Three Teachings Studies: Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism (TTS) operates an annual publication model with rolling online publication. Manuscripts proceed through initial editorial screening, scholarly evaluation, revision where necessary, and publication preparation before being made available online. Accepted articles may be published individually throughout the year, while the annual volume is finalized on December 30. This page explains the principal stages of the editorial and publication process, the journal's indicative processing times, and the relationship between rolling publication and the annual publication schedule. All timeframes are estimates rather than guaranteed deadlines.

Overview of the Editorial and Publication Timeline

The following timetable provides an indicative overview of the manuscript lifecycle. Actual durations may vary according to reviewer availability, the scope of the research, the nature of the manuscript, the number of revision rounds, and editorial or production requirements.

Important: The first-round peer review target is measured from the date of initial submission and includes the preliminary screening period. Similarly, the estimated three-to-five-week period following formal acceptance normally includes copyediting, production, and online publication preparation. These periods should not be counted twice when estimating the overall editorial timeline.

Phase 1: Submission and Initial Editorial Screening

Estimated Duration: Approximately 1–2 weeks.

Authors must submit manuscripts through the journal's official online submission system. Authors without an existing account may register directly through the journal's registration page. Those with existing accounts should log in and initiate a new submission using the appropriate author functions.

During initial editorial screening, the editorial office evaluates the manuscript's suitability for further consideration. This assessment may include:

• Scope and Relevance: Whether the manuscript makes a meaningful contribution to the journal's academic fields and is consistent with its aims and scope.
• Scholarly Quality: The clarity of the research question, originality of the contribution, adequacy of evidence, and coherence of the scholarly argument.
• Submission Completeness: The presence of required manuscript files, titles, abstracts, keywords, author information, and relevant declarations.
• Citation and Documentation: Compliance with the mandatory Chicago Manual of Style, Notes and Bibliography system, including appropriate source attribution.
• Research Integrity: Preliminary consideration of originality, appropriate citation, disclosure obligations, and other applicable publication ethics requirements.
• Review Preparation: Appropriate anonymization of the manuscript when double-blind peer review is required.

TTS requires authors to conduct a preliminary similarity check before submission. The total similarity index must be below 15%, excluding references and bibliography. The editorial office conducts randomized similarity spot checks and targeted verification where appropriate. A similarity percentage alone does not establish whether plagiarism has occurred; identified overlap is assessed according to its nature, attribution, and scholarly context.

TTS adopts a flexible manuscript formatting policy. A standardized document template, specific font, or prescribed page layout is not required for initial submission. However, readability, required documentation, manuscript completeness, and mandatory citation standards remain essential.

Following preliminary assessment, a manuscript may proceed to external peer review, be returned for necessary corrections, or be declined without external review. An initial screening decision does not constitute acceptance for publication.

Phase 2: Double-Blind Peer Review

Indicative First-Round Review Target: Approximately 8–12 weeks from initial submission, where practicable.

Research Articles that satisfy the initial editorial requirements ordinarily undergo double-blind peer review by at least two independent external reviewers with relevant disciplinary, methodological, linguistic, or subject expertise.

Under the double-blind review procedure, the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from one another. The editorial office manages the evaluation process and seeks to maintain reviewer independence, confidentiality, and freedom from inappropriate conflicts of interest.

Reviewers evaluate manuscripts according to relevant scholarly criteria, including:

• Originality, significance, and contribution to existing scholarship.
• The clarity and coherence of the research question, argument, and conclusions.
• The suitability and rigor of the analytical or methodological approach.
• Accuracy in the interpretation, citation, and documentation of primary and secondary sources.
• Engagement with relevant philosophical, religious, historical, textual, or interdisciplinary scholarship.
• The appropriateness of historical, linguistic, regional, and cultural contextualization.
• Compliance with applicable academic integrity and research ethics standards.

Invited reviewers are ordinarily requested to submit their evaluations within four weeks after accepting a review invitation. The overall review period may be longer because of reviewer recruitment, unavailable specialists, conflicting recommendations, or requests for additional scholarly evaluation.

Reviewer recommendations inform, but do not automatically determine, the editorial decision. The handling editor assesses the available reports, considers the manuscript's scholarly suitability, and communicates the relevant decision or revision requirements to the authors.

The first-round review target is indicative rather than guaranteed. Manuscripts requiring particularly specialized expertise, extensive source verification, or additional evaluation may take approximately 2–4 months or longer. Further details are available in the Peer Review Policy.

