Submissions

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
The submission file is in Microsoft Word file format.
Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
For English, the text is single-spaced and uses 12-point Times New Roman font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses).
For Nepali, the text is double-spaced and uses 14-point Kantipur font.
All illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.

Author Guidelines

General Background

Unity Journal is Nepali Army’s official annual publication. This journal publishes papers on issues and topics in various areas, including arts, sports, culture, archeology, history, politics, governance, psychology, strategic studies, military studies, national security, conflict and development, international relations and international law. It is a peer reviewed, open access, interdisciplinary journal and follows the general principles of publications in the humanities and social sciences. Unity Journal publishes research articles annually both in hard copies and on online to encourage scholarship and knowledge production in humanities and social sciences. Moreover, articles submitted to the publishers are evaluated based on the publisher designated criteria and rubrics of evaluation. The Unity Journal Editorial Board accepts original research articles, innovative papers, book reviews and book reports on topical issues and intellectual debates from prospective authors in diverse fields.

In the backdrop of operation of academic programs in National Defense University (NDU), Nepali Army brings out a series of publications, including magazines and journal. The Nepali Army’s publications, including Unity Journal conform to these guidelines for authors, reviewers and editors. Publication of Unity Journal substantiates the incumbent Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Purna Chandra Thapa’s vision: promoting the Academia –Military reciprocal relationships for the nation building and leadership preparation. The Nepali Army’s Directorate General of Military Training (DGMT) undertakes sole responsibilities and accountabilities of all the publication procedures.

Objectives

Journals of any organization, including university and military institutions should maintain standards in procedures and quality. They should follow the publication guidelines properly while respecting author’s original ideas, constructive thoughts and diverse perspectives on ongoing knowledge and scholarship. Moreover, Nepali Army’s journals meet standards set by concerned authorities in line with genuine research journal of international repute. Publication processes of these journals are officially managed by the Nepali Army’s DGMT to meet criteria of journal publication at par with standards of peer review international journal. The following are the specific objectives of the guidelines:

to offer researchers and scholars a forum to bring out their innovative ideas and thoughts on ongoing issues in national and global contexts
to prompt journal publishers to index in the NepJOL, meeting the criteria set by AJOL and INASP for the quality of publishing practices in Nepali Army
to save resources, including time and money by publishing their journals electronically
to conform to Nepal’s University Grants Commission’s standards of peer reviewed journals published in Nepal
to maintain uniformity in Nepali Army’s journals
to assure quality of journal publications

These Journal Guidelines offer major procedures for the publication of Unity Journal. These Guidelines provide instructions for the preparation of articles, review of selected papers, editing of manuscripts and publication of the journal. The “Guidelines for Unity Journal Publishers and Editors” is based on the “Guidelines for the Minimum Standards and Classification of Peer-Reviewed Journals Published in Nepal, 2018” set by Nepal’s University Grants Commission (UGC) and “Journal Publishing Practices and Standards (JPPS) Framework” managed by the AJOL and UK–based INASP. The guidelines are prepared to maintain standards of academic writing and research design in the process of publication of Nepali Army’s journals through different bodies, including Directorates, Divisions and Offices. These guidelines are used for academic publishing and are subject to a rigorous quality assurance process. With that purpose, these guidelines are directed to support authors, reviewers and editors to maintain standard quality while maintaining professional integrity and quality assurance.

Guidelines for Paper Writers and Editors

Unity Journal writers and editors follow designated instructions to publication of articles in its annual issue. Prospective authors are expected to follow these guidelines while submitting their articles for publication in Nepali Army’s Unity Journal. In the meantime, editors abide by these regulations while selecting articles and editing the manuscripts.

Manuscripts written in both English and Nepali will be considered for further process of publication.
Manuscripts should be between 5000 and 7000 words, including figures, charts, pictures and appendix. A typical journal manuscript must include the following components:

Title
The title of the paper should be short and concise, accurate and focused on contents of manuscript [with length of not exceeding 15 words]. The title is considered the DNA of the paper.
Affiliation
The author/s’ affiliation should be clearly stated in the paper. It should include the authorial details: name/s, position/s, affiliating institution/s and address/es, and phone number/s and email account/s.
Abstract
Abstract of about 250 words should be a brief summary of the article, major argument/thesis statement/statement of the problem, research questions, objectives, methodology and method, findings and significance of the study.
Keywords
The author/s should include the terms that capture the central ideas of the paper. The author/s should choose between 5 to 9 words or phrases that prompt readers to electronically search the published article.
The main text
The main text of the article is comprised of an introductory section with the author’s research questions followed by major argument/position/thesis statement/statement of purpose in the first paragraph; objectives; methodology; data, interpretation, analysis and reflection; conclusion and recommendations for further research (if any). If any graphics, including illustration, image and table are included in the paper, it should reflect details of the visual text along source of the material in the caption inserted.
NB: The main text of the paper should be in compliance with one of the journal article types below in Guideline 03.
Acknowledgements [optional]
If the manuscript is based on the funded research projects, the author/s should acknowledge the funding institution.
Reference section
The author should be able to present a minimum of 10 entries from different sources, including journals, books, and reports in the reference section.
Annex
Appendix
Questionnaire
Additional documents
Basic technical instructions
Font style: Times New Roman for English, Kantipur for Nepali
Font size: 12 for English, 14 for Nepali
Line spacing: single throughout the paper, between lines and paragraphs for English: double throughout the paper, between lines and paragraphs for Nepali.

