Preparing your manuscript

Checklist

Before you submit, make sure you can tick every box:

• The paper is original, unpublished and not under review anywhere else.
• It fits the journal's scope and one of the four article types.
• The manuscript file contains no author names or other identifying details.
• Author details are ready for the form, or on a separate title page if you submit by email.
• The abstract is 150–250 words, with 3–6 keywords.
• References follow one recognised style throughout.
• You have a similarity report, and the score is 10% or less after exclusions.
• Ethics, funding, conflict-of-interest and AI-use statements are included.
• All co-authors have approved the final version.

Choosing an article type

Word counts don't include the abstract, references or appendices. The editors may accept a paper slightly outside these limits if its quality justifies it. If you'd like to write a review article or propose a themed issue, email the editors first.

The two files you send

Because review is double-blind, author details are kept apart from the manuscript. If you use the online form, the author details you enter there act as the title page, so you only upload File 2. If you submit by email, attach both.

File 1

Title page Title; every author's full name, designation, institution and email; the corresponding author; acknowledgements and funding.

File 2

Anonymised manuscript Title, abstract, keywords and the full text, with no names, affiliations or self-identifying references.

In the anonymised file, cite your own earlier work in the third person, for example "Rahman (2024) showed…" rather than "our earlier study showed…", and remove your name from the document's file properties.

Formatting

Structure and abstract

Organise the paper in the way that suits your discipline. Empirical studies usually follow introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusion. Theoretical, historical or textual studies usually move from introduction to argument, discussion and conclusion.

Research articles, review articles and short communications need an abstract of 150–250 words that states the aim, the approach, the main findings and why they matter. Add 3–6 keywords that a reader might search for. Book reviews don't need an abstract; instead, give the full details of the book reviewed at the top.

References

Use one recognised citation style throughout, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, or the standard style in your discipline. Every in-text citation must appear in the reference list, and every reference must be cited in the text. Check that authors' names, years, page numbers, DOIs and URLs are correct. Where a source has a DOI, include it.

Tables and figures

Number tables and figures in the order they appear, mention each one in the text, and give each a short caption. Place them where they belong in the manuscript, and also send images as separate files at 300 dpi or higher. If a table, figure or image comes from someone else's work, include the source and, where needed, written permission to reuse it.

Statements to include

Add these at the end of the manuscript, before the references, where they apply:

• Ethics approval: the committee that approved research with human participants or animals.
• Consent: confirmation that participants gave informed consent.
• Conflicts of interest: any, or "none".
• Funding: keep the funder's name on the title page if it would identify you, and write "withheld for review" in the manuscript.
• Use of AI tools: which tool, for what, and how you checked the output.

See author responsibilities and research integrity for the rules behind these statements.

Authors

A paper can have up to five authors: the main author and up to four co-authors. Each must have contributed significantly to the work and approved the version you submit. One author acts as corresponding author and handles all communication with the journal. Changing the author list after submission needs the written agreement of everyone involved.

After acceptance

We'll ask you for a final, de-anonymised version and send you a formatted proof to check. Your article is published open access under CC BY 4.0, you keep the copyright, and there are no fees at any stage. See copyright and licensing and from submission to publication for details.

Questions about preparing your paper? Email editor@cijar.org.