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Submitting a Paper

Step 1.

Go to www.bahaiacademy.org home page                        

Step 2.

In the right hand side top corner click on Login. A new window appears.

Step 3.

Select author. Give your user name as your email address and a password to be used later for your login.

Step 4.

An email will go to your address to validate your email address.                                                                

Step 5.

Open the email Validate Registration and Click on the button.                                                    

Step 6.

Your email will be validated automatically and your application will go to the Editor for approval.

Step 7.

A message about your approval will come to your email address.

Step 8.

After that you will be able to login and submit your paper.

Please note: Editor is the link between you and the reviewers, so all your communications should be addressed to the Editor.

Bahai Academy

Writing Research Paper

Language

English, Marathi or Hindi

Please note
  • Papers are expected to be research-based.
  • Papers in Marathi/Hindi language should be typed in ‘Shri lipi’ (Version 7.0)
Fonts

Times New Roman

Title

16 font size

Sub-titles

14 font size

The body

12 font size

Line spacing

1.5

The Paper Format
  • Title and Author/Authors
  • Abstract
  • Defining the key words
  • Introduction
    • Significance of the topic
    • Objectives
    • Scope and limitation
    • Sample
    • Hypotheses/research questions
    • Review of literature/researches
  • Tools and Methods (What technique was used to collect data, procedure followed )
  • Results
    • Data analysis
    • Findings
    • Findings
    • Conclusions
  • References
  • Length of the paper: 2500 to 3000 words, excluding the References

Peer-Review

What does peer-review mean?

It is a constructive process to confirm the scientific validity of a research work and prevent wrong information to spread. To ensure that the reviews are carried out objectively, the type of the Peer-Review that is followed by The Compass is Double Blind review wherein neither the authors nor the reviewers know each other. For a paper to be accepted usually 2 acceptances should be received from 2 reviewers.

Who does peer-review?

Peer-Reviewers are subject experts who offer their voluntary services to review manuscripts and give their free advice to the authors. A Reviewer reads a manuscript and gives his/her comments to the Editor who will convey them to the author. The Editor is the link between the Author and the Reviewer.

What are the advantages of peer-reviewing?

The process of peer review will enable the authors to see the gaps that exist in their papers to be bridged with more investigation or explanation. While reviewing a paper, the experts will also point out the ambiguity or lack of clarity that may exist in some parts of the paper and recommend improvement. The Reviewers can make suggestions to the authors to enrich the content and make it more useful to the readers. Finally the reviewers will ascertain if the article is of the required quality and meets the objectives of the journal. Hence journals will be able to select and publish the most authentic research findings in the area of their interest. (Springer a, 2021) Since the process of peer-review is time consuming, it may cause delays in publishing papers. Care should be taken the peer-review remains open to new ideas and findings rather than perpetuating some established views.

Note for the Authors

Dear author. We are glad you are submitting your research paper for peer-review by The Compass. Please note that the paper you submit should be original and should not have been published earlier. Moreover you should not send it elsewhere for publication when it is in process of reviewing by the Baha’i Academy.

Oversee

The Reviewer will check the following: To ensure that your paper will pass through the process of Peer-Review smoothly please take care of the following points before submitting your paper.

  • The research problem, your objectives, research questions /hypothesis are clear
  • If it is a case study, is this the first time it is being used?
  • Your research design and methodology is appropriate
  • You have gathered adequate amount of data which answer your research questions
  • Your data analysis has been carried out properly
  • You have made correct conclusions and inferences based on your data.
  • You have submitted a No Plagiarism Report from an authentic source (a University or an authentic online website such as Turnitin, PlagScan, iThenticate, Urkund)

Irregularities

You should also take care of the following points so your paper will not be rejected by the Editor:

  • Your paper should fall within the focus area of The Compass.
  • There should not be violation of research and publication ethical norms.
  • Follow the format prescribed by The Compass.
  • There should be no confusion, ambiguity and lack of clarity, so the readers can properly visualize the processes you have followed.
  • Give clear references by following APA Style.
  • Your paper should be written in correct and clear language.
  • (Springer b, 2021)

Editor's Questions

The journal Editor will ask the reviewer the following questions:

  • Does the article or case study say something original? Does it add to the body of knowledge?
  • If it is a case study, is this its first use?
  • If it’s research, is the design, methodology, theoretical approach and critical review sound?
  • Are the results well-presented and have they been correctly interpreted? Is the analysis sufficiently rigorous?
  • Is the submission set in the context of the wider literature?
  • Are there sufficient relevant citations?
  • Are these well referenced and are other people's views credited?
  • Is the submission accurate?
  • Is any information missing or wrong?
  • Does the title of the submission accurately reflect the contents?
  • How useful would the submission be to a professional or a student?
  • Is it an example of "good practice"?
  • If research-focused, could the study be replicated in other situations?
  • (Emerald Publishing, 2021)

Paper title and file name

Please follow the following guidelines when you want to submit your paper:

  • If one paper has more than one Author, it is sufficient if one author submits the paper and plagiarism report.
  • The Author should NOT include his/her name as part of the file name.
  • After making changes as per the comments given by the reviewer, when the author is re-submitting his/her paper the author should write ”Revision 1” after the title of his/her paper and also rename the file by adding Revision 1 to the file name.

Revising and responding

While revising and resubmitting your paper to the Editor, make sure you take care of the following:

  • Follow the deadline given to you for resubmitting your paper. If you need more time, make a request as soon as possible.
  • Highlight (in yellow) the changes you make in the revised paper as per the reviewer’s advice. You may use Microsoft Word’s Track Change feature.
  • Respond to all the points that have been raised by the reviewer.
  • Are the results well-presented and have they been correctly interpreted? Is the analysis sufficiently rigorous?
  • If you disagree with some advices given by the reviewer, state politely and scientifically your reason in your covering letter. In your letter you should clearly mention the reviewer’s advice and your response.
  • (Springer c, 2021)

Note for Reviewers

  • It is expected that a reviewer sets aside enough time to go through the paper several times.
  • After the first reading, the reviewer may decide to reject the paper or reads it few more times to prepare point-wise comments to be sent to the Editor with the recommendation whether to accept or reject the paper or ask for a revised version of the paper .
  • If the reviewer cannot accept the invitation from the Editor to review the paper due to conflict of interest or any other reason, he/she may wish to recommend the name of another reviewer to the Editor.

Responsibilities of the Peer-Reviewers

As a peer reviewer, you are responsible to

  • Provide the authors with your courteous, positive, and frank comments.
  • Evaluate the significance of the work, its strengths, weaknesses, its originality, and offer suggestions for its improvement.
  • Enlighten the editor regarding any breach of ethical norms including plagiarism and duplication.
  • Revert to the Editor with your candid and analytical review of the submission.

Reviewing is a confidential process, hence the Reviewer is expected to maintain the confidentiality of any material submitted to him for his review and will not share the content and his review comments with anyone. If you feel that a colleague is more qualified to review the paper, please inform the Editor to decide. Your comments should be clear and specific by referring to the page and line number of the manuscript. Please provide your comments with respect to the following aspects of the paper: Its scope, appropriateness of the title, abstract, introduction, methodology, data analysis, presentation, findings, conclusions, language, tables/figures and references.

Reviewer’s Checklist

Do's

  • Summarize the article in a short paragraph. This shows the editor you have read and understood the research.
  • Give your main impressions of the article, including whether it is novel and interesting, whether it has a sufficient impact and adds to the knowledge base.
  • Ideally when commenting, do so using short, clearly-defined paragraphs and make it easy for the editor and author to see what section you’re referring to.
  • Assess whether the article conforms to the journal-specific instructions (e.g. the guide for authors).
  • Give specific comments and suggestions about title, abstract: Does the title accurately reflect the content? Is the abstract complete and stand-alone?
  • Check the graphical abstracts and/or highlights.
  • Keep your comments strictly factual and don’t speculate on the motives of the author(s)
  • Carefully review the methodology, statistical errors, results, conclusion/discussion, and references.
  • Consider feedback on the presentation of data in the article, the sustainability and reproducibility of any methodology, the analysis of any data and whether the conclusions are supported by the data.
  • Raise your suspicions with the editor if you suspect plagiarism, fraud or have other ethical concerns, providing as much detail as possible. Visit Elsevier’s ethics page or consult the COPE guidelines for more information.
  • Be aware of the possibility for bias in your review. Unconscious bias can lead us all to make questionable decisions which impact negatively on the academic publishing process. …

Don'ts

  • DO NOT feel the need to comment on the spelling, grammar or layout of the article. If the research is sound, but let down by poor language; recommend to the editor that the author(s) have their paper language edited.
  • DO NOT make ad-hominem comments.
  • DO NOT dismiss alternative viewpoints or theories that might conflict with your own opinions on a topic: when reviewing, maintain an open perspective.
  • DO NOT share the review or information about the review with anyone without the agreement of the editors and authors involved. According to COPE guidelines, reviewers must treat any manuscripts they are asked to review as confidential documents. This applies both during and after the publication process unless the journal employs open peer review.
  • DO NOT suggest that the author includes citations to your (or your associates’) work unless for genuine scientific reasons and not with the intention of increasing citation counts or enhancing the visibility of your work (or that of your associates).