Manuscript must fit into one of the following journal article types:

Type 1: The original research article must have these major contents: introduction (incorporating major argument/thesis statement); review of literature; methodology (explicating theoretical perspective, conceptual frame, research design, tools and materials); results and discussions, and conclusion [recommendations are optional].
Type 2: The theoretical article must have the following major contents: introduction, theory/approach [with a meaningful heading], critical discussion [with 1 to 3 meaningful headings for thematic or textual analysis] and conclusion.
Type 3: The review article must have these major contents: introduction, critical discussion [with 1 to 3 meaningful headings for reviews] and conclusion.

Manuscripts should comply with the APA (American Psychological Association) style (latest version, sixth) of formatting and documentation style both in in–text citation and work cited list (reference).
Unity Journal adopts a blind submission policy. The author/s submitting their manuscripts must prepare two separate word files for submission:

A cover page that includes the title of the article, the author/s’ name and affiliation,
email [if multi-authored, give the corresponding author’s email] and phone number and write a brief biographical information [not exceeding 200 words]; and
A manuscript with the title of the article, an abstract, keywords and the full text that should avoid any identification marker of the author/s.

Peer Review Process
After the article is accepted, Unity Journal uses double blind peer review process during publication. Please ensure that the entire text of the manuscript except the title page is blinded and doesn't contain any information that identifies the author/s or their affiliated institutions.

The Unity Journal Editorial Board conducts initial screening of manuscripts submitted for the publication. The Board can first ask the author to revise the paper if necessary. After the approval, all articles submitted for publication go through a double blind peer review process.

Major procedures after the submission of the article

Step 1–Initial screening by the Editorial Board: after the initial screening, editors shall send the draft back to the author for corrections, minor or major, to meet the requirements of the journal in case the paper is acceptable.
Step 2 –the author is expected to revise his or her article based on the feedback from the Editorial Board.
Step 3 –the Editorial Board shall send the article to a couple of peer reviewers for further procedures. The reviewer makes the judgment based on Guidelines for Reviewers. Reviewers shall make these remarks on the paper:

Acceptance
Acceptance with minor revision
Acceptance with moderate revision
Acceptance with major revision
Rejection

Step 4 –the Editorial Board decides the acceptance or rejection of the article based on the reviewers’ recommendation. It also rejects sensational, emotionally charged and ideologically motivated articles for individual security and institutional interests.

The Editorial Board has the full discretion to accept or reject the article on genuine grounds and as per recommendations made by the peer reviewers. The Board and Publisher also use their prerogatives to accept or reject the reviewed articles. Editors in consultation with the Publisher accept or reject those articles. In case of controversial issues in any section of the article can considerably be eliminated, modified, or updated in due respect to the Publishing Institution, Nepali Army.

In any condition, the publisher and Editorial Board shall not be obliged to return the rejected manuscript/s to the author/s on any ground.

Unity Journal does not entertain plagiarized manuscripts. Manuscripts undergo processes of plagiarism of text electronically. If any manuscript is detected before publication, the Journal Editorial Board will reject the manuscript outright. If any instance of plagiarism discovered, the Board executes its formal stipulated actions.

Editorial Board respects privacy and confidentiality of articles, authors and respondents while exercising prerogatives to decide on issues and contents in the paper.

Article submission email account:
Prospective authors can send e-copies of their manuscripts in Word files to unityjournal@nepalarmy.mil.np

Unity Journal calls for abstracts and papers on its stipulated timelines. However, prospective authors can also submit their articles throughout the year which the publisher electronically collects for the publication in the forthcoming issue.

Copyright Notice

The articles rest within the authority of the Nepali Army. Only with the Nepali Army's prior permission, can any article in whole or in part from this journal shall be reproduced in any form.