Phase 3: Revision and Editorial Decision

Indicative Duration: Approximately 1–2 months, depending on the revision requirements and any additional evaluation.

After the initial scholarly evaluation, the responsible editor determines the appropriate course of action. Editorial outcomes may include acceptance, a request for minor or major revisions, further evaluation, rejection, or an invitation to submit substantially revised work for renewed consideration.

Authors invited to revise their manuscripts should carefully consider the editorial and reviewer comments. A revised submission should address the relevant concerns and include a point-by-point response where requested, indicating the changes made and providing reasoned scholarly explanations for recommendations that have not been adopted.

Revised manuscripts may be assessed by the handling editor, returned to the original reviewers, or referred to additional specialists where the nature of the revisions warrants further review.

The time required for revision depends on the scope of the requested changes, the complexity of additional research or source verification, and the author's response. More than one revision round may be necessary, and the estimated duration may be exceeded.

All revised manuscripts and associated response documents must be submitted through the journal's online submission system, using the appropriate revision workflow. Revised files should not be submitted as unrelated new manuscripts or sent as ordinary email attachments.

Formal acceptance is issued only after the responsible editor determines that the manuscript satisfies the applicable scholarly, editorial, and publication ethics requirements. A request for revision does not guarantee acceptance, and an accepted manuscript proceeds to production only after the formal acceptance decision.

Phase 4: Copyediting and Production

Indicative Duration: Approximately 3–5 weeks following formal acceptance, ordinarily including the steps necessary for online publication.

Once a manuscript has been formally accepted, it enters the journal's publication preparation process. This stage is designed to ensure that the accepted work is accurately presented, properly documented, and suitable for dissemination as part of the scholarly record.

Publication preparation may include:

• Academic Copyediting: Review of language, academic terminology, consistency, clarity, and presentation, while preserving the author's scholarly argument.
• Citation and Source Verification: Review of notes, bibliography, source identifiers, and the application of Chicago Notes and Bibliography conventions.
• Typesetting and Layout: Preparation of the publication files, including the organization of text, headings, tables, figures, images, and other relevant materials.
• Publication Metadata: Verification of author details, article titles, abstracts, keywords, bibliographic information, and persistent identifiers where applicable.
• Author Proof Review: Submission of publication proofs to authors for checking where required, followed by correction of verified production errors.
• Final Publication Checks: Confirmation that relevant copyright, licensing, publication administration, and technical preparation requirements have been completed.

Authors should review proofs carefully and respond to editorial queries within the requested period. Substantial changes to the accepted research, including major revisions to its conclusions or underlying evidence, may require additional editorial approval.

Where an Article Processing Charge applies, payment or an approved waiver or reduction must be resolved before publication. The standard APC for accepted Research Articles is USD 350. TTS does not charge submission or peer review fees, and publication charges do not determine editorial acceptance.

The estimated three-to-five-week post-acceptance period is a general production target, not a guarantee. Additional time may be required for extensive copyediting, specialist typography, complex textual materials, image permissions, author proof corrections, or outstanding publication administration.

Phase 5: Rolling Online Publication

Publication Timing: Upon completion of production and applicable publication requirements.

TTS publishes accepted scholarly contributions online on a rolling basis. Articles that have completed editorial production may be released individually without waiting for the annual volume to be finalized.

When an article is published online, it becomes available through the journal's official website with the relevant bibliographic metadata, publication date, citation information, and DOI where assigned and registered.

Published scholarly articles are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Authors retain copyright in their original scholarly contributions and grant the journal the non-exclusive rights necessary for publication, distribution, and preservation.

The ordinary estimate from formal acceptance to online publication is approximately 3–5 weeks in total, provided that manuscript production, proof review, metadata preparation, and applicable administrative requirements are completed without significant delay.

Rolling online publication is the final step of the post-acceptance production process. It does not introduce an additional three-to-five-week waiting period beyond the estimated production timeframe.

Annual Publication Model and Volume Finalization

TTS follows an annual publication model. The journal finalizes its annual volume on December 30 each year.

Articles published individually during the calendar year are included in the corresponding annual publication record according to the journal's volume and issue arrangements. Annual finalization consolidates the scholarly contributions assigned to that publication cycle.

The annual volume finalization date does not prevent the public from accessing articles already released through rolling online publication. Such articles remain accessible from their respective online publication dates.

The original online publication date and any registered persistent identifier should remain accurately represented in the article's bibliographic record. Annual volume finalization does not constitute a second publication of an article or require a new DOI merely because the annual publication record has been completed.

