Instructions for Authors

We recommend using the LaTeX template. If you wish to submit your manuscript in Word or any other open document format, please follow the instructions below.

Title

The title must be centered and 20-point.

Author information

All the following information must be centered and 11-point:

  • The name(s) of the author(s)
  • The affiliation(s) of the author(s), i.e. institution, (department), city, (state), country
  • A clear indication and an active e-mail address of the corresponding author

Abstract

Please provide an abstract of 150 to 250 words in 10-point. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references.

Keywords

Please provide 4 to 6 keywords in 10-point which can be used for indexing purposes.

Text Formatting

  • Manuscripts should not exceed 9,000 words, excluding references.
  • Use 12-point Libertinus Sans for text.
  • Use the following margins: top, left and right 3cm; bottom 3.5 cm.
  • Do not number the pages.
  • Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar.
  • Use the table function, not spreadsheets, to make tables.
  • Use the equation editor or MathType for equations.
  • Save your file in docx format (Word 2007 or higher) or doc format (older Word versions).

Headings

Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings (use automatic numbering):

  • First level: 16-point, bold
  • Second level: 14-point, bold
  • Third level: 12-point, bold

Before and after each section and subsection, please use the 6-point line spacing.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter.

Footnotes

Footnotes can be used to give additional information using a 10-point font. Note indicators in the text should appear at the end of sentences or phrases, and follow the respective punctuation marks.

Always use footnotes instead of endnotes.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc. should be placed in a separate section (not numbered) before the references section. The names of funding organizations should be written in full.

References

Citation

Cite references in the text by name and year in parentheses. Some examples:

  • This is an example with parenthesis (Author’s Surname 1, year).
  • This is another example without parenthesis written by Author’s Surname 1 and Author’s Surname 2 (year).
  • This is another example with multiple authors between parenthesis (Author’s Surname 1, year; Author’s Surname 2 and Author’s Surname 3, year; Author’s Surname 3 et al., year).

Reference list

Please follow the 7th Edition of the APA Style Guide. Please refer to the official documentation: https://apastyle.apa.org.

If you are using Word, it is strongly advised to use the corresponding Zotero style: https://www.zotero.org/styles?q=id%3Aapa.

The list of references should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication.

Reference list entries should be alphabetized by the last names of the first author of each work.

Journal names and book titles should be italicized.

If available, please always include DOIs as full DOI links in your reference list (e.g. “https://doi.org/abc”).

Tables

  • All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
  • Tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order. 
  • For each table, please supply a table caption (title) explaining the components of the table.
  • All tables should appear at the top of the page.

Figure

  • All figures are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
  • Figures should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.
  • Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.).
  • Each figure should have a concise caption describing accurately what the figure depicts. Include the captions in the text file of the manuscript, not in the figure file.
  • Figure captions begin with the term Fig. in bold type, followed by the figure number, also in bold type.
  • No punctuation is to be included after the number, nor is any punctuation to be placed at the end of the caption.
  • All figures should appear at the top of the page.

Double-blind peer review

This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout peer review. It is the responsibility of the author to anonymize the manuscript and any associated materials.

This journal also publishes special/guest-edited issues. The peer review process for these articles is the same as the peer review process of the journal in general.

Manuscript Submission

Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any.

Permissions

Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

Online Submission

Please follow the hyperlink “Submit manuscript” and upload all of your manuscript files.

Source Files

Please ensure you provide all relevant editable source files at every submission and revision. Failing to submit a complete set of editable source files will result in your article not being considered for review. For your manuscript text please always submit in common word processing formats such as .docx or LaTeX.