Design and implementation of an online journal management system (a case study of sokoto international journal of counselling psychology).
ABSTRACT
This project research titled “Design and Implementation of an Online Journal Management System which is a case study of Sokoto International Journal of Counselling Psychology (SIJCP)” is a web-based system which is aimed at using the potent ability of the Computer System to solve many of the challenges faced by the current manual system of Journal and Publication processes. It provides numerous benefits which include: Automation of the Submission process, review process, payment process and publication process. Contributors from any part of the world can submit their articles for assessment and publication, also reviewers can be assigned articles to review online without sending the hard copy to them and after the review process they can upload the reviewed article and fill the assessment form online for the contributor to view and download for corrections. Online payment was also integrated in the system using Vogue Pay Processor. With this system, Researchers, students, contributors can access all the published articles from any location in the world since the system is a web-based system. Payment options on the system and online review process need to be improved as indicated by the result of the analysis obtained after administering the usability questionnaire to some users of the system.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page ………………………………………………………………………………. i
Certification ……………………………………………………………………………. ii
Dedication ……………………………………………………………………………… iii
Acknowledgement ……………………………………………………………………… iv
Abstract ………………………………………………………………………………… v
Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………………. vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the study…………………………………………………………… 1
1.2. Statement of the problem…………………………………………………………… 2
1.3 Aim and Objectives ………………………………………………………………… 2
1.4. Motivation of the study ……………………………………………………………. 3
1.5. Scope of the study ………………………………………………………………… 3
1.6. Limitations of the study ………………………………………………………….. 4
1.7. Definition of terms ……………………………………………………………….. 4
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction to Journals ……………………………………………………………. 6
2.2 Classifications of Journals ………………………………………………………….. 7
2.2.1 Scholarly & Research Journals …………………………………………………… 7
2.2.2 Professional, Trade & Industry Journal …………………………………………. 8
2.2.3 Popular & News Magazines ……………………………………………………… 9
2.3 Online Journals (Electronic Journals) …………………………………………….. 11
2.3.1 Features and Functions of Online Journals ……………………………………… 12
2.3.2 Advantages of Online Journals …………………………………………………… 14
2.3.3 Disadvantages of Online Journals ………………………………………………… 14
2.4. Review of some existing Online Journal Websites ……………………………….. 15
2.5. Software tools ……………………………………………………………………… 17
2.5.1 Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) …………………………………………. 17
2.5.2 Hyper Text Pre-Processor (PHP) …………………………………………………. 18
2.5.3 Java Script ……………………………………………………………………….. 19
2.5.4 MySQL ………………………………………………………………………….. 19
2.5.5 WAMP-Server …………………………………………………………………… 21
CHAPTER THREE: SYSTEM ANALYSIS
3.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………. 23
3.2 Analysis of the Current system ……………………………………………………… 23
3.2.1 Analysis of the Inputs ……………………………………………………………… 24
3.2.2 Analysis of Outputs ………………………………………………………………. 24
3.2.3 Analysis of Procedure …………………………………………………………….. 25
3.3 Files Maintained ……………………………………………………………………. 26
3.4 Web-Design Methodology …………………………………………………………. 26
3.5 Expectations of the New System …………………………………………………… 28
CHAPTER FOUR: SYSTEM DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
4.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………. 29
4.2 New Input Requirements …………………………………………………………. 30
4.3 New System Procedure ………………………………………………………….. 30
4.4 New Output Requirements ………………………………………………………. 33
4.5 New Files Maintained ……………………………………………………………. 33
4.6 New System Requirements ………………………………………………………. 34
4.6.1 Hardware Requirements ………………………………………………………… 34
4.6.2 Software Requirements …………………………………………………………. 35
4.7 Behavioural Modeling …………………………………………………………….. 35
4.7.1 Use Case Modeling ……………………………………………………………… 36
4.8 Database Design …………………………………………………………………… 37
4.8.1 Database Modeling ……………………………………………………………… 37
4.8.2 Description of all Tables in the Database ………………………………………. 39
4.9 System Implementation …………………………………………………………… 46
4.9.1 Implementation of the User Interface(s) ………………………………………… 47
4.10 Testing and Evaluation …………………………………………………………… 50
4.11 Result Interpretation and Discussion ……………………………………………… 52
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary …………………………………………………………………………… 55
5.2 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………….. 56
5.3 Recommendations ………………………………………………………………….. 56
5.4 Suggestions for further Research ………………………………………………… 57
5.5 References ……………………………………………………………………….. 59
Appendix A: Questionnaire for Evaluation ……………………………………………..
