Vol. 3 (2) Dec. 2021
Article ID. JHSSR-0007-2021
FOREWORD
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Hello one and all. It has been another busy year for JHSSR. As we approach the end of the year, we are not only reviewing what we have achieved during 2021, but are also looking forward to our goals for the New Year.
Let me welcome you all to our concluding Issue of 2021 focusing on various issues of Religion Philosophy, Education and Literature.
JHSSR is a peer-reviewed open-access academic publication, published rapidly by BP Services. The journal is independently owned, dependent upon donations and run on not-for-profit basis for the benefit of the world-wide social science community.
The time seems to be progressing so quickly. Here we are, it’s year-end and we are already publishing our 7th issue since its inception in 2019. I am glad to share with you that as of now, we have received a total of about 800 articles from across the globe for intended publication in JHSSR, of which only 96 got approved and published. Which also means an acceptance rate of only about 24%. The high rejection rate is mainly because the manuscript fails the technical screening, does not fall within the journal’s scope, weak hypothesis, too basic research, poor methodology, and high Similarity Index.
This issue features 20 articles consisting of an editorial, 2 invited articles, one review, a concept, and a book review. In addition, there are 14 regular articles from various authors that come across from different countries, namely Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, USA, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
I believe this issue would be intriguing, thought-provoking and useful in reaching new milestones. I would be grateful if you recommend the journal to your peers and students to make this endeavor more meaningful.
Being capable of publishing in peer-reviewed journals is commonly seen as an indicator of proper scientific research. It is the duty of a researcher to publish his/her results for the scientific community. Research can be seen as a product that must be sold to the target audience in the form of an article. In other words, research results do not exist before they are successfully published. The key people for getting one’s article accepted for publication in a journal are usually the Editor-in-Chief, editor, and reviewers. After publication, a well-written article will attract readers, eventually resulting in a scientific impact defined by whether other scientists will cite the article.
In some cases, people raise the bar unnecessarily by exaggerating requirements for a successful publication. This may be either an intentional attempt to bring the game to a higher level, or merely unintentional. Unfortunately, it is difficult to improve the level before understanding the publishing process in the first place. Writing scientific journal articles is learned through writing and publishing attempts when constructive feedback is available. It may occasionally be possible to enter the big league of very high-level journals directly, but only with adequate levels of support and feedback. In other cases, it is possible to publish in increasingly better journals once gaining experience through more moderate publication mediums. A researcher can raise their ambition level through gained experience. Hence, it is equally important for any researcher to begin their publishing with new or young journals provided they are of good standing.
Organization of a Research Paper
JHSSR’s follows the IMRAD format for its papers. Most scientific papers are prepared according to a format called IMRAD. The term represents the first letters of the words Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, And, Discussion. It indicates a pattern or format rather than a complete list of headings or components of research papers; the missing parts of a paper are: Title, Authors, Keywords, Abstract, Conclusions, and References. Additionally, some papers include Acknowledgments and Appendices.
Abstract – is a mini-version of the paper, not more than 200 words. The abstract should be definitive rather than descriptive. A well prepared abstract enables readers to identify the basic content of a document quickly and accurately, to determine its relevance to their interests, and thus it is extremely important that the abstract be written clearly.
Title – the title of the paper will be read more than any other part. A good title of a research paper should contain as few words as possible, be easy to understand, describe the contents of the paper accurately and specifically, avoid abbreviations, formulas, and jargon, should not include any verb and certainly not contain low-impact words such as “Some notes on …,” “Observations on …,” “Investigations on …,” “Study of …,” and “Effect of …”, report the subject of the research rather than the results, etc.
Introduction – a good introduction is relatively short usually not more than 500 words. It tells why the reader should find the paper interesting, explains why the author carried out the research, and gives the background the reader needs to understand and judge the paper. Avoid repetition: do not repeat the Abstract in the Introduction (and Introduction in the Discussion). Do not go into an extensive literature review; two to four most relevant and recent citations should be adequate to corroborate a statement.
Materials and Methods – the purpose of this section is to present in a simple and direct manner what has been done, how, and when, and how the data were analyzed and presented. It should be is presented in past tense. The simplest way to organize this section is chronologically; include all necessary information, but avoid unnecessary details that the readers are ought to know.
Results – this section presents the new knowledge; therefore, it is the core of the paper. The value of the paper depends on what is contained in this section, and it must be presented in an absolutely clear manner in just the right number of words, neither more nor less. Avoid verbose expressions: e.g., instead of saying “It is clearly shown in Table 2 that the presence of tree canopy reduced light transmission to ground,” say “Light transmission to ground was reduced by the presence of tree canopy (Table 2).
Discussion – this is the section where the authors should explain meanings and implications of the results. The section pulls everything together and shows the importance and value of the work and is therefore the most innovative and difficult part of the paper to write. The Discussion section is written in both present and past tenses. Current knowledge (from literature) is stated in present tense, whereas the work being reported and discussed in the paper (your own work) is presented in past tense.
Conclusions – should, rather than just repeating results, state well-articulated out- comes of the study and briefly suggest future lines of research in the area based on findings reported in the paper. In poor writing, it is not uncommon to find con- conclusions such as “more research is needed before conclusions can be drawn.” In that case, why publish a paper from which conclusions cannot be drawn?
References – preparing a proper reference list is one of the most tedious aspects of finalizing a manuscript for publication. All citations in the text, and only those, must be listed in the References. In other words, the References section and text citations should match perfectly.
Hope this helps!
Our Quality
All the papers published in this edition underwent the journal’s stringent double blind peer-review process involving a minimum of three reviewers comprising internal as well as external referees. This was to ensure that the quality of the papers justified the high ranking of the journal, which hopes to be one at par with one of the renowned and heavily-cited journals not only by authors and researchers in Malaysia and America but by those in other countries around the world as well.
I would also like to express gratitude to all the authors who have made this issue possible, as well as the reviewers and editors for their professional contribution. Last but not least, the assistance of the journal’s editorial office in Texas is fully appreciated.
Horizon JHSSR is currently accepting manuscripts for upcoming 2022 issues based on original qualitative or quantitative research that opens new areas of inquiry and investigation. Empirical articles should demonstrate high rigor and quality. Original research collects and analyzes data in systematic ways to present important new research that adds to and advances the debates within the journal’s fields. The editors hope that the authors publishing in this journal can support the noble cause of JHSSR in reaching its goals.
Let me conclude by saying that with the publication of this issue, we have completed three years of successful publication of Horizon JHSSR. Changing publishing norms and expectations have given rise to a new wave of publishing standards that we’ll be riding into 2022 and beyond. I am confident that the upcoming year will bring yet another challenging year of emerging scholarly articles.
I also hope that we’ll be seeing a farewell to two of the biggest colossal words both in and outside of academia right now—Coronavirus and COVID-19 pandemic.
Only time will tell what the next decade has in store, but one thing for sure is we will likely see greater innovation in all areas of scholarly publishing. If you are observing other scholarly publishing trends, please do share your thoughts with the Chief Executive Editor!
Before I end, I want to take a moment to welcome our newest Editorial members. JHSSR continues to work towards greater diversity on our Editors and we believe that these new members will bring broader experiences in our ongoing and future efforts in making the journal a quality publication. So welcome to all the new members. Please refer to my Editorial Message for Incoming Members on page 5.
I hope you all have a wonderful end of the year as we look forward to a bright and engaging 2022.