SUBMISSIONS

1. Before you submit
The author needs to check whether his/her article aligns with the aims and scope of Bhutan Insights Journal. Check that your manuscript is not simultaneously submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere.

2. Ready to submit
Manuscript submissions should be made through the journal’s online submission platform. The submitted manuscripts are duly acknowledged and undergo a technical assessment and assessment for plagiarism. If you encounter any technical glitch with the submission system, please review our author guidelines or email us your queries.

Free format submission
We offer free format submission for a simplified and streamlined submission process. However, your manuscript needs to be:

    • In an editable file including text, figures, and tables or separate files—whichever you prefer.
    • All required sections should be contained in your manuscript
    • Figures and tables should have legends. Figures should be uploaded in the highest resolution possible.
    • References may be submitted in APA format.
    • If the manuscript, figures or tables are difficult to read, the Editorial Office will send it back to you for revision. Your manuscript may also be sent back to you for revision if the quality of the language needs improvement.

The list of documents required as a part of your submission are:

  1. Declaration Form (download here)
  2. Title page
  3. Main text file
  4. Ethics approval

Preparation of your manuscript
Your manuscript file should have a title page and the main text.

Templates
The majority of the submitted manuscript lack proper formatting, on the top of that heading and subheading, is not correctly written. Therefore, we encourage you to use the appropriate template for your manuscript.

  1. Research Article Template
  2. Case Report Template
  3. Review Article Template
  4. Viewpoint Template
  5. Letter to the Editor Template

Title page

  • The title page of the manuscript should be brief and informative containing the keywords and without abbreviations.
  • The full names of the authors (first name, last name), their affiliations and email addresses. Bhutan Insights encourages authors to provide their ORCID ID but is not mandatory ( https://orcid.org)
  • The author's institutional affiliations where the work was conducted, with a footnote for the author’s present address if different from where the work was conducted.
  • Identify the corresponding author and provide his/her postal address.
  • Acknowledgments, if including this statement.

Declaration statements including the following:

      • data availability statement
      • funding statement
      • conflict of interest disclosure
      • ethics approval statement
      • participant consent statement
      • permission to reproduce material from other sources
      • author contributions (CRediT format)

Main Text File
Manuscripts can be uploaded as a single document containing the main text, tables and figures and submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.

The main text file in Word needs to include:

  • Abstract: structured (introduction/methods/results/conclusion) or unstructured
  • Up to five to seven keywords (subheadings, preferably words that do not appear in the title or main text). 
  • Main body: formatted as introduction, materials & methods (materials if relevant), results, discussion, conclusion
  • References (APA style)
  • Tables (each table complete with title and footnotes should be placed at the end of the manuscript)
  • Figure legends: Legends should be supplied as a complete list in the text. Figures should be uploaded as separate files.

Reference Style
The American Psychological Association (APA) style of referencing must be used.

Funding
The Author(s) is responsible for the accuracy of their funder declaration and should list all funding sources.

Authorship
All listed authors should have contributed to the manuscript substantially and have agreed to the final submitted version. Please see the journal policy for authorship criteria.

Ethics approval
For studies involving human subjects, authors must submit the ethics approval or a waiver if allowed by their institutional ethics committee. For human or animal research conducted in Bhutan, authors must submit the ethics approval letter from the Research Ethics Board of Health, Ministry of Health or the Institutional Review Board, Khesar Gyalpo University of Medical Sciences of Bhutan.

Conflict of interest

Reproduction of Copyright Material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be shown in the contribution. It is the Author’s responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. The Corresponding Author is responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce the material in print and other media from the publisher of the source, and for supplying the BIJ with that permission upon submission.

Guidelines on Publishing and Research Ethics
This journal follows the core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and strongly discourages publication misconduct. BIJ requires that Authors include details of administrative approvals, ethical treatment of human and animal research participants, and gathering of informed consent, as appropriate. Authors will be expected to declare all conflicts of interest, or none, on submission.

