Author Guidelines

International Journal of Applied Sciences and Society Archives (IJASSA)

The International Journal of Applied Sciences and Society Archives (IJASSA) welcomes original, high-quality scholarly contributions in applied sciences, social sciences, technology, health, environment, education, business, humanities, and interdisciplinary studies.

Authors are requested to read these guidelines carefully before submitting a manuscript. Submission of a manuscript to IJASSA implies that the authors have read and agreed to the journal's submission, publication, and ethical requirements.

1. Types of Manuscripts

IJASSA accepts the following categories of scholarly contributions:

1.1 Original Research Article

Reports original empirical, experimental, computational, theoretical, or applied research. The manuscript should clearly present the research problem, methodology, results, and contribution to knowledge.

1.2 Review Article

Provides a comprehensive and critical evaluation of existing research on a clearly defined topic. Review articles should identify important developments, research gaps, controversies, and future research directions.

1.3 Systematic Review / Meta-Analysis

Presents a systematic and transparent synthesis of existing literature using an appropriate and clearly described methodology.

2. General Submission Requirements

Authors should ensure that:

• The manuscript is original and has not been published previously.
• The manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.
• The research falls within the scope of IJASSA.
• All listed authors have made a meaningful contribution to the work.
• All authors have approved the submitted version.
• The manuscript is written in clear and academically appropriate English.
• All sources used in the research are properly acknowledged and cited.
• Figures, tables, photographs, datasets, and other materials are either original, appropriately cited, or used with permission where required.
• Ethical approval and informed consent are reported where applicable.
• Any financial support or potential conflict of interest is disclosed.

Authors should not submit substantially identical manuscripts to multiple journals simultaneously.

3. Language

IJASSA primarily accepts manuscripts written in English.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts are grammatically correct, coherent, and understandable. Manuscripts requiring extensive language correction may be returned to the authors before peer review.

Authors whose first language is not English are encouraged to have their manuscript carefully reviewed for language quality before submission.

4. Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be prepared using a clear and consistent academic format.

Recommended Formatting

• File format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)
• Font: Times New Roman
• Font size: 12 pt
• Line spacing: 1.5
• Text alignment: Justified
• Page size: A4
• Margins: 1 inch on all sides
• Page numbers: Consecutive page numbering
• Tables and figures: Number consecutively and refer to them in the text

Authors may use the journal's official manuscript template if one is provided.

5. Recommended Manuscript Structure

For original research articles, the following structure is recommended:

Title

The title should be concise, informative, specific, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript. Avoid unnecessary abbreviations and overly broad titles.

Author Information

Include:

• Full name of each author
• Institutional affiliation
• Department/unit
• Institution
• City and country
• Email address
• ORCID iD, where available

The corresponding author should be clearly identified.

Abstract

The abstract should briefly describe:

• Background or research problem
• Objective
• Methodology
• Key findings
• Principal conclusion
• Significance or implications, where appropriate

A recommended abstract length is 150–300 words.

Keywords

Provide 4–8 keywords or phrases that accurately represent the main subjects of the manuscript.

1. Introduction

The introduction should:

• Establish the research context.
• Explain the research problem.
• Review relevant literature.
• Identify the research gap.
• State the research objectives or questions.
• Explain the significance of the study.

2. Literature Review / Theoretical Framework

Where appropriate, provide a critical review of relevant literature and explain the theoretical or conceptual framework underlying the research.

For disciplines where a separate literature-review section is not customary, authors may integrate relevant literature into the introduction.

3. Materials and Methods / Methodology

Describe the research design and methodology in sufficient detail to allow readers to understand and, where reasonably possible, reproduce the study.

This section may include:

• Research design
• Study area or population
• Sample and sampling procedure
• Data sources
• Instruments
• Experimental procedures
• Variables
• Data collection procedures
• Statistical or analytical methods
• Software or computational methods
• Ethical considerations

4. Results / Findings

Present the findings clearly and logically. Avoid unnecessary repetition of information already presented in tables or figures.

5. Discussion

Interpret the findings in relation to:

• Research objectives/questions
• Previous literature
• Theoretical perspectives
• Practical implications
• Limitations
• Broader scientific or societal significance

6. Conclusion

Provide a concise conclusion based on the findings. Do not introduce major new information that has not been discussed in the manuscript.

7. Recommendations / Implications

Where appropriate, authors may provide practical, policy, scientific, educational, technological, or societal recommendations.

