Authorship and Scientific Ethics

Each author is encouraged to register an ORCID ID. ORCID ID must be provided upon submission and is published with the author’s information.

Authors guarantee that manuscripts are original, not previously published or simultaneously submitted elsewhere.

All manuscripts undergo authenticity checks using plagiarism detection software; manuscripts with more than 20% overlap are not accepted.

Authors are responsible for ensuring compliance with ethical standards and avoiding plagiarism. Borrowing of text, figures, or data is permitted only with explicit consent and proper citation.

Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright to their works.

All publications are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Each publication is registered with a unique CrossRef DOI.

Archiving Policy

Publications are openly accessible in institutional repositories and recognised indexing databases as well as they form part of the Bulgarian Open Science Portal.

Requirements for authors

“Research Papers of UNWE” considers original manuscripts that align with the thematic scope of the journal and have not been published or submitted elsewhere.

The editorial board maintains high scientific ethics standards and has protocols to prevent plagiarism and conflicts of interest. For more details, see the “Publication Ethics” section.

Copyright and licensing All articles are published under the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Authors retain copyright while granting the journal the rights to publish and distribute their work. Submission of manuscripts constitutes a declaration of originality and acceptance of the journal’s open-access policy by the authors.

Archiving and access The journal ensures long-term archiving of published content in institutional repositories and recognised indexing databases. All journal content is freely accessible, with no charges imposed on readers or authors.

Fees No submission or publication fees are required.

Types of manuscripts and length

• Research Studies: comprehensive theoretical or empirical investigations, up to 35 standard pages (approximately 10,000 words).
• Articles: focused research papers, up to 20 standard pages (approximately 6,000 words).

Note: The word count includes the abstract, tables, figures, and references.

Languages: Bulgarian or English.

Manuscript structure

Submit manuscripts as MS Word files and adhere to the following requirements:

1. Title (bold, TNR 12 pt, center): must be concise and informative. For manuscripts in Bulgarian, include the English title at the end of the text.
2. Author information (TNR 12 pt, center): full name, academic position, academic degree, email address, institutional affiliation, and mandatory ORCID iD, specified as a footnote (TNR 10 pt, justified).
3. Abstract (TNR 11 pt, justified): should be 150–200 words and must clearly state the purpose, methodology, findings, and general conclusion. For papers written in Bulgarian, include abstracts in both Bulgarian and English. The English abstract should appear at the end of the text. For papers written in English, provide only an English abstract at the beginning of the text.
4. Keywords (TNR 11 pt, justified): 5–8 keywords.
5. JEL Classification (TNR 11 pt, justified): at least one code from the JEL Classification System is required (American Economic Association: JEL Guide).
6. Submissions should generally follow the IMRaD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion when applicable, Conclusion). The following formatting is applied to each section title TNR 12pt, bold, left centred.
7. Acknowledgments/Funding: when applicable, disclose any financial support or grants, including the project title and the relevant program or organization.
8. References: must follow APA Style (APA Style) and include no fewer than ten sources.

Technical requirements

1. File type: MS Word (.doc / .docx).
2. Margins: A4, 2.0 cm each.
3. Main text font: TNR, 12 pt, justified.
4. Line Spacing: 1.5 lines.
5. Tables and Figures: numbered consecutively. Include caption (TNR 11 pt, centered) and source (TNR 11 pt, left) below each, and ensure all images are high resolution.
6. Formulas: must be editable (use Equation Editor), not images.

The template file can be downloaded here.

Submissions that do not meet these requirements will not be considered.

Payment policy

The journal Research Papers of UNWE does not charge any fees for submission, peer review, editing, or publication. Authors are not required to make any payments for publishing their work.