Submission Guidelines

Publication Ethics

This statement reflects our journal's commitment to ethical publishing practices.

Authorship: We recognise the importance of accurately reflecting contributions to scholarly work. Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship may be listed in an acknowledgments section.

AI and Authorship: Authors must not attribute co-authorship to AI and AI-assisted technologies. Authorship involves responsibilities and duties exclusively pertinent to humans. The use of generative AI in producing parts of the manuscripts, figures or diagrams is not permitted.

Intellectual Property: Respect for intellectual property is fundamental. We expect authors to cite sources appropriately and obtain permission for use of any copyrighted material. Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable.

Peer Review Processes: Our blind peer review process is designed to ensure the integrity and quality of published work. Reviewers play a crucial role in maintaining these standards and as such they are expected to conduct their assessments objectively and confidentially.

Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests: To maintain transparency and objectivity, conflicts of interest or competing interests must be declared. This includes financial, personal, or professional associations that could influence the work. Undisclosed conflicts of interest may lead to rejection or retraction of manuscripts.

Allegations of Misconduct: Our journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethics.If there are any allegations of misconduct, be it in research or publication, we will investigate them, ensuring fairness and confidentiality throughout the process.

Complaints and Appeals: We welcome feedback and address all complaints constructively. Authors, reviewers, and readers can lodge appeals or complaints regarding ethical breaches or the decision-making process.

Data and Reproducibility: Our journal encourages authors to present their data clearly and accurately. We support the reproducibility of research and urge authors to make their data available where possible when such requests are made to them.

Ethical Oversight: Ethical oversight is integral to our publication process. Submissions involving human or animal subjects must include a statement of ethical approval. We reserve the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with ethical standards.

Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections: We support ongoing scholarly discourse and welcome post-publication discussions. Corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies will be published as necessary to maintain the integrity of the academic record.

Preparing your manuscript

Writing a paper requires a lot of hard work and a great deal of time. Our guidelines aim to make authors' submissions as easy as possible. In fact, we only ask authors to submit their papers in Microsoft Word format (please do not submit PDF files) and not to include personal information identifying the authors. We do suggest though that authors use Times New Roman, 12pt font with single or 1 ½ paragraph spaces. Headings (up to 3 levels) should be clearly marked and numbered. Also, if there are tables and diagrams included, these should be placed within the body of the paper near the text that refers to them. These suggestions will allow for easier reading of the papers by the editors and the reviewers.

Please also note that we are likely to reject:

If a paper is accepted, the authors will be expected to submit their final manuscript to the editor in Microsoft Word. If there are additional requirements (e.g. the editor may ask authors to submit separately high quality version of any diagrams used) these will be arranged between the editor and the corresponding author.

Citation Style: Citations should follow the American Psychological Association (APA) 5th edition style. For more information please visit: http://www.apastyle.org.

Submission Process

You should only submit original articles that have not been submitted to our journals at the same time.

There are no costs associated with submissions or with publishing articles.

To submit your article please email it to the editor in chief ().

When submitting your manuscript please copy and paste the text below and revise as per necessary:


SUBMISSION EMAIL TEMPLATE

Authors:

Manuscript title:

Manuscript area:

As the corresponding author I declare:

1) This is an original piece of work
2) The paper is not under consideration by another journal
3) This paper has obtained ethical approval by the host institution
4) All authors named in the manuscript have contributed to the research and have been consulted with regards to this submission
5) If requested anonomysed raw data can be made available
6) Generative AI has not been used to produce parts of the paper, figures or diagrams
7) The authors adhere to good research and publishing practice as outlined on the journal’s submission page. 8) There are no competing interest to declare [or declare any].

Double-blinded reviewing process

All submitted papers will undergo a rigorous double-blinded reviewing process, following a meticulous initial screening by our dedicated editorial team. This stringent evaluation process ensures the highest standards of quality and impartiality in the assessment of each manuscript. During the initial screening, our experienced editorial team will review the submissions to ensure they meet the basic criteria for consideration. This includes verifying that each paper adheres to our submission guidelines and addresses relevant subject matter. Once a paper successfully passes through this initial stage, it proceeds to the double-blinded reviewing process. Our panel of expert reviewers, carefully selected for their expertise in the relevant field, will comprehensively evaluate each submission. They will assess the paper's originality, clarity, methodology, and contribution to the body of knowledge in the respective field. Reviewers will provide constructive feedback and recommendations for improvement, which will be conveyed to the authors to facilitate the enhancement of their work. The double-blinded reviewing process is central to maintaining the integrity and excellence of our publication. It guarantees that all accepted papers have been thoroughly and impartially evaluated, ensuring the highest quality of research contributions in our journal. We are committed to upholding these rigorous standards to advance scholarly discourse and promote the dissemination of cutting-edge research.

In cases where the initial double-blinded review results in a decision that suggests revisions are required, authors will be invited to revise and resubmit their manuscripts for a second round of review. This process reflects our commitment to assisting authors in improving the quality and rigor of their work while maintaining the highest standards of scholarly excellence.

Upon receiving a decision for revision, authors will be provided with detailed feedback and specific recommendations from the reviewers. This feedback is intended to guide authors in addressing any identified shortcomings and enhancing the overall quality of their paper. Authors are encouraged to carefully consider and incorporate these suggestions into their revised manuscript.

Once the revised manuscript is resubmitted, it will undergo a second round of double-blinded review. This round ensures that the revisions have adequately addressed the reviewers' concerns and that the paper meets the required standards for publication. Reviewers will assess the revisions, as well as any additional changes made by the authors, and provide feedback on the updated version.

The decision following a review round may lead to one of the following outcomes:

Reviewing

Our aim is to work collaboratively with authors to ensure that their research is presented at its best, and this iterative process of revision and resubmission helps achieve that goal. We value the dedication and effort of authors in improving their work, and we are committed to maintaining transparency and fairness throughout the review and publication process.

Download Review Form

Before reviewing a paper please consult our reviewing guidelines.

Hard Copies

Hard copies of the journal can be provided upon request. These are colour copies, professionally printed and finished. Hard copies incur a fee. To order a hard copy of an article or an issue please email the production editor with your request.

Open Access

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

Copyright

When authors submit a paper to IJBSAM for reviewing and publishing they retain their copyright, but agree to grant non-exclusive publishing rights to IJBSAM and agree that the paper will be published under a Creative Commons (Attribution 4.0 International) licence, if the paper is accepted for publication. Authors are encouraged to read carefully their rights. We believe this approach ensures a fair arrangement for both parties. The licence granted to IJBSAM allows the Journal to edit and typeset the paper which will be included in a forthcoming issue and distributed in any online and offline medium that the journal deems necessary in order to promote the paper, the authors and IJBSAM. Once a paper is accepted, it will be the responsibility of the corresponding author to forward the full licence (either attach a copy or copy and paste the contents in an email) with the final version of the paper to the editor. No paper will be published unless accompanied by a licence.

For more information about the Creative Commons Licence please visit: https://creativecommons.org.

All papers are archived by the British Library Legal Deposit Office.