Standard reporting guidelines
Bhutan Insights Journal encourages and endorses the use of an appropriate reporting guideline available at the Enhancing the Quality and Transparency Of Health Research (EQUATOR) in writing your manuscript. The checklists given at the EQUATOR Network help not only conform to standards but also improve the quality of your manuscript. The appropriate guidelines are:

Must have information
Bhutan Insights Journal encourages the Authors to present their articles by including standard components. To minimize the rejection (or return for revision) of your article, please observe the following: 

  • Use an appropriate template for your manuscript to avoid errors in the heading and subheadings.
  • Address all the points described in the template, references and manuscript preparation guidelines.
  • The Author(s) may seek professional help to prepare the manuscript according to the author’s guidelines.
  • Email is the preferred method of communication. Therefore, ensure that you provide the correct email address.

Submit your article
Manuscripts must be submitted through our online submission system. Please note that a manuscript can only be submitted by the author of the manuscript and not by any third party.

Peer Review
This journal operates under a double-blind peer-review model. Manuscripts will only be sent for review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance. The details of the peer review process are given in our journal policy.

In-house submissions, i.e. papers authored by Editors or Editorial Board members, will be sent to Editors unaffiliated with the author or institution and monitored carefully to ensure there is no peer review bias. Such manuscripts must be accompanied by a standard conflict of interest statement. Members of the Editorial Board are blinded to the peer review process and excluded from editorial decision-making on their own work to minimize bias.

Publication and Decision Time: Time to first decision overall (average) within 14 days for the initial decision (without review); 4 – 6 weeks (with the review). If you encounter a delay and find no update on your submission within 2 – 4 weeks, please contact the Editorial Office as soon as possible. For this, please do so in the official email address only.

Editorial decisions
As per the BIJ peer review policy, editorial decisions will be given in the following categories:

  • Acceptable for publication: The submission will be accepted without revisions.
  • Minor revision: The submission will be accepted after minor changes have been made according to the editor/reviewer's comment.
  • Major revision: The submission needs to undergo substantial revision with significant changes. It will require a second round of peer review.
  • Reject: When the submission does not meet the focus and scope of Bhutan Insights Journal.
  • The manuscripts may be rejected if the submission does not conform to the author’s guidelines. 

Appeals and complaints
Authors may appeal an editorial decision if they feel that the decision to reject was based on either a significant misunderstanding of a core aspect of the manuscript, a failure to understand how the manuscript advances the literature or concerns regarding the manuscript-handling process.

After acceptance
After your paper is accepted, your files will be assessed by the Editorial Office to ensure they are ready for production. The corresponding author must provide the Authorship Form signed by all co-authors in the accepted manuscript. Otherwise, your paper will be sent to the production team.

Withdrawals
A withdrawal request may be accepted before a final decision has been made on the manuscript.

Copyright Notice
The journal allows readers to download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of its articles and allows readers to use them for any other lawful purpose. However, the author(s) will hand over the rights of publication to the publisher.

Proofs
Authors will receive an e-mail with the page proofs and a pdf. Authors should also make sure that any renumbered tables, figures, or references match text citations and that figure legends correspond with text citations and actual figures. Proofs must be returned within 48 hours of receipt of the email.

Promotion
Articles that have been accepted are uploaded on the Journal website and will be promoted on the Journal’s social media sites and through email updates to reach a wider readership.

Author Name Change Policy and Correction to authorship
In cases where authors wish to change their name following publication, the corresponding author may write to the Editorial Office. The name change request must be approved by all other co-authors.

Following best publication practices, BIJ allows authors to correct authorship on a submitted, accepted, or published article if a valid reason exists to do so. All authors, including those to be added or removed, need to agree to any proposed change. Correcting the authorship is different from changing an author’s name. To request a name change or change to the author list, please complete the Author Change Form.

Editorial Office contact details
EduPlus Training Institute,
Tshering Jong Building
Thimphu, Bhutan
Email: editorbijournal@gmail.com

Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.