Enhancing the visibility and impact of Cambodian scientific journals through Open Journal System (OJS): An editorial review

Abstract

The Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS) in Cambodia is currently working on an initiative to enhance the visibility and impact of Cambodian scientific journals by implementing Open Journal Systems (OJS) in the country's higher education institutions (HEIs). During a workshop at Svay Rieng University, MoEYS emphasized its objectives to modernize the administration and publication of scholarly work, thereby facilitating more efficient peer review and open access. The objective of increasing the number of Cambodian journals indexed in international databases, including Scopus, the ASEAN Citation Index (ACI), and Web of Science among others, is a critical component of vision. This will enhance the academic credibility and global visibility of Cambodian research. At present, Cambodia maintains 52 scientific journals in various disciplines, including agriculture, education, health, and technology. While some journals, such as the Cambodia Journal of Public Health and the Cambodia Education Review, continue to operate, others have discontinued publication or encountered difficulties in maintaining consistency. The Ministry's initiative will be instrumental in the revitalization of the academic publishing infrastructure in the country and will offer essential support to journals that are currently grappling with sustainability challenges. Additionally, Cambodian journals can make a substantial contribution to regional and global academic discourse, encourage research collaborations, and attract higher-quality submissions by indexing in international databases. This action is consistent with Cambodia's overarching objective of internationalizing higher education and cultivating a more robust research culture, thereby guaranteeing the extensive recognition and global standards of local research. The strategic endeavor to enhance the quality of research output, establish Cambodia's scholarly community as a critical contributor to addressing national and global challenges, and cultivate academic partnerships is exemplified by the strategic use of OJS and the aspiration to index in prestigious databases.