision may be required. If the authors fail to revise the manuscript satisfactorily, the paper may still be declined.
Final Acceptance: The manuscript is approved for publication and is subject to minor sub-editing or formatting adjustments. After final editorial checks, acceptance is confirmed, and the manuscript proceeds to publication.
5. Commitment to Fair and Transparent Review
VELES journal is committed to maintaining a rigorous, fair, and unbiased peer review process, ensuring transparency in editorial decisions, and upholding ethical publishing standards aligned with COPE guidelines. By following this structured peer review process, VELES ensures that all published research meets the highest academic excellence and integrity standards.
