GAERPSY Publishing

GAERPSY Publishing uses the OJS platform for all its journals.

All stages of the editorial process, including article submission, communication, peer review, revisions, copyediting, production, and publication, are conducted exclusively through the OJS electronic submission system. Authors or authorized users wishing to submit manuscripts for consideration by the Editorial Board must use the provided Microsoft Word template to help expedite the review process. To register and create a user account, click the “Register” link on the journal’s website. If you already have an account, click “Login.” For any questions regarding the electronic submission process, please contact us at info@gaerpsy.com. 

AUTHORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES 

Authors are required to adhere to the following responsibilities: 

• If the manuscript has multiple authors, a corresponding author must be designated to submit the manuscript.
• The corresponding author assumes primary responsibility for submitting the manuscript, managing all correspondence, making corrections or clarifications, and responding to queries before and after publication.
• Authors are fully accountable for the accuracy of all personal information submitted to GAERPSY Publishing, including: Full name (first and last), department, institution, country, and ORCID ID.

 PRE-SUBMISSION 

Before submitting a manuscript, authors must ensure the following: 

• The manuscript is fully prepared for submission, grammatically correct, free of spelling errors, and has been thoroughly checked for accuracy.
• The content aligns with the journal's mission, aims, and scope.
• The manuscript complies with the journal’s preparation and formatting guidelines.
• Proper authorization has been obtained for any third-party images or copyrighted materials included in the manuscript.
• The submission is complete and includes all required files (e.g., manuscript and cover letter).
• Compliance with all legal, ethical, and moral standards is maintained. Authors must not submit content containing offensive language, aggression, or discrimination based on national origin, religion, race, color, sex, disability, or age. Such content is illegal and violates the journal’s code of conduct.
• Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all statements, ideas, results, conclusions, terminology, names, and citations presented in the manuscript.

 PEER REVIEW AND EDITORIAL PROCEDURES 

All manuscripts undergo thorough peer review. Reviewers provide detailed feedback on strengths, weaknesses, scientific rigor, methodology, originality, significance, and clarity. They may recommend additional analyses or experiments if necessary. The editor makes the final decision based on reviewers’ comments. Possible outcomes include: 

• Accept
• Accept with minor revisions
• Major revisions required
• Revise and resubmit
• Reject
• Submit elsewhere

 When revisions are required, authors will be asked to address all reviewer comments and resubmit both the revised manuscript and a correction table for further evaluation. The peer-review process is confidential and double-anonymous. Reviewers’ identities are not revealed to authors, and authors’ identities are not revealed to reviewers. This ensures fairness, objectivity, and evaluation based solely on scientific merit. Overall, peer review is essential in maintaining the integrity and quality of scholarly publishing by ensuring the dissemination of reliable, high-quality research. 

EDITORIAL DECISION 

After completing all required procedures, the editorial office will issue an official acceptance letter confirming that your manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Article processing charges (APC)

As an open-access journal, all articles published in the GAERPSY Publishing are accessible electronically from the journal website without the need for subscription fees or other forms of payment from the readers. The GAERPSY Publishing does not charge for article submission, editorial processing and review processingIn other words, upon reviewers’ evaluation and approval and the editorial board’s approval, all accepted articles are published with article processing charges (APC). An APC is intended to cover the underlying costs of article processing, such as copy-editing, typesetting, publishing, content depositing, and archiving processes. There are no charges for rejected articles, no submission charges, and no surcharges based on the length of an article, figures, or supplementary data. Some items (Editorials, Corrections, Addendums, Retractions, Comments, etc.) are published free of charge. 

Modes of payment

Payments are facilitated through PayPal and bank transfer. During checkout, you can finalise the payment through your PayPal account or as a guest, utilising debit or credit cards. If you choose to proceed with the payment via bank transfer, you will receive the necessary details, including invoicing information and bank account details, through email.

All articles published at the GAERPSY Publishing are available in the OJS Systems for archiving (PKP Preservation Network), Sabinet Journals, African Journals Online. 

The GAERPSY Publishing issues are automatically deposited into the distributed LOCKSS network of participating nodes upon publication.

The GAERPSY Publishing encourages author (s) to deposit (self-archive) the submitted article, accepted for publication article, or the final published version of the article in any suitable source (e.g., institutional or other specialised repositories, personal websites, social networking sites, ResearchGate, and academia.edu, etc.) without an embargo period.

Disclaimer

The GAERPSY Publishing is not responsible and shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the works published in this website.

Privacy statement

The privacy policy outlines how the GAERPSY Publishing may use and protect any information author(s) submitted on our website.

The GAERPSY Publishing is committed to protecting user privacy online and will not disclose individually identifiable information about a user to any third party without express permission unless required by the government or other law enforcement authorities.