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
As the need for online systems increases in our social, business and educational sector. There is also need for online systems in the Research and Publication area so as to make their activities easier and automated. Journals are mostly used by Researchers to publish their researches so that many people around the world can use the research for several purposes.
Online Journal Management systems are designed for the purpose of reducing stress made by the contributors, journal managers and other researchers by converting the manual processes to online processes. Records and details of all activities carried out on the system can be traced easily and effectively
This project research titled “Design and Implementation of an Online Journal System” will help in automating some of the activities that are involved in the process of Journal publications. These will include:
i. Article Submission will be automated so that contributors from any part of the world can submit the articles and will be received immediately on the system.
ii. Accessing of all submitted articles for publications by the Journal Manager.
iii. Published Journal articles can be accessed anywhere in the world by contributors and other researcher.
This system will be a web-based system designed for Sokoto International Journal of Counselling Psychology which is published by the Department of Educational Foundations, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto. The system will also provide twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven days a week service.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Some of the problems identified with the current manual system of the Journal management are:
i. International or contributors that are not near Sokoto experience difficulties in submitting their articles for publications, they have to send it by courier.
ii. Lost of manuscripts before or after the assessment is also one of the major problems facing the current manual system.
iii. Other researcher who are not contributors have difficulties in using the journal because only contributors are given single copies of the journal after publication.
iv. Also many researchers may not even know when there is call for submission of articles for publication because the current manual system does so with fliers.
1.3. AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this project is to design an online journal management system that will replace the present manual system. The objectives of the study are as follows:
i. To design a system that will allow online submissions of articles for contributors and researchers instead of the manual system of submission.
ii. To allow contributors to track their submissions i.e. every contributor can view all his submissions.
iii. To enable the administrator to view and download all submissions made by contributors for the purpose of assessment before publication.
iv. To allow the administrator to upload all published papers online according to their volumes and issues.
v. To enable all contributors and researchers to view and download all published articles online.
vi. To provide a means of requesting for either a Hard copy of or an E-copy of a complete volume of the published Journal.
vii. To enable the editors/assessors fill an online assessment form which will be sent to the contributor notifying him on the result and status of his article.
viii. To evaluate the developed system.
1.4 MOTIVATION OF THE STUDY
Some of the problems that are faced by the present manual system such as lost or misplacement of manuscripts before or after assessment. Also the possibilities of other researchers from different locations to use the articles published in that journal is actually very low. These problems motivated me to develop a system that will solve the problems that are faced by the present manual system. This research will also enable me to apply my knowledge of web-programming, databases, software engineering and other areas in computing to solve the problem.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this project is to design a web-based (works on the web or internet) Journal management system that will enable researchers to know on the current news or events for the journal which include call for papers/articles, opening and closing date for submissions, submission guidelines, editorial board and other important information. It will also keep the information of all submissions and publications made for the journal. The Journal manager will be able to view and download all submissions made by contributors and will also be able to
notify them on the status of their articles i.e. if their articles are accepted for publication of rejected. Also published articles can be used by other researchers from anywhere in the world.
1.6 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The project research work is limited to The Sokoto International Journal of Counselling Psychology (SIJCP) which is an official publication of Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education and Extension Services. Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
1. Internet: Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is also known as the network of networks.
2. Web-based: A web-based application is an application that is made available via the World Wide Web.
3. WWW (World Wide Web): The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet
4. Online System: These are systems or application that can be accessed on the internet. It can be globally accessed by users.
5. Journal: A journal is an academic magazine published on a regular schedule. It contains articles written by experts in a particular field of study, based on research or analysis that the author, or authors, did.
6. Management: The process of dealing with or controlling things or people. Also it is the process of running and controlling something.
7. Software: These are set of instructions that are designed to solve a specific problem. Software is made up of data and instructions. There are two categories of software; System software and Application
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