Open Access Policy

The Open Access system is a publication model that enables the dissemination of research articles through the internet to the global community without any form of restriction. OASIS Journals believes that readers from all sections of the academic world should have unrestricted to research works of their interest.

That is why OASIS Journals has adopted the Open Access model for publishing all its journal articles. Thus, all articles published by OASIS Journals can be accessed freely by anyone with internet connection.

Copyright Policy

All articles published by OASIS Journals are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This permits anyone to copy, redistribute, remix, transmit and adapt the work provided the original work and source is appropriately cited.

When an article is published by OASIS Journals, OASIS Journals does not take ownership of the copyright of the published article. In other words, authors retain the copyright to their articles and may republish these articles as part of a book or other materials. However, for author(s) to retain the copyright ownership of a published article, the following condition should be met;

• Cite the original source of the publication when reusing the article
• Accept that the article remains published by OASIS Journals website (except in occasion of a retraction of the article)
• The article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
• The article is published open access

Publication Ethics Policy

• Authorship
• Plagiarism
• Duplicate submission
• Fabrication and falsification of data
• Citations manipulation

Authorship

OASIS Journals expects and admonishes all authors to adhere strictly to ethical requirements in preparing their manuscript. This is because compliance with publication ethics ensures the integrity of academic publishing and readers’ confidence in published articles.

Plagiarism

Plagiarizing means to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one's own (use another's production) without crediting the source; to commit literary theft; or to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

OASIS Journals considers plagiarism a grievous academic offense that should not be condoned, so submitted manuscripts should be the original works of the author(s). That is why conducting plagiarism checks on manuscripts is the first step of our review process. Using the iThenticate plagiarism detection application, any manuscript found to contain unacceptable level of similarity to other published work(s) is immediately REJECTED. OASIS Journals is committed to always following the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guideline in suspected cases of plagiarism.

Duplicate submissions

Duplicate submission is when an author submits the same or similar manuscripts to two different journals at the same time either within OASIS Journals or any other publisher. This includes the submission of manuscripts derived from the same data in such a manner that there are no substantial differences in the manuscripts. Duplicate submission also includes the submission of the same/similar manuscript in different languages to different journals. OASIS Journals shuns and advices authors against this practice.

Fabrication and falsification of data

It is unethical to fabricate, manipulate or falsify data in a manuscript. OASIS Journals is committed to dealing with suspected cases of data fabrication and falsification in line with the COPE guidelines on the issue.

Citations manipulation

OASIS Journals reiterates that a manuscript should contain only relevant citations, and discourages inclusion of citations that are not relevant to the work. Also, irrelevant self-citation to increase one’s citation is unethical and discouraged by OASIS Journals.

Peer Review Policy

OASIS Journals employs a rigorous peer review system to ensure the quality of every research article. All submitted manuscripts to OASIS Journals undergo our peer review process before getting published on our journals system. This is because the review process is very important in enabling authors to improve their manuscripts as well as aiding editors in making decision on manuscripts.

Double Blind Peer Review

OASIS Journals employs a double-blind peer review system. This is an anonymous review system in which the identity of the author(s) of a manuscript is concealed from the selected reviewers.

OASIS Journals considers the double-blind peer system as a more effective review system because it limits possible bias from either the selected reviewers or from authors. All details that may enable a reviewer to identify the author(s) of a manuscript are removed from the manuscript before the manuscript is sent to the reviewer. Similarly, the reviewers’ identities are also concealed from the author(s) when sending the reviewers’ comments to the author(s).

The Peer Review Process

OASIS Journals employs a three-stage review process – editorial office, external review and editors’ decision.