Ethical Norms and Other Guidelines

Please Consult for Ethical Norms and Other Guidelines

COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

https://publicationethics.org/files/u7141/1999pdf13.pdf

GOOD ACADEMIC RESEARCH PRACTICES, September 2020, ©University Grants Commission.

https://www.ugc.ac.in/e-book/UGC_GARP_2020_Good%20Academic%20Research%20Practices.pdf

International Character of the Journal

  • The Editorial Board will have membership from various countries. It should be made clear to them that the reason of having them on the Board is to promote the journal at international level and share with the Board the best practices internationally.
  • Editors will ensure that the content is from a wide range of international authors.
  • Reviewers will include members from different countries. It should be made clear to them that the reason of having them on the Board is to promote the journal at international level, in their country and among their colleagues as well as to share with the Editor the best practices internationally.

Thrust of the Journal

  • Social Cohesion
  • Gender Equality
  • Rectitude of Conduct
  • Uprightness
  • Unity in Diversity
  • Communal Harmony
  • Social Development
  • Human Values and Economics
  • Value-Based Youth Leadership
  • Moral Challenges of the Youth in the Colleges and Universities
  • Students-Teachers Relationships
  • Value-Based Teaching/Learning Methodologies
  • Leadership for Change
  • Personality Development
  • Need for Value Education From Environmental Perspective
  • Need for Value Education From Scientific Perspective
  • Need for Value Education From Medical Perspective
  • Need for Value Education From Economical Perspective
  • Need for Value Education From Social and Political Perspective
  • Value Education For Adult Learners
  • Value Based Work Culture In The Institutions Of Higher Learning
  • Performing Arts and Value Education
  • Cinema and Values
  • Social Media and Value Education
  • Culture and Values
  • Professional ethics
  • Principles and Values
  • Ethics in Higher Education
  • Mass Media and Universal Human Values
  • Mentoring for Value Education
  • Cooperative Learning
  • Cooperative and Educational Games
  • Service Learning Activities for Developing Positive Attitudes
  • Building Moral Capabilities
  • Beauty
  • Communal Harmony
  • Sustainable Development and Human Values
  • World Citizenship
  • Social Development and Human Values
  • Conflict resolution
  • Economics and Human Values
  • Principle Centred Management
  • Human Values in law and legal Profession
  • Human Rights and Human Values
  • Nurturing Human Values through Language Learning
  • Psychiatry and Human Values
  • Principle-centred Leadership
  • Professional Ethics
  • Science, values and development
  • Qualitative Research on Value Education
  • Interactive Theatre for Societal Change
  • E-Content Development for Value Education
  • Ethics of Competition
  • Ethics in Higher Education Research
  • Consultation
  • Peace Education
  • Citizenship Education and Human Values
  • Scientific Temper and Human Values
  • Role of Human Values Training in Developing NSS Volunteers
  • Psychology and Human Values
  • Human Capital and Its Relationship with Human Values
  • Scientific Attitude
  • Need for value education in institutions of higher learning from the perspective of students, teachers, institutions, parents and communities
  • The impact of Education in Universal Human Values on the performance of college teachers and the teacher-student relationship
  • The impact of Education in Universal Human Values on NSS Programme Officers and volunteers
  • The impact of Education in Universal Human Values on B.Ed students and their role as future teachers
  • The impact of Education in Universal Human Values on students of medical sciences and the communities they serve
  • The impact of Education in Universal Human Values on Administrative Staff members of Colleges and Universities
  • The impact of cooperative learning and universal human values on the B.Ed. students and their roles as future teachers
  • Study of the moral challenges of the rural students when they join colleges/universities in cities
  • Study of the perception of the students about value education and its place in their present and future life and professions
  • Study of the Impact of Value Education Programmes on the Students of Lead colleges
  • Use of Performing Arts in Promoting Value Education
  • Inculcating Attitude of Service In The Students Of Professional Courses
  • Sustainable Development and Universal Human Values
  • Promoting Gender Equality in the Workplace
  • A Critical Study of The Factors Affecting The Regularity And Quality Implementation Of Value Education Programmes In Colleges and University Departments