Privacy Statement

Nepal Journals Online (NepJOL) is a member of the Ubiquity Partner Network coordinated by Ubiquity Press. According to the EU definitions, NepJOL is the data controller, and Ubiquity Press are the service providers and data processors. Ubiquity Press provide the technical platform and some publishing services to NepJOL and operate under the principle of data minimisation where only the minimal amount of personal data that is required to carry out a task is obtained.

More information on the type of data that is required can be found in Ubiquity Press’ privacy policy below.

Ubiquity Press Privacy Policy

We take seriously our duty to process your personal data in a fair and transparent way. We collect and manage user data according to the following Privacy Policy. This document is part of our Terms of Service, and by using the press portal, affiliated journals, book, conference and repository websites (the “Websites”), you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Service. Please read the Terms of Service in their entirety, and refer to those for definitions and contacts.

What type of personal data do we handle?

There are four main categories of personal data stored by our journal platform, our press platform, and our book management system; Website User data, Author data, Reviewer data and Editor data.

The minimum personal data that are stored are:

full name
email address
affiliation (department, and institution)
country of residence

Optionally, the user can provide:

salutation
gender
associated URL
phone number
fax number
reviewing interests
mailing address
ORCiD
a short biography
interests
Twitter profile
LinkedIn profile
ImpactStory profile
profile picture

The data subjects have complete control of this data through their profile, and can request for it to be removed by contacting info@ubiquitypress.com

What do we do to keep that data secure?

We regularly backup our databases, and we use reliable cloud service providers (Amazon, Google Cloud, Linode) to ensure they are kept securely. Backups are regularly rotated and the old data is permanently deleted. We have a clear internal data handling policy, restricting access to the data and backups to key employees only. In case of a data breach, we will report the breach to the affected users, and to the press/journal contacts within 72 hours.

How do we use the data?

Personal information is only used to deliver the services provided by the publisher. Personal data is not shared externally except for author names, affiliations, emails, and links to ORCiD and social media accounts (if provided) in published articles and books which are displayed as part of the article/book and shared externally to indexes and databases. If a journal operates under open peer review then the reviewer details are published alongside the reviewer details.

How we collect and use your data:

1. When using the website

1.1 what data we collect

When you browse our website, we collect anonymised data about your use of the website; for example, we collect information about which pages you view, which files you download, what browser you are using, and when you were using the site.
When you comment on an article or book using Disqus, we are not collecting, controlling or processing the data. More details on the DISQUS privacy policy can be found on their website.
When you annotate an article or book, this is done via a 3rd party plugin to the website called Hypothes.is. In using this plugin we are not collecting, controlling or processing the data. More details on the Hypothes.is privacy policy can be found on their website.

1.2 why we collect the data

We use anonymised website usage data to monitor traffic, help fix bugs, and see overall patterns that inform future redesigns of the website, and provide reports on how frequently the publications on our site have been accessed from within their IP ranges.

1.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

We do not collect personal information that can be used to identify you when you browse the website.
We currently use Google Analytics for publication reports, and to improve the website and services through traffic analysis, but no personal identifying data is shared with Google (for example your computer’s IP is anonymised before transmission).

1.4 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

Please contact info@ubiquitypress.com to request a copy of your data, or for your data to be removed/anonymised.

2. When registering as an author, and submitting an article or book

2.1 what data we collect

When registering an account we ask you to log in and provide certain personal information (such as your name and email address), and there is the option to register using an ORCiD which will pre-fill the registration form.
As part of submitting an article for publication, you will need to provide personally identifying information which will be used for the peer review process, and will be published. This can include ‘Affiliation’, ‘Competing interests’, ‘Acknowledgements’.

2.2 why we collect the data

Registering an account allows you to log in, manage your profile, and participate as an author/reviewer/editor. We use cookies and session information to streamline your use of the website (for example in order for you to remain logged-in when you return to a journal). You can block or delete cookies and still be able to use the websites, although if you do you will then need to enter your username and password to login. In order to take advantage of certain features of the websites, you may also choose to provide us with other personal information, such as your ORCiD, but your decision to utilize these features and provide such data will always be voluntary.
Personal data submitted with the article or book is collected to allow follow good publication ethics during the review process, and will form part of the official published record in order for the provenance of the work to be established, and for the work to be correctly attributed.

2.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

We do not share your personal information with third parties, other than as part of providing the publishing service.
As a registered author in the system you may be contacted by the journal editor to submit another article.
Any books published on the platform are freely available to download from the publisher website in PDF, EPUB and MOBI formats on the publisher’s site.
Any personal data accompanying an article or a book (that will have been added by the submitting author) is published alongside it. The published data includes the names, affiliations and email addresses of all authors.
Any articles published on the platform are freely available to download from the publisher website in various formats (e.g. PDF, XML).
Ubiquity Press books and articles are typeset by SiliconChips and Diacritech.This process involves them receiving the book and book associated metadata and contacting the authors to finalise the layout. Ubiquity Press work with these suppliers to ensure that personal data is only used for the purposes of typesetting and proofing.
For physical purchases of books on the platform Ubiquity Press use print on demand services via Lightning Source who are responsible for printing and distribution via retailers. (For example; Amazon, Book Repository, Waterstones). Lightning Source’s privacy policy and details on data handling can be found on their website.

