Mariano Marcos
State University

MMSU researchers encouraged to publish in S&T Journal

By Jareason Fabre

MMSU is calling on its researchers to make their studies count beyond the university by getting them published. Vice President for Research, Development, and Innovation Nathaniel Alibuyog made the call during the Science and Technology (S&T) Journal Information Caravan held Aug. 17 at the Center for Flexible Learning, where faculty members were encouraged to engage more actively in research publication.

Organized by the S&T Journal Editorial Board, the information caravan gathered research coordinators, program chairs, and full-time and interested faculty researchers in two sessions, held in the morning and afternoon. The sessions provided an avenue to learn about the journal’s platforms, publication processes, and systems supporting research dissemination.

The S&T Journal, revitalized under the leadership of MMSU President Virgilio Julius P. Manzano, Jr., is actively encouraging more article submissions this year as the university continues to strengthen a publication-driven culture among its faculty and researchers.

Publication Chief and Editorial Manager Lea Agbigay presented the journal’s nearly 20-year history, tracing its beginnings in 2007 and its evolution into a digital scholarly publication with established editorial and peer-review processes.

The information caravan featured discussions on the journal’s scope, publication policies and ethical standards, website functionalities, user registration and account management, online article submission, peer-review procedures, and manuscript revision.

Participants were also introduced to the journal’s different article types, including original research and review articles, as well as its regular and special issues. The sessions guided faculty members through the submission requirements, including the full article template, cover letter, abstract page, certification of original work, and consent to publish.

The online submission process was also demonstrated, from creating an account and entering author and manuscript information to uploading files and completing the required metadata. The participants were further oriented on the peer-review workflow, including editorial screening, assignment of reviewers, double-blind review, manuscript tracking, and understanding editorial decisions.

The caravan also discussed the process of responding to reviewer comments, preparing and uploading revised manuscripts, and following resubmission procedures. Post-acceptance processes such as copyediting, typesetting, proofing, and advance access were likewise presented.

Dr. Peter James Icalia Gann, Editor-in-Chief, emphasized that publishing research should not be driven by academic credit.

“We should publish not only for promotion or the credits we gain, but for the greater purpose of sharing the good findings of our research with the community. Our research becomes more meaningful when it reaches people who can learn from it, build on it, and use it.”

Dr. Gann underscored the importance of the university community’s collective support in strengthening the journal and meeting the standards required for international indexing. Greater faculty participation and quality research submissions, he noted, are important in advancing the journal’s visibility and recognition beyond the university.

Dr. Dionisio Bucao, Director of Research and editorial adviser of the board, also expressed his support for the S&T Journal and its continuing development, particularly as it works toward being indexed in Scopus, one of the world’s major abstract and citation databases for scholarly literature.

The information caravan concluded with an open forum and registration assistance, allowing participants to raise questions about the journal’s submission and publication processes and receive guidance on creating and managing their accounts.

Through the initiative, the S&T Journal Editorial Board seeks to make scholarly publishing more accessible to MMSU researchers while encouraging greater community engagement in research dissemination.