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board is set up to closely work with the Editor to develop the Journal and introduce new ingenuities; they are indeed the ambassadors and the face of the journal. The members are selected for their renowned expertise related to the aims of the Journal. The number of their publications and their academic abilities are the most important criteria for selecting the members. The Board members are appointed for a fixed duration of 2-3 years.
The Objectives of the Editorial Board include

  • Identifying new topics for commissions, special editions and advising on direction for the journal—giving feedback on past issues and making suggestions for both subject matter and potential authors
  • Provide content by writing occasional editorials and other short articles
  • Approaching potential contributors.
  • Peer review; also help to identify peer reviewers and provide second opinions on papers (i.e. where there is a conflict between reviewers)
  • Identify appropriate conferences for editors to attend
  • Endorse the journal to authors, readers and subscribers and encourage colleagues to submit their best work. (Springer d, 2021)

General Guidelines for Editorial Board Members

  • All Editorial Board members are required to submit at least 4 manuscripts per annum.
  • Editors undertake full responsibility of the entire content of the Journal.
  • Contribute, manage, and co-ordinate with other board members for the successful content development of the Journal.
  • Communicate new policies and guidelines to the reviewers and authors.
  • Always maintain clear and steady communication with the editorial office.
  • Integrity for the published work should be assured.
  • Protect individual data and maintain confidentiality.
  • The contributing authors will expect constructive, fair and timely feedback which must be given to them by Editorial Board members.
  • The Journal’s reputation among the academic community should be promoted.” (eMediWrite Private Limited, 2020 )

References

What is Plagiarism

To "plagiarize" means to steal and convey the ideas or words of other persons as your own, without giving credit to the source, It also means to present an idea or research as new and original while the idea is derived from an earlier work carried out by someone else. When research students or teachers are drafting their research manuscripts, they refer to the previously published works. But sometimes unknowingly or inadvertently they end up plagiarising the content. Plagiarism is considered as a serious misconduct. It is necessary that the students/ researchers know about the serious consequences of plagiarising the contents. Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided by simply acknowledging the source and citing the reference. Therefore it is very important that the students understand what is plagiarism and types of plagiarism, what are the consequences and how to avoid plagiarism. (Enago Academy Team, n.d.)

Different Types of Plagiarism

There are twelve different types of plagiarism, as said in Wilson K. M., 2021. Additionally there are some more types of plagiarism that are given below.

1. Direct Plagiarism/ Complete Plagiarism

Copying the entire content of the work done by someone else and claiming it as your own original work is considered as Direct plagiarism. It is also known as “word-for-word plagiarism” or “clone plagiarism”.

2. Hired Plagiarism

When the authors pay someone else to write an article or research paper for themselves it constitutes to Hired Plagiarism. This also includes buying essays from internet sites or essay-writing services and presenting as their own.

3. Borrowed Plagiarism

When you borrow an essay or a paper from your friend and present as your own, it is borrowed plagiarism. You may have older friends who have taken a course years before from a different instructor. If you use a paper or part of a paper written by a friend for a past course, this is considered borrowed plagiarism.

4. Self-Plagiarism/ Recycle – Plagiarism

Reusing your own work from your previous research paper and passing it off as new work. To use the same essay or paper to fulfill two different assignments for two different courses is also considered as self-plagiarism. It refers to the act of using content from one’s own earlier published document without a proper citation.

5. Mosaic/patchwork plagiarism

Mixing someone else’s content, or sentences or text within own work. This is one of the most difficult to identify. It is also known as “patchwork plagiarism” or “patch writing,” This also include the “ Ctrl+C or Copy- Paste” and “ Find-Replace” plagiarism.

6. Collaboration Plagiarism

This type of plagiarism involves collaborating on a project but acting like it was done alone. A group of students may get together to work on the research for a project and then each write his or her own essay based on the research. Because the work is not entirely original and that of the student claiming it, this is plagiarism.

7. Contributing Author Plagiarism

When you do not give credit to an author or editor who contributes to your work. For instance, if you and your partner work together on the project but only one of you gets credit, the person receiving credit is actually plagiarising some of the work. Additionally, if someone edits your work and makes significant changes in the process, that person should be credited to avoid plagiarism.