Stage One – Editorial Office

The first stage of the review process takes place in the editorial office. On submission, a manuscript is reviewed to ensure that it meets the minimum requirements of the journal before it is sent to external reviewers. At this stage, the manuscript is reviewed for:

1. Possible plagiarism: Manuscripts that have high level of similarity with other works (including the author(s) previous works) are rejected at this stage. Authors are provided with the similarity report together with the decision to reject the manuscript.
2. Scope: After a manuscript has undergone similarity check and the level of similarity is judged to be appropriate, the content of the manuscript is checked to ensure that it fits within the scope of the journal selected by the author(s). In situations where the content of the manuscript does not fit the scope of the journal, the author’s consent is sought for the manuscript to be transferred to a more suitable journal. A transferred manuscript does not automatically translate to an accepted manuscript in the receiving journal. The manuscript still undergoes the usual peer review and may be accepted or reject if it is not suitable.
3. Recent references: OASIS Journals encourage authors to cite more recent articles. Preferably, considerable number of the cited articles should be works that were published within the last five years. This is especially important for articles submitted to journals in the life sciences.
4. English Language: OASIS Journals currently publishes full text of articles only in English language. Abstracts may be translated to other languages and published alongside the English language abstract when necessary.
5. Manuscripts are also checked for the structure, organization, correctness and clarity of the language as it adheres to the journal's Instructions for Authors. The editorial office usually makes correction to minor grammatical errors in such a manner that it does not alter the manuscript. However, in situations where language is substantially difficult to comprehend, the manuscript is returned to the author to improve clarity of the language.

Manuscripts that fail in this first stage of the review process are returned to the author(s) for modification and resubmission. This first stage of the review is very important as it enables the author(s) improve the manuscript at an early stage. This first stage of the manuscript review is usually completed within a week.

Stage Two – External Reviewers

Once a manuscript successfully completes the editorial office review stage, it proceeds to the second stage. This stage of the review process employs the double-blind review system. A minimum of two external reviewers are selected from our database, editorial board of the journal or other sources. These reviewers have expert knowledge of the subject area of the manuscript.

The reviewers are invited to review the manuscript by sending them the abstract of the manuscript. Upon acceptance to review the manuscript, the full text of the manuscript is sent to the reviewers after the author(s) details have been concealed.

Reviewers are required to evaluate the manuscripts and provide useful comments to enable the author(s) improve the quality of the manuscript. Reviewers also score the manuscript in terms of originality, contribution to the field, technical quality, clarity of presentation and depth of research.

Finally, reviewers make one of the following suggestion about the manuscript;

• Requires minor corrections
• Requires moderate revision
• Requires major revision
• Not suitable for further processing (in this case, the reviewer provides specific reason(s) why the manuscript not be further processed).

It should be noted that though a reviewer may give a positive report on a particular manuscript, if another reviewer raises concerns that may fundamentally undermine the study and results, the manuscript may be rejected.

Upon receipt of the reviewers’ comments, the editorial office reviews the comment. If the two reviewers’ comments have significantly different/or contradictory opinions about the same manuscripts, the manuscript is re-sent to a third reviewer. All reviewers’ comments (including the third reviewers’ comment where necessary) are thereafter sent to the author(s). The reviewers’ identities are concealed from the author(s). The total time taken to complete the second stage of the manuscript review dependent on the availability of the reviewers. However, it is usually completed between one to four weeks.

Using the reviewers’ comments, author(s) make corrections to the manuscript and submits a revised manuscript.

Stage Three – Editor’s Decision

Upon receipt of the revised submission, the manuscript undergoes the third and final stage of the review process. The original manuscript, the revised manuscript and all the reviewers’ comments are sent to an editor of the journal. The editor reviews the documents and makes one the following decisions;

• Accept as it is
• Accept with minor correction
• Requires major corrections
• Send revised manuscript for review again
• Reject

Manuscripts that are accepted as it is are scheduled for publication. Manuscripts that require corrections (either minor or major) are sent to the author(s) to affect the corrections suggested by the editor. After effecting the corrections, the editor reviews the manuscripts again before the manuscripts are accepted for publication. In some cases, the editor may require authors to make corrections a second time. In other cases, the editor may request for the revised manuscripts with (or without) the additional corrections to be sent to a specific reviewer who had earlier reviewed the manuscript before the manuscript can be accepted for publication.

Editorial Policy

• Overview
• Authorship
• Acknowledgement
• Changes in authorship
• Submission of Manuscript
• Conflict of interest
• Confidentiality
• Misconduct
• Correction and retraction of articles

Overview

This policy describes guidelines in the publication process of our journals. Specifically, OASIS Journals adopts and strive to adhere to the standards and requirements of the Committee on Publication Ethics – COPE.

