APC and Waiver Policy

01. Article Processing Charges

The Journal of Human Behavior and Societies (JHBS) is committed to publishing high-quality, peer-reviewed, open-access research in human behavior, sociology, psychology, social sciences, and related interdisciplinary fields.

To support editorial management, publication services, digital hosting, and long-term accessibility of published research, the journal charges an Article Processing Charge of USD 100 per accepted manuscript.

The APC is payable only after the manuscript has successfully completed peer review and received formal acceptance.

There are no submission fees. APC payment does not guarantee publication.

02. Publication Fee Waivers

JHBS recognizes that financial limitations may prevent researchers from publishing scholarly work. Full or partial APC waivers may therefore be granted to eligible authors.

Waiver Eligibility:

• Authors from low- and lower-middle-income countries.
• Early-career researchers and postgraduate students.
• Researchers without institutional or external research funding.
• Authors experiencing genuine financial hardship.

03. Waiver Application Process

Authors seeking an APC waiver must submit their request at the time of manuscript submission.

The request should include a brief explanation of the financial circumstances supporting the application.

All waiver requests are handled confidentially and do not influence manuscript evaluation or editorial decisions.

04. Editorial Independence

All manuscripts submitted to JHBS are evaluated solely on academic quality, originality, relevance, and compliance with the journal's editorial standards.

APC payments and waiver requests have no influence on peer-review outcomes or publication decisions.

05. Waiver Decisions

The Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the editorial board, is responsible for evaluating waiver requests.

Decisions are communicated to authors following completion of the editorial and peer-review process.

06. Transparency and Publication Ethics

JHBS is committed to transparency, fairness, and ethical scholarly publishing.

• No APC is charged for rejected manuscripts.
• Publication fees are requested only after formal acceptance.
• All accepted articles receive the same editorial and publication standards.
• APC waivers do not affect open-access availability, copyright, or licensing.

07. Refund Policy

For information regarding refunds and applicable conditions, please refer to the journal's official Refund Policy.