Peer Review & Publishing

Peer Review & Publishing

Voices of English Language Education Society (VELES) applies a rigorous, fair, and efficient publishing workflow to advance high-impact scholarship in English Language Education (ELED/ELT), with a distinctive emphasis on EFL contexts in Indonesia and the wider Global South. Below we outline our review model, editorial process, and publishing policies.

1) Peer-Review Model & Principles

  • Double-blind peer review for all submissions.
  • At least two independent referees per round; a third may be invited in case of divergent recommendations.
  • Merit-based evaluation focused on originality, methodological rigor, clarity, and contribution to ELT/EFL practice.
  • Equity & inclusion: VELES values diverse contexts, especially studies from Indonesia/Global South with international relevance.
  • Timeliness: Editors monitor review progress and send reminders to ensure a predictable turnaround.

2) Editorial Workflow

  • Initial screening (Editor/Section Editor): scope fit, template compliance, ethics completeness, and basic quality checks.
  • Reviewer assignment via OJS: invitations with clear deadlines and criteria; COI screening.
  • Review rounds: reports collected; decision letter synthesizes reviewers’ comments and editor’s judgment.
  • Revisions (minor/major): authors submit a response-to-reviewers detailing changes point-by-point.
  • Acceptance: moves to copyediting → layout/proofing → author proof check → final publication.

Template use is mandatory (VELES DOCX). Reporting standards (e.g., PRISMA/COREQ/SRQR/CONSORT/STROBE) are encouraged when applicable.

3) Reviewer Selection & Responsibilities

  • Selection criteria: topical expertise, recent publications, methodological fit, absence of conflicts, and reliability in timelines.
  • Responsibilities: provide constructive, unbiased, and confidential feedback; disclose any COI; focus on substance (methods, analysis, contribution) and clarity.
  • Anonymity: identities of authors and reviewers are concealed throughout the review.

4) Review Criteria & Editorial Decisions

  • Originality & significance of the research problem and contribution.
  • Methodological rigor & transparency (design, instruments, procedures, analysis, ethics).
  • Validity of analysis & interpretation with appropriate evidence.
  • Clarity & organization (argument flow, tables/figures, APA style, English quality).
  • Relevance to ELT/EFL practice, especially for Indonesia/ASEAN with global resonance.

Decision outcomes: Accept / Minor Revision / Major Revision / Reject. For revisions, a detailed response-to-reviewers document is required.

5) Ethics, Confidentiality & Conflicts of Interest

  • Confidentiality: manuscripts and reviews are confidential; do not share without permission.
  • COI declarations: editors/reviewers must declare conflicts (financial, collaborative, institutional, or personal) and recuse if needed.
  • Research ethics: studies involving human participants must state IRB/ethics approval and informed consent (or justified exemption).
  • Suspected misconduct is handled per VELES Policies (COPE-aligned), including corrections and retractions.

6) Production, DOI & License

  • Production: professional copyediting and layout; authors check proofs carefully for names, affiliations, ORCID, funding, and references.
  • DOI: assigned at acceptance/production under prefix 10.29408/veles.
  • Article history: “Received, Revised, Accepted, Published online” displayed in the article.
  • License & access: immediate open access under CC BY-SA 4.0. Authors retain copyright with sharing permitted under the same license terms.
  • Frequency: three issues per year (April, August, December); published since 2017.

7) APC & Billing (VELES Policy)

  • When charged: APC applies only after acceptance; no submission fees at any stage.
  • Domestic authors (Indonesia): IDR 1,500,000 per accepted manuscript.
  • International corresponding authors: one accepted manuscript per corresponding author per calendar year is fully waived; additional accepted manuscripts within the same year are charged the standard APC.
  • Independence: APC policy is independent of editorial decisions; manuscripts are judged solely on academic merit.
  • Invoicing: billed to the corresponding author after acceptance and payable prior to publication; payments in IDR (sender covers transfer fees).

For full details and updates, see the dedicated APC Policy page.

8) Data, Preprints & Post-Publication Updates

  • Data & materials availability: include a statement; share via trusted repositories (e.g., OSF/Zenodo) when possible.
  • Preprints: allowed with disclosure at submission and citation of the preprint record in the manuscript.
  • Post-publication updates: erratum/corrigendum/retraction follow VELES Policies and COPE guidance.