Bethlehem University Journal: Instructions for Authors

BUJ is interested in promoting research grounded in meta-critical and reflexive attitudes towards traditional and emergent research methodologies. It encourages research that develops alternative epistemological assumptions and practices that refract the international struggles and experiences of vulnerable, colonized, and disposable communities within the realities of the global capitalist system.

The manuscript should present original and innovative research that observes sound methodology, high standard research ethics, correct documentation, correct grammar, and inclusive (unbiased) language.
BUJ does not publish any articles that have been published and/or are under consideration elsewhere, including in electronic format or on any form on the internet.

Submission Procedure:
Manuscripts should be submitted by email to the editor in chief at jamilk@ bethlehem.edu4. Editorial contact: jamilk@bethlehem.edu§ The Introduction should briefly explain the significance of the research problem in its academic and conceptual context and state the objectives of the study.Authors should employ an analytical and theoretical style in developing the topic and demonstrating its originality.Authors should avoid ready-made introductions, flowery oratorial language, and journalistic writing styles.§ Literature review or previous studies: Authors should situate their arguments in the current international conversations and controversies about the topic.Authors should thus position their paper in the context of the most relevant previous studies in the field, engage the hypotheses, claims or research questions of previous studies critically, and demonstrate how their study will make a significant theoretical contribution.Excessive and disconnected summaries of the literature are not acceptable.§ Methods and Materials: Authors should establish an appropriate and rigorous methodology, describe its instruments, and demonstrate that their data is relevant and reliable.In different disciplines, authors could also justify the theoretical or conceptual framework adopted in the study.§ Results: Results should be presented and interpreted in a clear and concise fashion, using tables, images and graphs.§ Discussion: The significance of the results and their implications must be critically explored, Authors should relate these results to relevant and seminal studies in the field, but should avoid extensive references to other studies.§ Conclusions: Authors may highlight the original contribution of the study, engage its limitations, and outline possible policy recommendations and topics for further research.§ Acknowledgments: Any acknowledgments of other people's assistance and/ or financial funding should appear in the Acknowledgment section before the References.§ References should include only sources that were actually cited in the text.The list should be organized in an alphabetical order, according to the style manual of the relevant discipline (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) The author(s) is solely responsible for the content of the manuscript.The ideas expressed in a manuscript are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions of BUJ's Editorial Board or Office of Dean of Research at Bethlehem University.

b. Documentation and Citations
Authors should select the documentation style that is used in their discipline.
Regardless of the documentation style selected, authors should be consistent in their documentation and citation throughout the whole manuscript.§ The list of References or Works Cited should be placed at the end of the manuscript and should be ordered alphabetically.§ Only sources that are cited in the text should be included in the list of References/ Works Cited.
c. Footnotes / Endnotes § BUJ does not recommend the use of Footnotes or Endnotes for subsidiary information in the text; use all essential information in the text itself.
d. Images, Tables , and Graphs If the manuscript includes figures, tables, graphs, or images, the author should insert these figures or images in their correct place in the text and add appropriate captions.These images and figures should be 300 dpi, at least, high resolution, with a width of 4.25 inches

e. Style and Language
BUJ considers articles in both English and Arabic for publication.Articles should be approximately 5000 words (about 15 double-spaced pages), including the References/ Works Cited page.If images, tables, figures, or graphs are included, the size of each of the above should not exceed a half-page.

