Author Guidelines

Referencing Style

IJBCOE requires all submissions to follow the APA 7th Edition referencing style.

In-text Citations

Use the author-date format for in-text citations. Example: (Smith, 2023) or Smith (2023) stated that...

Reference List Formatting

Include all cited sources at the end of the manuscript in alphabetical order.

• Journal Article: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
• Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher Name.
• Book Chapter: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xxx–xxx). Publisher Name.
• Website: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL
• Thesis: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master's thesis [Doctoral dissertation or Master's thesis, Name of Institution]. Archive Name. URL

Tables & Figures

• Tables: Must be numbered consecutively. The title should be placed above the table, and the source (if applicable) below.
• Figures: Must be numbered consecutively. Captions should be placed below the figure. Images must be at least 300 DPI for print quality.

Peer Review Process

IJBCOE operates a strict double-blind peer review process, meaning both the reviewer and author identities are concealed from each other throughout the process.

Expected Timeline

• Initial check: 1 week (desk review for scope and formatting)
• Peer Review: 6-8 weeks
• Editorial Decision: 2 weeks post-review
• Author Revision: Up to 4 weeks
• Final decision & Publication: Varies depending on revision scope

Decision Types

• Accept: The manuscript is accepted as is.
• Minor Revision: Acceptance is conditional upon minor modifications.
• Major Revision: The manuscript requires significant changes and will undergo a second round of review.
• Reject: The manuscript is fundamentally flawed or out of scope.

Resubmission Policy: Rejected manuscripts cannot be resubmitted unless specifically invited by the editor.

Publishing Ethics

Authorship Criteria

Authorship should follow the ICMJE guidelines, limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study.

Plagiarism Policy

All submissions are checked for originality using anti-plagiarism software. Manuscripts with a similarity index of 15% or higher will be immediately rejected.

Data Fabrication & Falsification

Any form of data fabrication, falsification, or image manipulation will lead to immediate rejection and a ban on future submissions.

Conflict of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence their work.

Copyright & Licensing

Upon acceptance, authors are required to transfer copyright to the journal. All articles are published Open Access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) license.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

To maintain Open Access publication, peer review, copyediting, and hosting, IJBCOE relies on Article Processing Charges.

Waiver Policy

We offer waivers and discounts for authors from low-income countries on a case-by-case basis. Requests must be made during the initial submission stage.