Submissions

Author Guidelines

As part of the submission process, authors are required to ensure that their manuscripts comply with all of the following guidelines. Manuscripts that don't meet these requirements may be sent back to the authors for revision before editorial evaluation.

General Guidelines on the Preparation of Manuscripts

1. Manuscripts submitted to Scientia: The International Journal on the Liberal Arts must be original contributions. The manuscript must be original and not under consideration by another journal.
2. Manuscript must be submitted in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF format.
3. Manuscripts should be single-spaced and use a 12-points font. Italics should be used instead of undelining, except where underlining is required for URLs.
4. Tables, figures, illustrations, and other visual materials should be placed at the appropriate points in the manuscript rather than at the end.
5. Authors should provide DOI links or URLs for references whenever available.
6. Manuscripts must follow the APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition, particularly in matters of formatting, headings, citations, references, tables, figures, and other scholarly convertions.

Length of the Manuscripts

For a Journal Article:

1. Manuscripts should be between 6,000 and 9,000 words, including the abstract and references. 
2. Each manuscript must include: 
   • An abstract of 200 to 250 words
   • Five keywords
   • The author's institutional affiliation
3. The manuscript should follow the appropriate scholarly structure for the discipline and should consistently apply APA 7th Edition throughout the text.

For Book Reviews:

1. Book reviews should be between 1,500 and 2,000 words.
2. A review essay covering two or more books should be between 3,000 and 4,000 words.
3. A book review should generally address the following:
   • Background and scholarly profile of the author
   • Main arguments and themes of the book
   • Context and significance of the arguments
   • Major contributions of the book to the field
   • Evaluation of the organization, evidence, data, analysis, and methodology, where applicable
   • Conclusion and critical appraisal

APA 7th Edition Citation and Reference Guidelines

1. Scientia follows the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition (APA 7th Edition) for in-text citations and reference entries.
2. All sources cited in the manuscript must appear in the reference list, and all works included in the reference list must be cited in the manuscript.
3. In-text citations should follow the APA 7th Edition author-date system. Page numbers should be included for direct quotations.
4. Quotations of fewer than 40 words should be incorporated into the text and enclosed in double quotation marks.
5. Quotations of 40 words or more should be presented as block quotations. Block quotations should be indented, without quotation marks. The text should follow APA 7th Edition formatting requirements.
6. Quotations from works in languages other than English should be translated into English when presented in the manuscript. Where appropriate, the original-language text may be provided alongside the translation.
7. Titles of books, reports, journal names, and other standalone works should be italicized in accordance with APA 7th Edition. Titles of journal articles, book chapters, and other works that form part of a larger publication should not be placed in quotation marks or italicized in the reference list.
8. Journal volume numbers should be italicized. Issue numbers should be placed in parentheses immediately after the volume number and should not be italicized.
9. Authors should use Arabic numerals for volume, issue, and page numbers in accordance with APA 7th Edition.
10. The use of ibid. and op. cit. is not permitted. APA 7th Edition uses author-date in-text citations rather than traditional shortened footnote citations.
11. Footnotes should be used only when necessary to provide supplementary information. They should not be used as a substitute for APA in-text citations.
12. DOI links should be presented in URL format whenever available. URLs should be active and should not be preceded by “Retrieved from” unless a retrieval date is required under APA 7th Edition.
13. Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of all citations and reference entries.
14. Authors are responsible for securing written permission to reproduce copyrighted images, figures, tables, or other materials included in their manuscripts.
15. Authors may consult the APA Publication Manual, 7th Edition, and the journal's sample manuscripts for additional formatting and citation examples.

Double-Blind Peer Review Process

1. Scientia: The International Journal on the Liberal Arts follows a double-blind peer-review process for qualified manuscripts.
2. To preserve the anonymity of the review process, authors must remove all identifying information from the manuscript, including their names, institutional affiliations, acknowledgments, author biographies, and other information that may reveal their identities.
3. Author-identifying information should also be removed from document properties and file metadata before submission.
4. Manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening before being forwarded for peer review. The Editorial Board determines whether a manuscript proceeds to external review based on its scope, scholarly quality, originality, and compliance with the journal's submission requirements.
5. Editorial decisions are normally communicated within 3 to 5 months after receipt of the manuscript, subject to the availability and timely completion of peer reviews.
6. Possible editorial decisions include:
   • Accept
   • Accept subject to minor revisions
   • Revise and resubmit
   • Reject
7. The Editorial Board will communicate the decision and, when applicable, provide the reviewers' comments and recommendations to the author.
8. For manuscripts requiring revisions, authors should submit the revised manuscript within the period specified in the editorial decision, which is normally 3 to 4 weeks for minor revisions.
9. Failure to submit the required revisions within the specified period may result in the deferral of the manuscript to a subsequent issue or in the withdrawal of the manuscript from the current publication cycle.

Manuscript Submissions:

Manuscripts may be submitted through either of the following channels:

1. Online submission through the journal's submission platform:
   Login, or Register.
2. Email submission:
   sbuscientia@sanbeda.edu.ph
   lambion@sanbeda.edu.ph