MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Authors are required to follow the manuscript preparation guidelines outlined below. Manuscripts that do not conform to these requirements will be returned to authors for revision before being sent out for peer review.

General formatting

  • File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx). The journal's official template should be used.
  • Page Size: A4 (210 × 297 mm).
  • Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt for body text, 10 pt for footnotes and table/figure captions.
  • Line Spacing: 1.5 throughout the manuscript, including references.
  • Alignment: Justified text with automatic hyphenation turned off.
  • Pagination: All pages must be numbered consecutively in the bottom-right corner.
  • Length: Full research articles should typically be 4,000–8,000 words, including abstract, tables, figures, and references. Short communications should be 2,000–4,000 words.

Manuscript structure

1. Title page (page 1)

  • Full title of the manuscript (concise, informative, maximum 12 words).
  • Full names of all authors, with corresponding author indicated by an asterisk (*).
  • Author affiliations with complete addresses, including department, institution, city, and country.
  • Email addresses for all authors.
  • ORCID identifiers for all authors (strongly recommended).

2. Abstract and keywords (page 2)

A structured abstract of 150–250 words should include the following sections: (a) Purpose / Background, (b) Methodology / Approach, (c) Findings / Results, (d) Originality / Value, and (e) Practical or Theoretical Implications. Provide 5–8 keywords separated by semicolons.

3. Main text (IMRAD structure)

  • Introduction — background, significance, research question, and objectives.
  • Literature Review — critical review of prior research and identification of the research gap.
  • Methods / Methodology — research design, data sources, analytical procedures, and ethical considerations.
  • Results / Findings — clear presentation of the empirical or theoretical findings, supported by tables and figures.
  • Discussion — interpretation of results, comparison with prior literature, and implications.
  • Conclusion — summary of key findings, limitations of the study, and directions for future research.

4. Supplementary sections

  • Acknowledgments — optional brief acknowledgment of non-author contributors and funding.
  • Conflict of Interest Statement — mandatory declaration.
  • Funding Information — specify all sources of financial support.
  • Author Contributions — specify each author's contribution to the research.
  • References — complete list following the APA 7th edition style.
  • Appendices — supplementary materials, if applicable.

Tables and figures

  • Number tables and figures consecutively using Arabic numerals (Table 1, Figure 1, etc.).
  • Each table and figure must have a clear, descriptive caption placed above (tables) or below (figures).
  • Figures must be submitted as high-resolution image files (minimum 300 dpi) in PNG, JPG, or TIFF format.
  • Tables and figures must be referenced in the main text before they appear.
  • Avoid duplication of data in tables, figures, and text.

References

All in-text citations and the reference list must follow the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition style. Authors are encouraged to use reference management software such as Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote. A minimum of 20 references is recommended for research articles, with at least 60% from the last five years and at least 50% from peer-reviewed journals indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, or equivalent databases.

In-text citation example: (Smith, 2022) or Smith (2022) argued…

Reference example: Smith, J. (2022). Title of the article. Journal Name, 10(2), 123–145. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/yyyy