The GAERPSY Publishing will take no responsibility for such websites’ content or privacy practices.

The GAERPSY Publishing uses Google Analytics to track statistical information about the number of visitors to the website; thus, Google Analytics can set first-party cookies on each visitor’s computer used to store anonymous data. 

The GAERPSY Publishing does not collect information through our traffic logging to identify users personally. 

It is essential to consider that the GAERPSY Publishing can update occasionally. If significant changes need to be made, a notice will be posted on the website’s home page.

The GAERPSY Publishing is committed to applying the below procedure to appeals and complaints to editorial decisions, such as failure in the processes, long delays in handling papers, and complaints about publication ethics. First, the complaint should be governed by the Chief Editor (s) responsible for the journal and/or the Editor who reviewed the paper. If they are the subject of the complaint, we recommend you approach the in-house publishing contact (Please send your query to ethics@gaerpsy.com).

Scientific content complaint (e.g., an appeal against rejection)

The Editor-in-Chief or handling Editor considers the authors’ argument, and the reviewer reports and decides whether the decision to reject should stand, another independent opinion is required, and the appeal should be considered. The complainant is informed of the decision with an explanation if appropriate. Decisions on appeals are final, and new submissions take priority over requests.

Processes’ complaint (e.g., time taken to review)

The Chief editor, Handling Editor, and/or in-house contact will investigate the matter. The complainant will receive appropriate feedback, which will be provided to relevant stakeholders to improve processes and procedures.

Publication ethics’ complaint (e.g., authorship or reviewer’s conduct)

The Chief Editor or handling Editor follows guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics. The ethics will advise on cases. The Chief Editor or managing Editor will decide on a course of action and provide feedback to the complainant. If the complainant remains unhappy with the outcomes of the committee, they would be allowed to submit the complaint to the Committee on Publication Ethics to appeal.

Ethics for Editors

• Editors adhere to the principles of independence and integrity and strictly abide by COPE’s Core practices in the decision-making process to strive for the publication and quality of manuscripts to meet ethical standards.
• All manuscripts submitted to the GAERPSY are subject to a rigorous peer review.

-Before peer review, manuscripts will be screened for readability, novelty, and relevance to the focus and scope of the journal.

-The editor shall maintain the fairness and impartiality of the review. At least two reviewers shall review each manuscript. Whether the journal accepts the manuscript will be decided by the Editor-in-Chief or the academic editor designated by the Editor-in-Chief in combination with the reviewer’s comments.

• Any manuscript submitted to GAERPSY Publishing is confidential. The manuscript will not be disclosed to anyone except the editorial staff, reviewers, editors, and other individuals who participate in the preliminary review, peer review, and handling and are responsible for the publication of the manuscript (if accepted).
• Editors shall not participate in all the processing of articles in which they have a conflict of interest.
• We ensure that the commercial behaviours of the journal will not affect the editorial decision and firmly adhere to the principles of independence and integrity.

Editors, employees, and members of the editorial board as authors

The GAERPSY Publishing does not allow editors, employees, and editorial board members to participate in processing their articles.

Editors, employees, and editorial board members must disclose all potential conflicts of interest related to their articles.

Editors, employees, and editorial board members should follow a strict review process to ensure the quality and reliability of articles.

For articles submitted by our editors, employees, and editorial board members, GAERPSY Publishing will assign the manuscript to an expert reviewer in the field who does not have a conflict of interest with the author and to other editors for evaluation and processing.

Ethics for authors

Clear authorship

At the time of submission, whether the list of authors includes all the eligible authors of the article (in the correct order), and reach a consensus with all co-authors on the journal and the time of submission. (For Authorship, please see the detailed policy).

Avoid Plagiarism (including self-plagiarism)

Check if the article correctly quotes yourself or someone else’s work. Not only that, but the authors also need permission from the copyright owner to publish any previously published content (including quotations, numbers, or forms).

Conflict of interest

Any facts considered a (potential) conflict of interest should be disclosed before the article’s references section. There are many types of financial and non-financial benefits involved in contributing to an article, some of which may include:

Financial interest:

The following could be considered as financial interest:

• Company shares: The author owns shares in a company that is relevant to the topic covered in the article,
• Fund Sponsorship: Research is done through grant funding,
• Consultant/Consulting work: The author has worked as a consultant or advisor in any company or organisation relevant to the research in this paper,
• Patents held: The author holds patents related to this research,
• Political support: The author has donated to political parties or political candidates relevant to the study of this paper, government grants, foundation grants, etc.
• Honoraria received by the author: The manuscript or other fee that the author gets after publishing the article and,
• Other financial relationships: Disclosure is required if the author has other financial relationships with any company, organisation, or individual related to the study in this paper.

