About the Journal
Aims and Scope
The International Journal of Transformative Multidisciplinary Studies (IJTMS) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal that publishes high-impact research fostering transformative change across diverse academic disciplines. The journal welcomes original research articles, theoretical papers, review studies, case analyses, and research notes that address complex global challenges and propose innovative, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary solutions. IJTMS emphasizes scholarship that bridges science, technology, health, education, governance, environment, and the humanities to advance knowledge, influence policy, and inspire societal improvement.
Submission Guidelines
Manuscripts submitted to IJTMS must adhere to the highest standards of academic integrity. Submissions must be prepared in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx), using Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spacing throughout, and 1-inch margins on all sides. Original research articles should range between 6,000 and 10,000 words, while systematic reviews may extend up to 12,000 words. The manuscript should include a title page containing the full title, author names, institutional affiliations, ORCID IDs, contact details of the corresponding author, funding acknowledgements, and conflict of interest declarations. The abstract should contain 200 to 250 words and, for research articles, follow a structured format consisting of the background, objective, methods, results, and conclusion, accompanied by four to six keywords listed alphabetically.
The manuscript must be organized clearly, beginning with an introduction that establishes the research problem and rationale, followed by detailed methodology that describes participants or data sources, research design, instruments, analytical procedures, and the ethics approval number where applicable. Results should be presented clearly using tables and figures where appropriate, and the discussion should interpret the findings, establish their significance, compare them with existing literature, and acknowledge limitations. The conclusion must be concise and grounded in the results. All references should follow APA 7th Edition formatting, with at least 75% published within the last five years and a minimum of ten citations from Scopus- or Web of Science-indexed journals. Tables and figures should be placed after the reference section, each on a separate page, with titles, legends, and notes in APA style. To download the paper template, click Manuscript Template (.docx). Prepare the manuscript directly in the template without changing the formatting, then save as .docx.
Ethical compliance is mandatory for all submissions. Manuscripts involving human or animal participants must indicate the institutional ethics review board approval number. Authors are required to submit a plagiarism report using Turnitin or iThenticate, with a similarity index not exceeding 15%. A signed author contribution statement following the CRediT taxonomy must also accompany the submission. Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to provide data availability statements or links to supplementary materials in trusted repositories such as OSF or Zenodo.
All manuscripts, along with the cover letter, should be submitted via email to [email protected]. The cover letter must affirm that the submission is original, has not been published or submitted elsewhere, and explain the manuscript’s contribution to transformative, multidisciplinary scholarship. Upon receipt, authors will receive an acknowledgment within seven days. Submissions that do not follow the journal’s format or ethical standards will be returned without review. Authors invited to revise must submit a detailed response to reviewer comments along with the revised manuscript.
Article Processing Charges (APC)
IJTMS is an open-access journal. To support the costs of editorial administration and online publication while keeping all published articles freely available to readers worldwide, IJTMS charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) of US $25 (or PhP 1,500) per accepted manuscript.
1) What the APC covers
The APC contributes to legitimate journal operations, including but not limited to:
- Editorial office administration (submission handling, correspondence, and workflow management)
- Copyediting and basic language/format checks for consistency
- Layout/production formatting for online publication (PDF/HTML as applicable)
- Assignment of article metadata and online hosting
- Plagiarism screening and publication-quality checks
- Long-term accessibility practices (e.g., maintaining the journal website and archives)
2) When the APC is charged
To protect editorial independence and ensure fairness, IJTMS does not charge any fee at submission. The APC is requested only after the manuscript has successfully completed peer review and has received an official “Accept” decision from the handling editor.
Payment (or waiver approval) is not a condition for the manuscript to enter peer review. Editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, scope fit, methodological rigor, and ethical compliance.
3) No fast-track or paid acceptance
IJTMS does not offer expedited review, guaranteed acceptance, or preferential editorial treatment in exchange for payment. Review timelines depend on reviewer availability and the complexity of the manuscript. The APC has no influence on the peer-review outcome or editorial decision.