8. Acknowledgements

Recognize individuals, institutions, laboratories, organizations, or other contributors who assisted with the research but do not qualify for authorship.

9. Funding Statement

Authors should disclose all sources of financial support for the research.

If no specific funding was received, authors may state:

"This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors."

10. Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research.

If no conflict exists, authors may state:

"The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest."

11. Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

Where applicable, manuscripts involving human participants, animals, clinical data, or sensitive personal information must provide an appropriate ethical statement.

The statement should identify the relevant ethics committee/institutional review board and approval information where applicable.

For studies involving human participants, informed consent should be obtained and reported where required.

12. Data Availability

Authors are encouraged to provide information about the availability of data supporting their findings.

Where appropriate, authors should state whether the underlying data are:

• Publicly available;
• Available upon reasonable request;
• Available through a repository; or
• Not publicly available because of ethical, privacy, legal, or other restrictions.

6. Tables

Tables should:

• Be numbered consecutively (Table 1, Table 2, etc.).
• Have a clear and descriptive title.
• Be referred to in the manuscript.
• Contain sufficiently clear headings.
• Avoid unnecessary duplication of information presented in the text.

Tables should be editable rather than submitted only as images whenever possible.

7. Figures, Images, and Illustrations

Figures should be clear, relevant, and of sufficient quality for publication.

Each figure should:

• Be numbered consecutively.
• Include an appropriate caption.
• Be referred to in the manuscript.
• Clearly identify symbols, abbreviations, and units where necessary.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for copyrighted figures or images that they do not own.

8. Equations, Units, and Symbols

Mathematical equations should be presented clearly using appropriate equation-editing tools.

Authors should use internationally recognized units and symbols wherever applicable. Scientific terminology, abbreviations, and symbols should be defined at their first occurrence.

9. References and Citation Style

Authors must ensure that every source cited in the manuscript appears in the reference list and that every reference listed is cited in the manuscript.

IJASSA may accept a consistent scholarly referencing style appropriate to the discipline. Unless otherwise specified for a particular subject area, authors are encouraged to use APA 7th edition for social sciences, humanities, education, business, and related disciplines.

Authors working in scientific or technical disciplines may use the referencing style customary in their field, subject to editorial requirements.

References should be accurate, complete, and preferably include DOI information where available.

Authors should avoid:

• Unverifiable references;
• Excessive self-citation;
• Citation manipulation;
• References that are not actually consulted;
• Artificially inflated reference lists.

10. Research Ethics and Integrity

IJASSA is committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity and publication ethics.

Authors must not engage in:

• Plagiarism;
• Duplicate publication;
• Fabrication of data;
• Falsification of data;
• Manipulation of images or results;
• Citation manipulation;
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest;
• Unethical authorship practices;
• Submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals.

Concerns regarding research or publication misconduct may be investigated by the editorial office in accordance with recognized scholarly publication-ethics principles.

The use of plagiarism/similarity-detection software may be undertaken during editorial screening. Similarity reports are considered alongside editorial assessment; a similarity percentage alone does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred.

11. Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the research and manuscript.

All authors should:

1. Make a meaningful contribution to the research;
2. Participate in drafting or critically revising the manuscript;
3. Approve the final version;
4. Accept responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

All authors should agree to the order of authorship before submission.

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission should be supported by an explanation and require agreement from all affected authors.

12. Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI

Authors may use AI-assisted tools for limited purposes such as language improvement, grammar correction, translation, formatting assistance, or other appropriate editorial support.

However:

• AI tools must not be listed as authors.
• Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and content of the manuscript.
• Authors should verify all AI-generated information, references, quotations, data, and claims.
• AI tools must not be used to fabricate data, references, results, images, or research findings.
• Where AI or generative-AI tools have materially contributed to the preparation of the manuscript, their use should be transparently disclosed in an appropriate statement.

Authors should not rely on generative AI as a substitute for scholarly judgment, research methodology, or critical analysis.

13. Originality and Plagiarism

All submissions must represent original scholarly work.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Copying text without appropriate attribution;
• Presenting another person's ideas as one's own;
• Reusing substantial portions of previously published work without disclosure;
• Self-plagiarism;
• Duplicate publication.

IJASSA reserves the right to reject manuscripts or take appropriate post-publication action where plagiarism or other forms of publication misconduct are identified.

14. Peer Review

All manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment to determine whether they:

• Fit the scope of IJASSA;
• Meet basic scholarly and methodological standards;
• Follow the submission requirements;
• Demonstrate sufficient originality and academic relevance.

