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Authors Guide

OJN

OJN Documents for Authors:
Manuscript Guide
Manuscript Review Form (sample copy)
OJN Authors' Contribution (APC)

OJN Manuscript Submission System

Open Journals Nigeria uses the OJS Journal Editorial Management System by PKP for online manuscript submission, review and tracking. All articles published by OJN are under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This permits anyone to copy, distribute, transmit and adapt the work provided, the original work and source are appropriately cited. OJN strongly supports the Open Access initiative. All published articles will be assigned DOI provided by Cross Ref. The journal keeps updated reviews on all domains of study. Abstracts and full texts (HTML, PDF and XML format) of all articles published by OJN are freely accessible to everyone immediately after publication.

Statement of ethics and responsibilities of authors submitting to Open Journals Nigeria
This journal is published by Open Journals Nigeria to advance and diffuse knowledge to human welfare. To that end, it is essential that all who participate in producing the journal conduct themselves as authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers in accord with the highest level of professional ethics and standards. By submitting a manuscript to this OJN, each author explicitly confirms that the manuscript meets the highest ethical standards for authors and coauthors.

The results of researches

The results of research should be recorded and maintained in a form that allows analysis and review, both by collaborators before publication and by other scientists for a reasonable period after publication. Exceptions may be appropriate in certain circumstances to preserve privacy, to assure patent protection, or for similar reasons. Fabrication of data is an egregious departure from the expected norms of scientific conduct, as is the reporting of data with the intent to mislead or deceive, as well as the theft of data or research results from others.

Publication and authorship practices

The authors' central obligation is to present a concise, accurate account of the research performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to public sources of information to permit others to repeat the work.

Acknowledgement

Proper acknowledgement of the work of others used in a research project must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, should not be used or reported without explicit permission from the investigator with whom the information originated.

Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, cannot be used without the permission of the author of the work being used.
Authors must obtain permission for use of any previously published materials from the original publisher. Proof of permission must be provided before manuscripts containing previously published material can be published. Proper credit lines for all previously published material must be included in the manuscript.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the concept, design, execution, or interpretation of the research study. All those who have made significant contributions should be offered the opportunity to be listed as authors. Other individuals who have contributed to the study should be acknowledged, but not identified as authors. The sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism constitutes unethical scientific behavior and is never acceptable. It is unethical for an author to publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal of primary publication. All OJN Journals make use of Plagiarism Checker X software for screening.

Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently is unethical and unacceptable. When an error is discovered in a published work, all authors must promptly retract the paper or correct the results.

Collaborations

All collaborators share some degree of responsibility for any paper they co-author.
Only persons who have significantly contributed to the research should be listed as authors. The author who submits the paper for publication should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate coauthors are included on the paper and that all co-authors have seen the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication. Some coauthors have responsibility for the entire paper as an accurate, verifiable report of the research. These include, for example, coauthors who are accountable for the integrity of the critical data reported in the paper, carry out the analysis, write the manuscript, present major findings at conferences, or provide scientific leadership for junior colleagues. Other coauthors may have responsibility mainly for specific, limited contributions to a paper. Every coauthor should have the opportunity to review the manuscript before it is submitted for publication. All co-authors must provide prompt retractions or correction of errors in published works. Any individual unwilling or unable to accept appropriate responsibility for a paper should not be a coauthor.

Manuscript Submission
All manuscripts should be submitted electronically via the journal website Manuscript submission system or by email attachment to: editorial@openjournalsnigeria.org.ng together with the OJN Handling Fee. The author who submitted the manuscript automatically becomes the corresponding author and must provide contact information (full name, email address, institutional affiliation and mailing address) for all the co-authors.

Cover Letter
All manuscripts must be accompanied by a cover letter that contains clear and precise information about the submission, highlighting the significance of the work. Each article/manuscript must be accompanied by a statement that it has not been submitted for publication elsewhere in English.

Editorial process and Peer Review
All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor. If found suitable for further consideration and publication, manuscripts are subject to peer review by independent, competent, experts and anonymous referees. The receipt of the manuscript will be acknowledged by email. Every effort will be made to complete the review process within the shortest possible time. Papers should be submitted electronically by visiting the journal website.

Open Access
Accepted articles will be published online for free open access for all to view. Open access publishing provides the maximum dissemination of the article to the largest audience.

Publishing Charges
All corresponding authors will be asked to pay the following charges outlined below:

OJN APC Fees:

Nigerian Authors (total): N28,500
Handling fee (mandatory, non-refundable) = N3,000 upon submission
Publication fee = N25,500 upon acceptance.