f. Text Formatting
Manuscripts should be submitted in .docor .rtfformat (not pdf.);Traditional Arabic 14 for manuscripts written in Arabic or Times New Roman 12 for manuscripts written in English.Use A-4 paper size and 1-inch margins (or 2.5 cms) on all sides.Texts should be formatted with double spacing.
Authors should have their manuscript copy-edited for language, grammar, and style before submitting the manuscript to BUJ.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
The journal adheres to the ethical standards endorsed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (https://publicationethics.org/).By submitting an article to this journal, you agree to comply with the following Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement: 1. We expect all authors to state in their article if they have a conflict of interest which could potentially bias their opinions -for example funding or employment.2. All named authors on the articles should confirm that they have jointly participated in the research and contributed equally to the writing of the article, and that no author has been omitted from the list of authors.
3. We require authors to warrant that their articles are original, have not been previously published, and do not plagiarise or otherwise copy someone else's work without attribution.(If the article is a translation, we are happy to consider this for publication but the authors must inform the editors on submission.) 4. We also require authors to warrant that their article does not defame, libel, or bring another person into disrepute, and neither does it contain anything illegal (e.g.copyright infringing).

a. Research Ethics
In studies on human subject, patients or volunteers, authors must document ethics committee approval (IRB) and informed consent in their papers.Although BUJ does not require authors to submit informed consent forms, permissions and releases, authors must retain them all the time and must be able to produce them upon request

b. Permissions and Fair Use
The author is solely responsible for obtaining permission to use any quoted material that appears in the submission, in the case the material exceeds fair use standards.In such cases, authors are expected to provide the permission letters c.Originality Check BUJ adheres to the highest standards in research integrity and expects authors to observe all conventions for academic honesty and avoid plagiarism, in all its forms.By submitting their papers, authors declare the originality of their work, properly citing, re-using or copying previous publications.
Every manuscript is submitted for an originality check on Turnitin in the initial screening.If the plagiarism is detected, the manuscript will be rejected and the author will be notified.If plagiarism is detected after publication, BUJ has the right to issue a correction or retract the paper.

d. Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
Authors, reviewers or editorial staff have to disclose any financial or potential conflict of interest that could inappropriately bias their work and compromise the integrity of the publication process.

Essential title page information:
§ The Title page should include a concise title that reflects the abstract and the study itself; the name(s) of the author(s) represented by superscripts with academic rank, institutional affiliations and contact information.§ Authors must also include a declaration that "The article has not been published or sent for publication elsewhere."

Double Blind Review and Acceptance Policy
If the above criteria are met after the initial screening (quality control/ plagiarism check) of the relevant associate editor of the journal, manuscripts are submitted for a double-blind peer-review process by experts in the field (neither the reviewers of the articles nor the authors will have access to each other's identities).
Further the double-blind peer review process, the BUJ editorial board determines the suitability of the manuscript for publication in the journal-the submission can be accepted without revisions, rejected, or might be reconsidered for publication after major revisions.
In the case of revisions, authors will be requested to write a letter, in which they respond to the reviewers' comments one by one and detail the ways in which they have revised their manuscripts in response to the reviewers' comments.
Final acceptance is granted only after the author(s) has submitted the response letter and completed all revisions to the satisfaction of all reviewers in the second round of double-blind peer review.
Authors are allowed to withdraw their manuscripts within 10 days of manuscript submission.After this period, the author shall incur all processing fees.

Revised and Accepted Manuscripts
In case of revise and resubmit editorial decision, authors are expected to return revised manuscripts to the editors within two months of the date from when the editorial letter was sent.
Authors should accompany the revised manuscripts by a detailed response letter on how all the concerns of the editor and referees have been addressed.Please, indicate the exact page number(s), paragraphs(s) and line number(s) where each revision was made.Late revised manuscripts received will be considered as new submissions.
Accepted manuscripts are copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format.Page proofs are sent to the author for review, and the corrected proofs are expected to be sent back to BUJ within three days.It may not be possible to incorporate corrections received after that period.
BUJ reserves the right to make any editorial changes that it deems necessary in preparing the manuscripts for publication and reserves the right NOT to publish any manuscript, without giving any justification and its decisions are final.
BUJ provides the corresponding author one hard copy of the volume of the journal in which the manuscript appears at no cost.
10. Schedule: July and December

Errata and corrections:
The journal will investigate and correct postpublication errors.