The editorial office determines an article's placement in the annual publication cycle according to its acceptance status, completion of production, and publication scheduling. No manuscript is guaranteed inclusion in a particular annual volume solely because it was submitted within that calendar year.

Recommended Submission Timing

Authors seeking consideration for publication in the current calendar year's annual volume are encouraged to submit their manuscripts before September 1.

Early submission is recommended because external peer review, author revisions, additional evaluation, and publication production may collectively require several months. Manuscripts submitted close to the annual volume finalization date may not complete the necessary procedures within the same calendar year.

September 1 is an advisory planning date, not a mandatory submission deadline or a guarantee of publication. Manuscripts submitted before this date remain subject to the full editorial process and may be scheduled for a later annual volume if review or production cannot be completed in time.

Manuscripts submitted after September 1 may still be considered in accordance with the journal's normal submission procedures. Their eventual publication schedule will depend on the completion of editorial evaluation, any required revisions, production readiness, and the relevant annual publication cycle.

Review Arrangements for Different Contribution Types

The journal publishes different forms of scholarly contributions, and the evaluation process may vary according to the nature of the submission.

The principal arrangements are as follows:

• Research Articles: Ordinarily undergo double-blind review by at least two independent external reviewers following initial editorial screening.
• Review Articles: Undergo editorial assessment and may be referred for external specialist review according to their scope, scholarly claims, and analytical complexity.
• Book Reviews: Ordinarily undergo editorial assessment, with specialist consultation or additional review where appropriate.
• Translation and Annotation: May undergo specialist assessment concerning source accuracy, translation quality, philological reliability, and the scholarly significance of annotations.
• Forum Contributions: May undergo editorial assessment or additional expert evaluation depending on the nature of the discussion.
• Documents and Textual Notes: May be referred for specialist review of documentary authenticity, textual interpretation, source identification, and scholarly contribution.
• Lectures: Are invited or editorially curated and undergo appropriate scholarly and editorial assessment before publication.

The indicative peer review timeline primarily describes the Research Article evaluation process. Other categories may follow different editorial arrangements, and their processing times should not automatically be assumed to match those for externally reviewed research articles.

Factors Affecting Editorial and Publication Times

Actual processing times may differ from the indicative timetable for several reasons:

• The availability of appropriately qualified and independent reviewers.
• The language, disciplinary specialization, and methodological complexity of the manuscript.
• The extent and difficulty of revisions requested by reviewers or editors.
• The time required for authors to respond to editorial queries and submit revised files.
• The verification of classical texts, translations, archival sources, and specialized documentary materials.
• The resolution of research integrity, copyright, authorship, or other publication-related concerns.
• The complexity of figures, tables, musical examples, multilingual typesetting, and other production materials.
• Editorial workload, technical requirements, and publication scheduling.

TTS seeks to maintain timely, fair, independent, and academically rigorous editorial procedures. Nevertheless, the journal does not guarantee a particular review duration, decision outcome, acceptance date, or publication date for any individual manuscript.

Tracking Manuscripts and Editorial Communication

Authors may monitor the progress of their submissions through the journal's online submission system. The system provides access to the author's submission record, available editorial notifications, revision requests, and relevant manuscript files according to the stage of processing.

Authors should maintain accurate contact information and regularly check the email address associated with their submission account. Editorial notifications and requests for action may be communicated through the journal's submission system and its associated email notification functions.

If a manuscript appears to remain at the same stage substantially longer than the indicative timeframe, the corresponding author may contact the editorial office for clarification. Editorial staff may not be able to provide a definitive decision date while external evaluation or other necessary procedures remain incomplete.

Manuscripts, revised documents, and responses to formal editorial decisions must be submitted through the appropriate functions of the journal's online submission system. Ordinary editorial email should be used for inquiries and administrative assistance rather than as an alternative manuscript submission channel.

Online Submission and Editorial Contact

Authors wishing to submit manuscripts should consult the journal's formal submission requirements and access the official online submission system. New authors may register directly, while existing users may log in to manage their submissions.

Submission Guidelines: View Submission Requirements

Author Registration: Create an Author Account

Online Submission System: Access the Submission System

Three Teachings Studies Editorial Office
Publisher: Panorama Scholarly Group (PSG)
Email: [email protected]
Journal Website: https://journals.panorama-sg.com/tts

The editorial email address is intended for questions concerning manuscript progress, publication scheduling, journal policies, and technical or administrative assistance. Formal submissions and revised manuscripts must be processed through the journal's official online submission system.