Non-financial interests:

Non-financial interests involve interpersonal relationships, political positions, religious beliefs, intellectual property rights, etc. Therefore, authors, editors, and reviewers should also make timely statements regarding the potential non-financial conflicts of interest, which include but are not limited to the following:

• Academic competition conflict of interest: For example, the reviewer has an academic competition or conflict of interest with the author, editor, or other related person.
• Personal conflict of interest: For example, the reviewer, author, or editor has a conflict of interest, such as a friendly relationship, kinship, or other personal relationship.
• Conflict of interest of opinion position: For example, the reviewer, author, or editor has a specific opinion or position.
• Intellectual property conflict of interest: For example, the reviewer, author, or editor has a specific intellectual property or patent right.
• Conflict of interest in political, religious, or other beliefs: For example, the reviewer, author, or editor has a political, religious, or other belief position.

Editors must always be honest and transparent to avoid conflicts of interest. If an editor has a personal or financial interest related to a submitted article, the editor must disclose this to the publisher. At the same time, this editor is no longer involved in the review process related to this article until the article is finalised for publication.

When assigning reviewers for an article, editors must check to the maximum extent possible whether there is a (potential) conflict of interest between the assigned reviewer and the author(s) involved in the article. Suppose a reviewer discovers a (potential) conflict of interest with the article at the review time. In that case, the reviewer should immediately notify the relevant editor and withdraw from the article review process.

Avoid writing more than one draft

The submission to multiple journals is not allowed. Original research work must be novel and has not been previously published. The above is not exhaustive, and authors should be aware of local regulations and accepted norms within academic publishing.

Allegations of misconduct

The editors of GAERPSY Publishing are responsible for ensuring the academic integrity of the articles published in the journal, and any misconduct takes all necessary actions according to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. The misconduct list is not limited. These include plagiarism or using artificial intelligence, falsification of research or fabrication of data, misrepresentation of affiliation, submission of manuscripts to multiple journals simultaneously, breaches in copyright/use of third-party material without appropriate permissions, undisclosed competing interests, unethical research, etc.

Data sharing

The GAERPSY Publishing encourages authors to share data. Data sharing facilitates scientific research and knowledge discovery, increases the reproducibility and reliability of research, fosters collaboration and innovation, improves the efficiency of research, and increases the value and application of data. Sharing relevant data and materials when authors publish their articles can enhance the transparency and quality of scientific research. Authors can work with the editors of their journals to share raw data, codes, and other relevant materials used in their articles with other researchers for further scientific research.

The GAERPSY Publishing requests authors to provide raw data with their article submission and details of the article’s data sources and data processing methods. The authors should provide a suitable solution to ensure other researchers can access the data under reasonable conditions if there are restrictions on the data or limitations such as privacy protection.

Data shared by the journal include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The Raw data concerns data collected or generated by the research, including experimental data, observations, questionnaire data, etc.
• The code and algorithms include the Software code and algorithms used to process, analyse and interpret the data.
• The literature and metadata involve the literature, metadata, and annotations related to the research process, such as study design, methods, hypotheses, results, and conclusions.
• The images and multimedia deal with multimedia materials such as audio, video, etc., used to support the presentation and interpretation of the research process and results.
• The models and simulations involve mathematical models, tools, etc., used for research predictions and simulations.
• The other related materials include questionnaires, sampling protocols, experimental protocols, and other materials related to the study.

Reproducibility of data

Other researchers can reproduce and validate the data and methods used in scientific research. Reproducibility of data contributes to improving the credibility and reliability of scientific research, accelerating scientific progress, promoting academic communication and collaboration, and increasing the efficiency of research resources. In short, the reproducibility of journal data is of great importance to the development and progress of scientific research and is the foundation and guarantee of scientific research.

We strongly recommend that authors adopt open science practices, such as sharing data on public databases and complying with applicable ethical and legal requirements. We believe these practices help foster collaboration and innovation in the scientific community and enhance the credibility and reproducibility of scientific research.

We will strictly enforce the above policy and require reviewers and editors to review the data and methods of articles critically. We may reject articles or ask authors to make corrections and additions if incomplete data, inadequate methods or analytical errors are found.

Ethical oversight

The GAERPSY Publishing is committed to promoting the quality and reliability of scientific research, valuing ethical guidelines, and following COPE’s ethical oversight policy. We require all authors to adhere to the following ethical guidelines and policies when submitting articles (including but not limited to):

*Policies on consent to publication

The GAERPSY Publishing requires all authors to ensure that all Co-authors have consented to publication when submitting an article. The data and information involved in the article have been appropriately licensed.

*Publication on vulnerable populations

The GAERPSY Publishing requires all authors to adhere to ethical guidelines and moral standards when conducting academic research involving vulnerable populations. In the case of research involving vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, people with disabilities, the sick, and the underprivileged, the author must have obtained the informed consent of the subjects or their guardians and safeguarded their rights, privacy, and confidentiality. The GAERPSY Publishing follows strict academic standards and is committed to promoting understanding and support for disadvantaged groups to promote societal equality and progress.