International Authors (total): $110
Handling fee (mandatory, non-refundable) = $10 upon submission
Publication fee = $100 upon acceptance.

Open Journals Nigeria: Terms of Submission

  • submitted manuscript(s) must be the ORIGINAL work of the Author(s)
  • only UNPUBLISHED works should be submitted to OJN
  • manuscript(s) already submitted to other Journals and under processing by other journals should not be submitted to OJN
  • manuscript(s) already submitted to OJN should not be submitted to any other Journal for processing until the manuscript review process by OJN has been completed and editorial decision taken.
  • by submitting your manuscript to OJN, you therefore. hand over copyright to OJN which empowers it to publish your manuscript at any time after the completion and acceptance of your article by its Editorial Board Members.
  • hardcopies are published at the end of every issue or immediately, on "Special Request" cases. Hardcopies of published articles will be sent to requesting Authors within 14days with an additional cost to be determined by the size of the Issue in which the Authors article is published if the total cost of production is more than $50. As the cost of hardcopies is determined by the number of Articles published within that issue and the total number of pages of Articles in that issue. The primary cost of hardcopies published by OJN is $50 and waivers do not apply to hardcopies production.
  • the Author(s) cannot make any profound changes or error corrections to the manuscript is already accepted for publication, we therefore encourage all authors to carefully complete all their research work before submitting to OJN
  • all errors discovered after submission but before approval for publication by the Author(s) should be communicated swiftly to the Editor of the Journal before the end of the review process.
  • any Conflict of Interest must be stated clearly before submission or before the end of the manuscript(s) review process.

Manuscript Withdrawal Policy - OJN

Open Journals Nigeria adheres to the highest standards of ethics and integrity in academic publishing. We expect that the authors will also show highest integrity in their work and adhere to high ethical standards.

Some authors request withdrawal of manuscript from the publication process after submission. In some instances, the request for withdrawal is made within a few days after submission, however, many times the request is made very late, when the manuscript is only a few days away from publication in the journal. Withdrawing manuscripts from publication wastes the valuable resources and tremendous amount of effort made in processing the manuscripts by the editors, reviewers and the editorial staff.

To discourage unwarranted withdrawal of manuscripts, OJN has formulated a manuscript withdrawal policy as given below.

OJN Manuscript Withdrawal Policy

To avoid withdrawal of a manuscript we sincerely request the authors especially the corresponding author, first author and guarantor of submission, to address the following issues before submitting the manuscript for publication:

  • Check multiple times that the facts and data presented in the manuscripts are accurate and error-free.
  • Confirm that the facts and data included in the manuscript are authors' own work; authors are permitted by departmental and/or institutional policy to use the materials and resources as they have been used in the study; and if data and facts from any other person or sources are used, appropriate written permissions have been obtained.
  • Confirm that all authors agree to the presentation and interpretation of the facts and data given in the manuscript. In case of any differences of opinion, address the concerns of all the authors before submitting the manuscript for publication.
  • Decide on the number of authors, order of authors and authorship contributions of a paper before submitting the manuscript. Ideally these should be decided even before beginning to write the manuscript.
  • Before submitting the manuscript for publication, inform all the authors, the name of the journal to which the manuscript is being submitted and give them a copy of the final manuscript.
  • Confirm that all the authors agree on the specific journal to submit the manuscript for publication. If there are any disagreements about of the journal, find a solution which is agreeable to all authors before submitting the manuscript for publication.
  • Submit the manuscript to only one journal for publication. Do not simultaneously submit the manuscript to more than one journal.
  • If the manuscript has been submitted to a journal for publication in the past, do not re- submit it to another journal before receiving a confirmation from the first journal that the manuscript has been withdrawn from the publication process.

Manuscripts may be withdrawn at any stage of review and publication process by submitting a request to the editorial office. Manuscript withdrawal will be permitted after submission only for the most compelling and unavoidable reasons. A withdrawal penalty may or may not be levied on the authors.

If the author wants to withdraw a manuscript, the author needs to submit an official “Letter of Manuscript Withdrawer", signed by all authors of the manuscript stating the reasons for the manuscript withdrawal.

The manuscript will not be withdrawn from publication process until a “Letter of Manuscript Withdrawer" is received by the editorial office. Authors must not assume that their manuscript has been withdrawn until they have received appropriate notification to this effect from the editorial office.

Withdrawal penalty fee might be incurred depending on the Editorial  board members decision.