Authorship

An author is an individual who has significantly contributed to the development of a manuscript. ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following four criteria:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
• Final approval of the version to be published; and
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Acknowledgement

Individuals who participated in the development of a manuscript but do not qualify as an author should be acknowledged. Organizations that provided support in terms of funding and/or other resources should also be acknowledged.

Changes in authorship

Whenever there is a need to make changes in the authorship of a manuscript or a published article, the changes will be implemented according to COPE specification. Only corresponding authors can make request for a change in authorship. Request should be made to the editor using the Changes in Authorship Form.

Submission of Manuscript

Authors should read the “Instruction for Authors” on the journal’s page before making a submission. Manuscript should be prepared according to the style and specifications of the journal’s policy.

• Authors listed on the manuscript should have met the requirements for Authorship specified in the Authorship section. Where possible, specify the contribution of each of the authors.
• All authors should approve the final version of the manuscript prior to submission. Once a manuscript is submitted, it is therefore assumed that all authors have read and given their approval for the submission of the manuscript.
• Contact information of all authors should be stated on the manuscript. Surname/Other names, affiliation, emails, and phone/fax numbers.
• Declaration of Conflicts of Interest should be stated in the manuscript.
• Submission should be made online http://oasis.org.ng/journals or via email to journals.oasis@gmail.com

Conflict of interest

“Conflict of interest (COI) exists when there is a divergence between an individual’s private interests and his or her responsibilities (competing interests) to scientific and publishing activities such that a reasonable observer might wonder if the individual’s behavior or judgment was motivated by considerations of his or her competing interests” WAME.

Authors should disclose all financial/relevant interest that may have influenced the development of the manuscript.

Reviewers should disclose any conflict of interest and if necessary, decline the review of any manuscript they perceive to have a conflict of interest. Editors should also decline from considering any manuscript that may have conflict of interest. Such manuscripts will be re-assigned to other editors.

Confidentiality

A submitted manuscript is a confidential material. OASIS Journals will not disclose submitted manuscript to anyone except individuals who partake in the processing and preparation of the manuscript for publication (if accepted). These individuals include editorial staff, corresponding authors, potential reviewers, actual reviewers, and editors.

However, in suspected cases of misconduct, a manuscript may be revealed to members of OASIS Journals’ ethics committee and institutions/organizations that may require it for the resolution of the misconduct. OASIS Journals shall follow the appropriate COPE flowcharts wherever necessary.

Misconduct

Misconduct constitutes violation of this editorial policy, journal policies, publication ethics, or any applicable guidelines/policies specified by COPE. Any other activities that threaten/compromise the integrity of the research/publication process are potential misconducts. Suspected cases of misconduct will be investigated according to COPE guidelines.

Correction and retraction of articles

Corrections may be made to a published article with the authorization of the editor of the journal. Editors will decide the magnitude of the corrections. Minor corrections are made directly to the original article. However, in cases of major corrections, the original article will remain unchanged, while the corrected version will also be published. Both the original and corrected version will be linked to each other. A statement indicating the reason for the major change to the article will also be published. When necessary, retraction of articles will be done according to COPE retraction guidelines.

Reviewers’ Guidelines

• Introduction
• Conflict of Interest
• Confidentiality
• Plagiarism
• Fairness
• Review reports
• Timeliness
• Recommendations
• Resources

Introduction

The review process is an important aspect of the publication process of an article. It helps an editor in making decision on an article and also enables the author to improve the manuscript. OASIS Journals operates a blind peer review system.

Before accepting to review a manuscript, reviewers should ensure that:

• The manuscript is within their area of expertise.
• They can dedicate the appropriate time to conduct a critical review of the manuscript.

Conflict of Interest

“Conflict of interest (COI) exists when there is a divergence between an individual’s private interests and his or her responsibilities (competing interests) to scientific and publishing activities such that a reasonable observer might wonder if the individual’s behavior or judgment was motivated by considerations of his or her competing interests” WAME.