4) Waivers and discounts (equity policy)
IJTMS is committed to inclusive publishing. Authors who lack publication funding may request an APC waiver or discount. Waiver requests are considered on a case-by-case basis and may be granted for:
- Student-led manuscripts without institutional/grant support
- Authors from low-resource settings or with demonstrated financial constraints
- Manuscripts of exceptional public value (e.g., urgent community/health relevance)
To avoid conflicts of interest, waiver requests are assessed independently from peer review, and reviewers are not informed of any payment or waiver status.
5) Payment procedure, invoicing, and documentation
Upon acceptance, the editorial office will issue an official APC notice/invoice indicating the amount (US $25 or PhP 1,500), payment instructions, and required reference details (manuscript ID and corresponding author name). A receipt/acknowledgment of payment will be provided for authors’ documentation.
If an author pays in a different currency, any minor currency conversion difference will be clarified in advance by the editorial office.
6) Refund policy
If an APC payment has been made and the publication is subsequently withdrawn due to verified editorial error, proven ethical breach, or duplicate processing, IJTMS will review the case and may issue a full or partial refund depending on the stage of production already completed. Requests must be made in writing by the corresponding author.
7) Transparency and publication ethics
IJTMS upholds standards of research integrity, confidentiality, and editorial independence. The journal requires ethical approvals where applicable, conflict-of-interest declarations, plagiarism screening, and proper authorship attribution (CRediT taxonomy). Any suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, fabricated data, unethical research practice, authorship disputes) may result in rejection, retraction, or other corrective action consistent with recognized best practices in scholarly publishing.
Peer-Review Process
All manuscripts submitted to IJTMS undergo a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to ensure scholarly quality, originality, and transformative contribution. Upon submission, manuscripts are first evaluated by the Editorial Office to determine compliance with formatting guidelines, ethical standards, and alignment with the journal’s aims and scope. Submissions that meet these criteria are assigned to an editor, who selects at least two expert reviewers with proven scholarly competence in the relevant discipline. Both the authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the process to ensure impartiality and fairness. Reviewers are asked to evaluate the manuscript based on its originality, methodological rigor, clarity of presentation, relevance to multidisciplinary transformation, ethical soundness, and contribution to theory, practice, or policy.
The review process typically takes 6 to 12 weeks, depending on reviewer availability and the complexity of the manuscript. Based on reviewers’ recommendations, the editorial decision may be acceptance, minor revision, major revision, or rejection. Authors invited to revise their manuscripts must submit a revised version along with a detailed, point-by-point response to reviewers’ comments demonstrating how each concern has been addressed. Revised submissions are re-evaluated by the editors and, when necessary, by the original reviewers. Final decisions rest with the editor, who ensures that all accepted manuscripts meet international standards of academic excellence and integrity. The journal maintains strict confidentiality throughout the review process and prohibits the use, disclosure, or discussion of submitted work outside the review process.
Publication Ethics and Malpractice
IJTMS is fully committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The journal ensures that all parties involved in the publication process—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—adhere to ethical responsibilities to preserve academic integrity and public trust in scholarly work. Research that promotes transformative knowledge must also embody transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct at all stages of submission, review, and publication.
Authors must ensure that their work is original, truthful, and unpublished elsewhere. Any form of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data fabrication, image manipulation, redundant publication, or misappropriation of the work of others is considered unethical and will not be tolerated. Manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software, and those found with significant similarity or questionable academic integrity will be rejected or returned for clarification. All sources must be properly cited in APA 7th Edition format. Authorship should reflect only individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work, and their roles must be clearly stated following the CRediT authorship taxonomy. Guest, ghost, and honorary authorship are strictly prohibited. Any changes in authorship after submission must be requested formally and approved by all original authors. Authors are also required to disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest that could potentially influence the interpretation of the research.
For research involving human participants, authors must affirm that the study received approval from an accredited ethics review board and provide the name of the institution and ethics clearance number in the manuscript. Research must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki or its institutional equivalent, and informed consent must be obtained from all participants or their legal guardians. Identifiable personal data must be handled with confidentiality and anonymity unless explicit consent has been granted. For animal research, authors must provide evidence of approval from an institutional animal care committee and demonstrate compliance with internationally accepted guidelines on the ethical treatment of animals, ensuring that unnecessary harm, suffering, and use of excessive animal numbers are avoided.
