Author Guidelines

Authors should ensure that the manuscript submitted to the Journal of Studies in Social Sciences has not been previously published elsewhere and is not under consideration by any other journal simultaneously. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals is unethical and represents a breach of integrity. Authors should also avoid redundant publications, meaning publishing substantially the same work in multiple articles or journals, as this can lead to misleading or duplicated information in the academic community. By adhering to this criterion, authors demonstrate their commitment to upholding standards of originality, avoiding duplication, and preventing potential conflicts arising from redundant or simultaneous submissions. These practices promote the ethical dissemination of research findings and ensure credibility and quality in the field of social sciences.

Substantial Contribution

Authors should have made a substantial contribution to the conception and design of the study, data collection and analysis, interpretation of results, drafting or revising the article, and final approval of the version to be published. All authors should be able to demonstrate their meaningful involvement in the research process.

Intellectual Contribution

Authors should have made an intellectual contribution to the content of the article, contributing substantially to the formulation of the research question, hypotheses, or theoretical framework. It is essential that authors contribute intellectually to the interpretation of the findings and the implications of the research.
Data integrity: Authors should ensure the integrity and accuracy of the data presented in the article. This includes verifying the accuracy of data collection methods, adequately analyzing and interpreting the data, and presenting results honestly and transparently. Any inaccurate or misleading data should be promptly corrected or retracted.

Citation and Referencing

Authors should appropriately acknowledge the work of others and give credit to previous studies and sources that have contributed to the research. Ethical referencing and citation practices should be followed to avoid plagiarism and give due recognition to the intellectual contributions of others.

Author Order

The order of authors should be determined based on their relative contributions to the research project. The lead author should generally be the individual who has made the most significant contribution to the study, followed by co-authors who have made substantial contributions in descending order. Any deviations from this established order should be justified and explained transparently.

Format & Style

The APA Guide for New Authors is a helpful resource for information on manuscript preparation. Authors for whom English is not their first language or who have limited experience with APA style are advised to seek input from a skilled and knowledgeable English reader familiar with APA style.

An abstract must be entered during the submission process to facilitate review.

Cover Page

The cover page should include the title, all authors’ names and affiliations (including departments), and full contact information for the corresponding author.

Abstract

The abstract should be on a separate page and be no longer than 150 words. Three to five relevant keywords should be listed directly under the abstract on the same page.

Introduction

The introduction should explain the rationale behind the current study, placing the research topic and study within the context of the current research landscape. Authors should summarize and cite previous research relevant to the current study and highlight the gap in knowledge being filled by the present research. The introduction should clearly pose the research question, describe the experimental design, and outline the authors’ hypothesis.

Method

This section should contain a clear and concise description and, when needed, justification of the conditions and procedures of the study, as well as the analytical tools or methodology used. All excluded observations, independent variables/manipulations, and dependent variables/measures must be reported, and authors should be sure to explain how the sample size was determined.

Results

This section should present the collected data and analysis. Results for all measures should be reported in a concise, straightforward manner, using tables or figures when appropriate. Duplication of information that is presented in tables or figures should be minimal in the text, and all results should be reported in the text, rather than figure captions. We encourage authors to include effect sizes accompanied by 95% confidence intervals rather than standard deviations or standard errors. Authors should be particularly attentive to APA style when typing statistical details and mindful to exclude interpretation and discussion of the findings or any details related to methodology from this section.

Discussion

This section should discuss the findings in the context of the research question initially posed and the authors’ hypothesis. The Discussion should also explore the broader implications and significance of the findings, as well as specific recommendations for the direction of future research on the topic.

References

Every citation in the text should be listed in the reference list, and vice versa.  Note that online sources should be cited in the same manner as print sources (i.e., author and date in parentheses).  Be sure to cite sources for specialized/obscure equipment and software (e.g., eye trackers, software for analyzing fMRI data) either by adding the manufacturer with location (or URL) in the text or by adding a reference entry. References should be formatted in accordance with APA style.

Policy of Screening for Plagiarism

Papers submitted to Journal of Agriculture and Sustainability will be screened for plagiarism using CrossCheck / iThenticate plagiarism detection tools. Apart from that we check with Copyscape for plagiarism. Journal of Agriculture and Sustainability will immediately reject papers leading to plagiarism or self-plagiarism.

Download a template here.