“Reviewers should declare their conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from the peer-review process if a conflict exists”. ICMJE

Confidentiality

Manuscripts are confidential materials given to a reviewer in trust for the sole purpose of critical evaluation. Reviewers should ensure that the review processes is confidential. Details of the manuscript and the review process should remain confidential during and after the review process.

Plagiarism

‘The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own’, Oxford Dictionaries.

It is unethical for reviewers to “use information obtained during the peer-review process for their own or any other person’s or organization’s advantage, or to disadvantage or discredit others” COPE

Fairness

Reviews should be honest and objective. Reviewers should not be influenced by:

• The origin of the manuscript
• Religious, political or cultural viewpoint of the author
• Gender, race, ethnicity or citizenry of the author

Review reports

In evaluating a manuscript, reviewers should focus on the following:

• Originality
• Contribution to the field
• Technical quality
• Clarity of presentation
• Depth of research

Reviewers should also:

• Observe that the author(s) have followed the instruction for authors, editorial policies and publication ethics.
• Observe that the appropriate journal’s reporting guidelines is followed

The report should be accurate, objective, constructive and unambiguous. Comments should be backed by facts and constructive arguments with regards to the content of the manuscript. Reviewers should avoid using “hostile, derogatory and accusatory comments” PIE.

Reviewers should not rewrite the manuscript; however necessary corrections and suggestions for improvements should be made.

Timeliness

Reviewers should only accept manuscript that they are confident that they can dedicate appropriate time in reviewing. Thus, reviewers should review and return manuscripts in a timely manner.

Recommendations

Reviewers’ recommendation should be either:

• Accept
• Requires minor corrections
• Requires moderate revision
• Requires major revision
• Not suitable for the journal. Submit to another publication such as (suggest a journal):
• Reject

Recommendation should be backed with constructive arguments and facts based on the content of the manuscript.

Resources

• COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers
• ICMJE - Responsibilities in the Submission and Peer-Review Process

Manuscript Handling Fee

The review process is an important aspect of the publication process of an article. It helps an editor in making decision on an article and also enables the author to improve the manuscript. OASIS Journals operates a blind peer review system.OASIS Journals is a self-supporting organization and does not receive funding from any institution/government. Hence, the management of the Journals is solely financed by the handling fees received from authors. The manuscript handling fees are required to meet operations expenses such as employees’ salaries, internet services, webhosting, application development and support, electricity etc. Being an Open Access Publisher, OASIS Journals does not receive payment for subscription as the journals are freely accessible over the internet.

Authors are required to pay a fair manuscript handling fee for the processing of their articles. However, there are no submission charges. Authors are required to make payment only after their manuscripts have been accepted for publication. See Manuscript Handling Fees for each journal below.

Journal	Handling Fee
International Journal of Peace, Security and Development Studies	$150
International Journal of Management and Social Sciences	$150
International Science and Technology Research Journal	$150

Waiver Policy

At OASIS Journals, we understand that some institutions may have limited funding for their research activities. Thus, we have instituted a generous waiver system that may ease the payment of the manuscript handling fee when their researchers choose to publish their manuscripts in any of our journals. Our primary goal as stated in our mission is to accelerate the dissemination of knowledge through the publication of high quality research articles. We are continually pursuing this goal, without putting undue financial burden on researchers or their institutions. Hence, we have instituted the following waiver policy.

• Authors from Low Income Countries may be granted up to 75% waiver.
• Authors from Lower Middle-Income Countries may be granted up to 40% waiver.

In addition, it is also not unusual for authors to be granted full waivers, especially authors from low income countries. To request a waiver, kindly send an application to support@oasis.org.ng. Waiver application should contain the manuscript number and state the reason for requesting a waiver.

Digital Archiving

OASIS Journals is committed to the long-term preservation of its content. All articles published by the journal are preserved by Portico. In addition, we encourage authors to archive the published version of their articles on their institutional repositories and as well as other appropriate websites.

Self-Archiving

OASIS Journals is a RoMEO green publisher. This permits authors to archive any version of their article they find most suitable, including the published version on this institutional repository and any other suitable site.