Editors are responsible for ensuring fair, unbiased, and timely editorial decisions. Submissions are evaluated based on their scholarly merit, originality, clarity, methodology, and relevance to transformative multidisciplinary studies—without discrimination based on the authors’ nationality, gender, academic rank, or institutional affiliation. Editors must maintain confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and may not use unpublished material for personal or professional advantage. If ethical concerns arise, editors follow COPE flowcharts to investigate complaints regarding plagiarism, fraudulent data, authorship disputes, or reviewer misconduct. Decisions to accept or reject manuscripts are made objectively and are not influenced by external pressures or personal relationships.
The journal employs a double-blind peer-review process to maintain objectivity and integrity. Reviewers are expected to provide constructive, unbiased, and timely assessments of submissions. They must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents and must not share, reproduce, or personally use any part of the work before publication. Reviewers are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest and decline the review if impartiality cannot be guaranteed. They are encouraged to report suspected plagiarism, data falsification, ethical misconduct, or any other irregularity they observe during review.
IJTMS follows COPE guidelines when addressing ethical misconduct. If misconduct is suspected during review or after publication, the editor initiates a fair and confidential investigation. Authors will be given the opportunity to respond to concerns. When misconduct such as plagiarism, falsified data, unethical experimentation, or duplicate publication is confirmed, appropriate actions may include rejection of the manuscript, retraction of a published article, blacklisting of authors, or notification of the authors’ institution or funding agency. For published articles that contain honest but significant errors, the journal may issue a correction or an erratum. In cases where findings are unreliable due to proven misconduct or major error, the article will be retracted, but it will remain accessible with a clear retraction notice to maintain scholarly transparency. If an investigation is ongoing but results are inconclusive, the journal may publish an expression of concern to inform readers of the issue. Editorial notices may also be issued to clarify publication policies or ethical positions.
Open Access and Copyright Policy
IJTMS is an open-access journal, allowing unrestricted access to published articles. All works are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal the right to publish and disseminate it. Articles may be downloaded, shared, and reproduced for non-commercial purposes with proper citation.
Policy on Artificial Intelligence (AI)
The journal recognizes the growing role of artificial intelligence in academic research and writing but asserts that AI cannot be credited as an author, as it cannot assume accountability for the integrity and originality of scholarly work. Authors may use AI tools for assisting in grammar correction, language refinement, data analysis, coding, image enhancement, or literature organization; however, the intellectual responsibility, accuracy, interpretation of data, and originality of the manuscript must remain entirely with the human authors. Any use of AI tools must be transparently acknowledged in the manuscript’s methodology or acknowledgment section, specifying the tool used and its purpose (e.g., “ChatGPT was used to refine the language but not to generate substantive content”).
AI-generated content must not replace critical thinking, data interpretation, or literature synthesis. Authors remain fully responsible for verifying the accuracy of AI-generated text, ensuring proper citations, and preventing biases or fabricated references. The journal strictly prohibits the use of AI for generating fake data, fabricated references, synthetic images without declaration, or writing entire manuscripts. Manuscripts suspected of undisclosed AI-generated content, falsified citations, or AI-drafted research will be investigated following COPE procedures and may result in rejection, retraction, or author sanctions. Editors and reviewers may also use AI tools for plagiarism detection, reference checking, or language screening, but must not rely on AI for academic judgment or decision-making.
Privacy Statement
Personal information collected during submission and publication (names, affiliations, contact details) will be used exclusively for scholarly purposes and will not be shared with unauthorized parties. The journal complies with data protection regulations and ensures that personal data will not be used for commercial purposes.
Publication Frequency
IJTMS publishes four issues per year (quarterly), with one volume comprising four issues. Accepted articles may be posted online ahead of the official publication date as “Online First.”
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in articles published in IJTMS are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editors, reviewers, or the affiliated institutions. The journal assumes no responsibility for inaccuracies, errors, or any consequences arising from the use of published information.