Manuscripts that pass initial screening are sent for peer review by qualified reviewers.

The journal may use a double-blind peer-review process, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from one another.

Possible editorial decisions include:

• Accept;
• Accept subject to minor revisions;
• Revise and resubmit / major revisions;
•  

The final publication decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief or designated editorial authority.

15. Confidentiality

All manuscripts submitted to IJASSA are treated as confidential during the editorial and peer-review process.

Reviewers and editors must not disclose, reproduce, use, or distribute unpublished manuscript content for purposes unrelated to the review process.

16. Manuscript Revision

When revisions are requested, authors should submit:

1. A revised version of the manuscript; and
2. A response to reviewers explaining how each substantive comment has been addressed.

Authors should clearly identify changes made in the revised manuscript where requested by the editorial office.

A revised manuscript may be returned to the original reviewers or evaluated by the editor.

17. Submission Declaration

By submitting a manuscript to IJASSA, the corresponding author confirms on behalf of all authors that:

• The manuscript is original.
• The manuscript has not been published previously.
• The manuscript is not under consideration by another journal.
• All authors have approved the submission.
• All authors agree with the submitted version.
• Appropriate permissions have been obtained for copyrighted material.
• All relevant funding and conflicts of interest have been disclosed.
• Appropriate ethical requirements have been followed.
• The information and results presented in the manuscript are accurate to the best of the authors' knowledge.

18. Copyright and Licensing

Copyright and licensing arrangements will be determined according to the publication model adopted by IJASSA.

Where the journal publishes articles under an open-access license, the applicable Creative Commons license and copyright terms will be clearly stated on the journal website and in the published article.

Authors should ensure that third-party copyrighted material is used in accordance with applicable copyright law and permissions.

19. Article Processing Charges

IJASSA does not guarantee acceptance or publication in exchange for payment. Editorial and peer-review decisions are independent of any applicable publication charges.

20. Submission Procedure

Authors should submit manuscripts through the official IJASSA submission system or according to the submission instructions provided by the Editorial Office.

The submission should normally include:

• Complete manuscript;
• Author information;
• Corresponding author's contact details;
• ORCID iDs, where available;
• Tables and figures, where applicable;
• Ethical approval statement, where applicable;
• Funding statement;
• Conflict-of-interest statement;
• Data availability statement, where applicable;
• Any required supplementary files.

Authors should retain a copy of the submitted manuscript and all supporting materials.

21. Editorial Screening

Before peer review, the editorial office may conduct checks for:

• Scope and relevance;
• Manuscript completeness;
• Language and presentation;
• Originality/similarity;
• Research ethics;
• Authorship information;
• References and citations;
• Potential conflicts of interest;
• Compliance with journal policies.

Manuscripts that do not meet the basic requirements may be returned to authors for correction or rejected without external peer review.

22. Post-Acceptance

After acceptance, the manuscript may undergo:

• Copyediting;
• Language editing;
• Formatting;
• Reference checking;
• Proofreading;
• Final editorial checks.

Authors may be asked to review page proofs before publication. Authors should carefully check proofs for typographical, factual, affiliation, and formatting errors and return corrections within the specified period.

23. Corrections and Retractions

IJASSA is committed to maintaining an accurate scholarly record.

If a significant error is identified after publication, the journal may publish an appropriate correction, erratum, or other editorial notice.

In cases involving serious errors, research misconduct, plagiarism, fabricated data, or other circumstances that substantially compromise the integrity of a published article, the journal may consider retraction in accordance with applicable publication-ethics standards.

 

24. Author Checklist

Before submitting, authors should ensure that:

☐ The manuscript fits the scope of IJASSA.
☐ The manuscript is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.
☐ All authors have approved the manuscript.
☐ The corresponding author is identified.
☐ Author affiliations and contact information are complete.
☐ The title accurately reflects the research.
☐ The abstract is included.
☐ Keywords are provided.
☐ Tables and figures are numbered and cited in the text.
☐ All references are cited correctly.
☐ Ethical approval is reported where applicable.
☐ Funding information is disclosed.
☐ Conflict-of-interest information is provided.
☐ Data availability is addressed where applicable.
☐ AI use is disclosed where materially relevant.
☐ The manuscript has been checked for plagiarism and originality.
☐ Copyright permissions have been obtained where necessary.
☐ The manuscript has been carefully proofread before submission.