Why manuscripts are not accepted for publication in Ethiopian Journal of Education (EJE)

Abstract

Abune Teddy Marcus

This paper discusses reasons why manuscripts are not accepted for publication in Ethiopian Journal of Education (EJE). It intends to promote publication by domestic and/or international authors in EJE by analyzing the reasons for rejection of manuscripts. To gather the relevant data, a total of 101 rejected manuscripts submitted for publication EJE in the years 2008 to 2013 was collected and assessed. Moreover, contents of rejection letters were looked into. In doing so, the institutional affiliation of authors of the rejected manuscripts, editorial processes in which manuscripts were rejected mostly, the principal reasons for rejecting manuscripts of EJE, types of manuscripts which were more often exposed to rejection, and the nature of comments recommending rejection were analyzed. The results reveal that most of rejected manuscripts of EJE were affiliated from Addis Ababa University and Bahir Dar University, and the manuscripts were rejected mostly during the preliminary assessment, initial reviewing phase. Furthermore, using inappropriate research methods, poor data analysis and presentation, inadequacy of data to justify the conclusions, failure to follow the Journal’s styles and formats (guidelines) and failure or unwilling to revise manuscripts as per reviewers’ suggestions were principal reasons for rejecting manuscripts of EJE. The highest numbers of rejected manuscripts of EJE were also empirical studies which EJE accepts for publication consistently, and reviewers rejected those manuscripts after indicating their weaknesses and remarking further organization for resubmission. Finally, based on the results, the paper outlined recommendations for minimizing rejected manuscripts of EJE, and further studies were suggested.