2.4 why we store the data

We store the account data so that you may choose to become a reviewer and be able to perform those tasks, or to become an author and submit an article and then track progress of that article.
Published personal data that accompanies an article or a book forms part of the official published record in order for the provenance of the work to be established, and for the work to be correctly attributed.

2.5 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

You are able to view, change and remove your data associated with your profile. Should you choose to completely delete your account, please contact us at support@ubiquitypress.com and we will follow up with your request as soon as possible.
To conform to publication ethics and best practice any personal data that is published alongside an article or book cannot be removed. If you have a query about a publication to which you are attributed please contact info@ubiquitypress.com

3. When registering as a reviewer

3.1 what data we collect

To become a reviewer you must first register as a user on the website, and set your preference that you would like to be considered as a reviewer. No new personal data is collected when a registered user elects to become a reviewer.
When registering an account we ask you to log in and provide certain personal information (such as your name and email address), and there is the option to register using an ORCiD which will pre-fill the registration form.
Reviewers can also be registered by editors who invite them to review a specific article. This requires the editor to provide the reviewer’s First Name, Last Name, and Email address. Normally this will be done as part of the process of inviting you to review the article or book.
On submitting a review, the reviewer includes a competing interest statement, they may answer questions about the quality of the article, and they will submit their recommendation.

3.2 why we collect the data

The data entered is used to invite the reviewer to peer review the article or book, and to contact the reviewer during and the review process.
If you submit a review then the details of your review, including your recommendation, your responses to any review form, your free-form responses, your competing interests statement, and any cover letter are recorded.

3.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

This data is not shared publicly and is only accessible by the Editor and system administrators of that journal or press.
The data will only be used in connection with that journal or press.
Data that is retained post final decision is kept to conform to publication ethics and best practice, to provide evidence of peer review, and to resolve any disputes relating to the peer review of the article or book.
For journals or presses that publish the peer reviews, you will be asked to give consent to your review being published, and a subset of the data you have submitted will become part of the published record.

3.4 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

If you would no longer like to be registered as a reviewer you can edit your profile and tick the box ‘stop being a reviewer’. This will remove you from the reviewer database, however any existing reviews you may have carried out will remain.
If you have been contacted by an editor to peer review an article this means that you have been registered in the system. If you would not like to be contacted for peer review you can reply to the email requesting that your data be deleted.

4. When being registered as a co-author

4.1 what data we collect

Co-author data is entered by the submitting author. The submitting author will already have a user account. According to standard publishing practice, the submitting author is responsible for obtaining the consent of their co-authors to be included (including having their personal data included) in the article/book being submitted to the journal/press.
The requested personal data for co-authors are at the bare minimum; first name, last name, institution, country, email address. This can also include; ORCID ID, Title, Middle Name, Biographical Statement, Department, Twitter Handle, Linkedin Profile Name or ImpactStory ID.

4.2 why we collect the data

Assuming that it is accepted for publication, this data forms part of the official published record in order for the provenance of the work to be established, and for the work to be correctly attributed.
Author names, affiliations and emails are required for publication and will become part of the permanent cited record.

4.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

The co-author’s personal data is stored in the author database. This personal data is only used in relation to the publication of the associated article.
Any co-author data collected is added to the author database and is only used in association with the article the user is co-author on.

4.5 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

To receive a copy of your data, please contact info@ubiquitypress.com
To conform to publication ethics and best practice any personal data that is published alongside an article or book cannot be removed. If you have a query about a publication to which you are attributed please contact info@ubiquitypress.com

5. When signing-up to receive newsletters

5.1 what data we collect

We require you to include your name and email address

5.2 why we collect and store the data, and for how long

This data would be collected to keep you updated with any news about the platform or specific journal

5.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

We use mailchimp to provide our mailing list services. Their privacy policy can be found here

5.4 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data or want your data to be removed

All emails sent via our newsletter client will include a link that will allow you to unsubscribe from the mailing list

Notification about change of ownership or of control of data

We may choose to buy or sell assets. In the case that control of data changes to or from Ubiquity Press and a third party, or in the case of change of ownership of Ubiquity Press or of part of the business where the control of personal data is transferred, we will do our best to inform all affected users and present the options.

(Updated: 18 May 2018)