Review Policy 

The journal (AJBE) has adopted a double-blind peer review policy, where both the referee and the author remain anonymous throughout the process. Please remove all identifying features from the main document itself, ensuring that Authors' identity is not revealed. However, this does not preclude Authors from citing their own works, but authors must cite their works in a manner that does not make explicit their identity.

DOUBLE-BLIND PEER REVIEW
The journal (AJBE) uses a double-blind peer review process, which means the identities of the authors are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa.  To facilitate this, please include the following separately:
Title page (with details of the author): This should include the title, authors' names, affiliations, acknowledgements and any Declaration of Interest statement, and a complete address for the corresponding author, including an e-mail address.
Main document (without details of the author): The main body of the paper (including the references, figures, tables and any acknowledgements) should not include any identifying information, such as the authors' names or affiliations. 

Both the reviewer and the author are anonymous in this model. Some advantages of this model are listed below.

• Author anonymity limits reviewer bias, for example, based on an author's gender, country of origin, academic status or previous publication history.
• Articles written by prestigious or renowned authors are considered on the basis of the content of their papers, rather than their reputation.

Bear in mind that despite the above, reviewers can often identify the author through their writing style, subject matter, or self-citation – it is exceedingly difficult to guarantee total author anonymity. 

THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS
The peer review process can be broadly summarized into 8 steps, although these steps can vary slightly between KODISA JOURNALS. See below.

1. Submission of Paper
The corresponding or submitting author submits the paper to the journal. For Korean contributors, this is usually via an online system such as JAMS or ACOMS. For international scholars/contributors, KODISA JOURNALS accept submissions by email, which is indicated on the submission information.
2. Editorial Office Assessment
The journal checks the paper’s composition and arrangement against the journal’s Author Guidelines to make sure it includes the required sections and stylizations. The quality of the paper is not assessed at this point.
3. Appraisal by the Editor-in-Chief
The Editor-in-Chief checks that the paper is appropriate for the journal and is sufficiently original and interesting. If not, the paper may be rejected without being reviewed any further.
4. Invitation to Reviewers
The Editor-in-Chief sends invitations to individuals he or she believes would be appropriate to review the article. As responses are received, further invitations are issued, if necessary, until the required number of acceptances is obtained – commonly this is 3, but there is some variation between journals.
5. Review is Conducted
The reviewer sets time aside to read the paper several times. The first read is used to form an initial impression of the work. If major problems are found at this stage, the reviewer may feel comfortable rejecting the paper without further work. Otherwise, they will read the paper several more times, taking notes so as to build a detailed point-by-point review. The review is then submitted to the journal, with a recommendation to accept or reject it – or else with a request for revision (usually flagged as either major or minor) before it is reconsidered.
6. Journal Evaluates the Reviews
The Editor-in-Chief considers all of the returned reviews before making an overall decision. If the reviews differ widely, the Editor-in-Chief may invite an additional reviewer to get an extra opinion before making a decision.
7. The Decision is Communicated
The Editor-in-Chief sends a decision email, including any relevant reviewer comments, to the author. Whether the comments are anonymous or not will depend on the type of peer review that the journal operates.
8. Last Steps
If accepted, the paper is sent to production. If the article is rejected or sent back for either major or minor revision, the Editor-in-Chief may include constructive comments from the reviewers to help the author improve the article. At this point, reviewers would also be sent an email or letter letting them know the outcome of their review. If the paper was sent back for revision, the reviewers should expect to receive a new version, unless they have opted out of further participation. However, where only minor changes were requested, this follow-up review might be done by the Editor-in-Chief.

COPE ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR PEER REVIEWERS

KODISA JOURNALS provide membership of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) as an option for all of its journal editors. COPE has developed Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers, to which Editors and their editorial boards can refer for guidance. Read the COPE guidelines below or visit its website to download the PDF. Peer reviewers play a role in ensuring the integrity of the scholarly record. The peer review process depends to a large extent on the trust and willing participation of the scholarly community and requires that everyone involved behaves responsibly and ethically. Peer reviewers play a central and critical part in the peer review process but may come to the role without any guidance and be unaware of their ethical obligations. Journals have an obligation to provide transparent policies for peer review, and reviewers have an obligation to conduct reviews in an ethical and accountable manner. Clear communication between the journal and the reviewers is essential to facilitate consistent, fair, and timely review. COPE has heard cases from its members related to peer review issues and bases these guidelines, in part, on the collective experience and wisdom of the COPE Forum participants. It is hoped that they will provide helpful guidance to researchers, be a reference for editors and publishers in guiding their reviewers, and act as an educational resource for institutions in training their students and researchers. Peer review, for the purposes of these guidelines, refers to reviews provided on manuscript submissions to journals, but it can also include reviews for other platforms and application to public comments that can occur pre- or post-publication. Reviews of other materials, such as preprints, grants, books, conference proceeding submissions, registered reports (preregistered protocols), or data, will have a similar underlying ethical framework, but the process will vary depending on the source material and the type of review requested. The model of peer review will also influence elements of the process. 

Final Checklist Before Submission

Please ensure that:

• Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked'
• Note that submitted manuscripts will not go through language-focused copy editing with the journal prior to or after acceptance; language-focused copy editing is the responsibility of the authors prior to submission
• Please prepare the manuscript for blind review; whenever possible, please use author names and references for self-citations but make sure that you use third person to discuss the work (see “Review Policy” above)
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet)
• A competing interest statement is provided, even if the authors have no competing interests to declare
• Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed

Submission Declaration
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere, including electronically in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder. In instances where authors prepare multiple submissions using the same dataset or pursue partially overlapping variables in two or more articles, they need to be declared upfront in the letter to the editor. Masked reference(s) to previous studies based on the same dataset need to be included in the manuscript itself so the reader can understand the novelty of new study in relation to the previous articles. Please consult the APA-manual on piecemeal publications. Cases, where the manuscript is part of a larger project (e.g., prospective longitudinal study, an intervention study with numerous arms, etc.) in which other partly overlapping publications already exist or are planned in parallel to the submitted manuscript, need to be declared in the accompanying letter to the Editor-in-Chief. Authors are asked to be upfront in declaring such manuscripts. A manuscript may be returned if the degree of overlap is found to be too large. 

Similarity Check Process

KODISA JOURNALS are committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against any publication malpractices. All authors submitting their works to the journal for publication as original articles attest that the submitted works represent the authors’ contributions and have not been copied or plagiarized in whole or in part from other works. The Similarity Check process can be broadly employed by use of CrossCheck software, although these steps can vary slightly between KODISA Journals.