*Ethical conduct of research using animals

The GAERPSY Publishing strongly urges researchers to conduct animal experiments only when necessary, comply with relevant ethical and moral standards when conducting animal research, and ensure that animal rights are protected. Authors should provide detailed plans and methods for animal experiments, appropriate ethical review, and authorisation materials. The GAERPSY Publishing encourages authors to implement the principles of 3R (Reduce, Refine, Replace) to strictly control the number and use of laboratory animals to reduce harm to animals from animal experiments.

*Ethical conduct of research using human subjects

The GAERPSY Publishing requires authors to adhere to relevant ethical and moral standards when conducting human subject experiments to ensure that the rights and safety of the subjects are safeguarded. Authors should provide detailed trial plans, methods, and the appropriate ethical review and authorisation materials. Informed consent should be signed before subjects participate in the study, and authors should ensure that the rights and privacy of trial participants are adequately protected.

*Handling confidential data and ethical business/marketing practices

The authors should clearly understand and comply with the policy on protecting confidential data when handling confidential data and ensure that data are kept confidential and secure to avoid misuse or disclosure of confidential data. The authors should adhere to honest, fair, and transparent business codes and compliance with corresponding laws and regulations. The authors should not use false statements or misleading language in their manuscripts.

Ethics for reviewers

The peer reviews are conducted as a double-blind process via our Open Journal System (OJS). These editors’ and reviewers’ comments are considered in the peer-review process. Thus, their comments will determine the acceptance or rejection of the manuscript.

Reviewers are required to adhere to the following:

• Conflicts of interest should be declared accordingly,
• Published works relevant and valuable to the manuscript should be pointed out,
• Reviewed articles and their contents should be kept strictly confidential, and reviewers should not give, share, use, or in any other way distribute this manuscript to third parties before publication.
• Reviews should be objective and avoid personal criticism.
• Promptness in response: reviewers should notify GAERPSY Publishing if they cannot participate in the peer review of a specific manuscript.
• Possible areas of focus while conducting the review of manuscripts:

*Potential ethical concerns. These include research misconduct (e.g. Data fabrication/manipulation) and author misconduct (e.g. Plagiarism, redundant publication).

*Technical errors

*Logical errors concern fallacies, lapses in logic, etc.

*Language errors that mar the clarity of the text

*References involve the suitability of references used in the manuscripts and other relevant research that should be referenced in the articles.

At GAERPSY Publishing, our journals uphold the highest standards of ethical publishing. Committed to transparency, integrity, and accountability, we follow the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. These policies ensure the credibility, quality, and integrity of all published content. 

Editorial decision-making

Neutrality and equality

Editorial decisions are based solely on the merit and relevance of submitted content. We do not consider authors’ identities, affiliations, geographic origins, or any other external factors. 

Peer review process

All manuscripts undergo a rigorous peer review by field experts, ensuring the research or content meets the highest standards of quality and validity.

Transparency

The GAERPSY Publishing maintains transparency in editorial decision-making by documenting peer review reports and the editorial process. Authors receive constructive feedback, while confidentiality is strictly preserved throughout. 

Editorial board and reviewers

Competence and expertise

At the GAERPSY Publishing, our editorial board members and reviewers are selected based on their qualifications, expertise, and experience, ensuring fair, impartial, and constructive assessments of submissions. Confidentiality and anonymity

The GAERPSY Publishing maintains strict confidentiality regarding manuscript content, author identities, reviewers, editorial board members, and any other sensitive information obtained during the review process. Transparency with Article Processing Charges (APCs)

Clear fee structure

At the GAERPSY Publishing, our journals provide detailed information about applicable APCs. Publication fees are clearly specified for each journal. Following peer review and article acceptance, an invoice will be issued with complete payment instructions. 

Payment methods

Payments can be made via PayPal or bank transfer. During checkout, authors can complete payment through their PayPal account or as a guest using debit or credit cards. For bank transfers, all invoicing and bank account details will be provided via email. 

Appeals and disputes 

• GAERPSY Publishing maintains a robust system to handle appeals or disputes related to editorial decisions or the peer review process.
• Authors may submit an appeal, providing substantive grounds and supporting evidence.
• Appeals are reviewed by the editorial team or an independent panel, and outcomes are communicated promptly.

  Continuous improvement 

• GAERPSY Publishing regularly evaluates its peer review processes to enhance effectiveness and efficiency.
• Feedback from authors and reviewers is actively considered to improve our processes.

By adhering to this policy, GAERPSY Publishing aims to foster rigorous research, uphold the highest ethical standards, and ensure the quality and credibility of all published work.