8. “Aggregator” – Plagiarism

In this type of plagiarism, the written document does not contain original work. It is when your paper is based on another paper and uses the same ideas and the same sources.

9. Outline Plagiarism

Outline plagiarism, also called “re-tweet plagiarism,” uses the outline of another paper. This type of plagiarism uses the outline of another paper, i.e. using the same structure with new information. The thesis statement is the same, as well as the basic points in each paragraph are also similar. The sources and actual writing may be unique, but the paper or essay is not entirely original content.

10. Bibliography Plagiarism

If you use the bibliography from another paper, you are plagiarizing that research. On a similar note, extending a bibliography with sources not used in the paper is a form of plagiarism too.

11. Secondary Source Plagiarism

If your paper mentions primary sources and cites those properly but you use information from secondary sources without citing them, you are committing secondary source plagiarism.

12. Accidental Plagiarism

You may come across ideas and forget where you saw them, thinking they are your own. You may even be influenced by the language used in a piece of writing and inadvertently use the same language in your work. This kind of plagiarism is difficult to avoid, but making notes and trying to be aware of what you read can help. (Wilson K. M.,2021)

13. “404 Error”

In this, a person creates a document by copying from various sources and prepare as a single document with the citation. But if the citation is inaccurate or it will lead to non-existing resources then it will be called 404 types of plagiarism.(Somasundaram R.,2021)

14. Data fabrication and falsification

Data fabrication and falsification are also considered as serious issues in scientific ethics. Data fabrication is the making up of data and research findings, while data falsification involves changing or omitting data to give a false impression. Both of these schemes are probably among the most serious offenses in scientific research as they challenge the credibility of everyone and everything involved in a research effort. These offenses make it very difficult for scientists to move forward as it is unclear to anyone what if anything is true and can be trusted– can lead students and colleagues to waste precious time, effort, and resources investigating dead ends. (North Eastern University, n.d.)

Consequences of Plagiarism

Plagiarism is considered as a serious offense. Plagiarism can affect the academic and professional reputation of the research student or the teacher. It can have legal as well as monetary repercussions, in terms of loss of job or stopping of research funding. (Enago Academy Team)

Tips to Avoid Plagiarism

  • You should read many times and understand the original document before you start explaining about it.
  • Write in your own words, Do not copy any words or sentences from the original document.
  • A proper citation should be given to all the sources from where you have referred, such as Books, Journals, Websites, Video, and so on.
  • When you are citing the online sources, the accessed date and appropriate URL should be included in the reference.
  • Definition and common phrases should be quoted and cited without any modification in inverted commas “---”.
  • Whenever you are writing an academic document, always make it a practice to include the “references” section.
  • Before you submit your document, cross verify all your citations.
  • It is always helpful to use one of the good plagiarism checker tools available online.( Zoe N., 2018)

Why Should You Use Plagiarism Checker Software?

As a research student or as a teacher when you are doing research and you are writing a research paper or your thesis, it is important that you present your findings in your own words. As plagiarism is considered as a serious misconduct, it is necessary that you check your content for plagiarism. Manually checking the contents for plagiarism can be very difficult. Plagiarism checker software can help individual writers, students and teachers, protect themselves and their writing against the risk of plagiarism. Plagiarism detection software can help users make sure their writing does not include any instances of plagiarism, protect them from legal risk, and help improve the overall quality of their writing. Such software can come with algorithm-based detection features, plus useful capabilities like writing suggestions and citation generators. (Bouchrika I. ,2020)

How Much Does Plagiarism Checker Software Cost?

There are many free and paid plagiarism detection tools available. Free tools can be great for individuals that need to check their writing for plagiarism in an ad hoc manner, while paid tools are better suited for individuals who write professionally or organizations looking for a solution that can be used across their business. Pricing for paid plagiarism checker and writing tool suites can vary based on a few key things: the number of pages that need to be checked, the number of words that need to be scanned, and the number of users. Most solutions charge either a monthly or annual fee. Prices can range from $20 per month (for between 200 - 3,000 pages and 72K - 800K words) up to $100 or more per month for over 100K pages and millions of words.( Nancy, 2020)

For APA Referencing See

The Compass International journal prefers citation and referencing to be in APA style. For details please visit AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION (APA) REFERENCING STYLE GUIDE: https://library.westernsydney.edu.au/main/sites/default/files/cite_APA.pdf

References

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