Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors should observe the following guidelines:

Title of the paper and author(s) names

• The title should be brief, captivating and meaningful.
• Include complete names of all authors, their affiliations, institutions and email addresses.
• The first author of the paper shall be the corresponding author indicated.

Abstract

• The Abstract should be a succinct presentation of the paper purpose, materials and methods, findings, conclusions and recommendations. It should be approximately 300 words long with no undefined abbreviations or unspecified references. Include at least five keywords to facilitate indexing.

Body of the Paper: For research papers

• The body of the paper should be single-spaced with the following main headings: Introduction; Literature review; Materials and methods; Results and discussion; Conclusions and recommendations; References; Acknowledgement; Conflict of interest; About the authors.
• The main headings should be in bold font and in sentence case.
• The sub-headings should be bold font, italicized and in sentence case.
• The main headings should carry the numbering: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 etc. while the sub headings should carry the numbering 1.1, 2.1. 3.1 etc.

 Body of the Paper: For concept papers

• The body of the paper should be single-spaced with the following main headings: Introduction; Theoretical underpinnings; Literature review; Conclusions; Recommendations for research; References; Acknowledgement; Conflict of interest; About the authors.
• The main headings should be in bold font and in sentence case.
• The sub-headings should be bold font, italicized and in sentence case.
• The main headings should carry the numbering: 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 etc. while the sub headings should carry the numbering 1.1, 2.1. 3.1 etc.

Introduction

• It should comprise a description of the general framework, definitions and principles, background information, problem statement, and purpose/objectives/research questions/hypothesis.

Literature review

• Presents the literature reviewed for the paper and theoretical underpinnings that guided the research. It should be a relevant, critical and a meaningful discussion.

Materials and methods

• It contains a brief description of research approach, research design, research area, sample size and sampling methods, research tools, validity and reliability procedures, ethical issues observed, and data analysis methods used.

Results and discussion

• Presents the study findings addressing the study objectives/research questions/hypothesis and a discussion in the context of existing literature.

Conclusions and recommendations

• Outlines the study conclusions based on the findings obtained and suggestions on way forward (recommendations for practice and policy)

Acknowledgements

• Acknowledge any funding, support in data collection any other support.

Conflict of interest

• Disclose any conflicts of interest.

References

• Use the APA 7^th Edition citation style. Check the following link https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_style_introduction.ht  ml
• All materials cited in the work should be included in the list of references.
• URL link of online citations should be indicated.

About the authors

• Include a brief biography about the authors that indicates their qualification, specialization, research interests and activities, research and work profile links.

Tables and Figures

• Reference all Tables and Figures in the text (Figure 1, Table 1, etc.)
• Provide a caption for each Table and Figure.
• Obtain permission for use of any tables or figures from other sources and indicate the source.

Authorship

• Authorship credit should be based on a substantial contribution to the paper.
• The first author is the corresponding author, who manages the communication with the journal editors and the co-authors of the paper.
• The corresponding author must inform all the co-authors of the submission of the manuscript to the journal. It is recommendable all the co-authors to be copied the communication on submission through their emails.
• The corresponding author should certify that the manuscript is not submitted elsewhere for publication.

Writing Guidelines

• The journal preference is for use of the third person. The use of the pronoun “I” should be avoided if possible. In the text, do not use the second person "you".
• Use "one", "individuals", "people", etc. rather than gender-specific pronouns.
• In the text, use "et al." for multiple authors, e.g., "Anderson et al. (2020) have found..."
• Do not use contractions, i.e., use "did not" rather than "didn't", "cannot" rather than "can't", "would have" rather than "would've",  etc.
• At first use of an abbreviation, write out full name in full and enclose abbreviation in parentheses, e.g. Principal Components Analysis (PCA).
• Avoid jargon, colloquialisms, and the use of idiosyncratic terms.

File format

• Papers should be written in Microsoft Word format, justified, and in single spacing; Font style – Times New Roman; Font size - 12; No. of words – 5000 to 7000 words. Tables, figures, sections on references, conflict of interest, acknowledgement and about the authors should be font size 10.

Publication process

• After the papers are received, they are subjected to blind peer review process.
• The authors shall be required to revise the papers after receiving the peer reviewers’ comments.
• The authors retain the copyright of their work after publication.
• By submitting the paper, the authors agree to pay paper publication charges in case the paper is accepted for publication.
• After the payment of the paper publication charges and revision of the paper by the authors, the paper is updated, formatted and published on the current issue of the journal.