Author Guidelines

Updated: April 2021
NB: Please follow these instructions before submitting your article to the editor.

SUMMARY:

Font: Times New Roman, 12 point
References: use APA 7th edition, in-text citations e.g. ‘xxx (Smith, 2012, p. 1)’; or ‘as Smith (2012, p. 1) argues, …’. Full citations should appear in a bibliography at the end of the article.
Notes: Use endnotes rather than footnotes.

Ensure that Title, Author names, Abstract, Keywords and Affiliation details only appear on the first page of your submitted manuscript. Please then provide Title, Abstract and Keywords in the given format starting from the second page of your manuscript (anonymised without author name/details): the text will be put into pdf from the second page and will be forwarded to reviewers - it remains your responsibility to ensure no information that can lead to identification of the author appears beyond page one of your submission.

TEXT:

  • Title
    Bold, all words, capital letters
    Aligned left
  • Authors
    An Author and Another Author (initials closed up if J.B. Smith)
    Aligned left
  • Affiliation
    University and University
  • Abstract
    Text smaller, indented both sides left (see also below)
  • Keywords
    Keywords: word; another word; lower case except names Position aligned with abstract, same size as abstract (see also below)
  • Acknowledgements and correspondence emails
    Given as footnote on page 1 under *
    * Acknowledgements. Correspondence details: Author name. Email: xxxxxxx. Postal address if needed. Second Author Name. Email: xxxxxxx. Postal address.
  • Headings
    (Introduction)
    1. Bold initial cap only
    1.1 Bold italic initial cap only
    Italics initial cap only
    Conclusion
    Notes
    All ranged left, numbers to be included starting from first substantial chapter, third order subchapters are discouraged. Conclusion does not feature numbers, introduction text starts after Keywords without the word ‘introduction’
    References
  • Paragraphs
    First paragraph with no indention, Follow up paragraphs indented
  • Tables
    (Table 1) in text.
    Table 1. Title initial cap only. (ranged left above table)
    Note: This is a note. (ranged left under table)
  • Figures
    (Figure 1) in text.
    Figure 1. Caption initial cap only. (ranged left under figure) Note:
    This is a note. (ranged left under figure)
  • Displayed quotations
    Quotations should be identified in text with single quotation marks, ‘This is a quote’. In case of unusual word use, please deploy double quotation marks, “this is an unusual use”.
    In case of a citations-within-quotation, please use single marks for the quote and double marks for quote within, ‘This is an example of “a quote-within” another quote’.
    All quotations longer than 40 words should be indented left and right, smaller font, single line spacing (over 40 words, or when appropriate). No quotation marks for indented quotations; quotes within please double quotation marks.
  • Lists
    1) for numbered lists
    Avoid bullet points where possible
  • Equations
    Equation (1) in text
    Centred
  • Notes
    Notes (A heading)
    1. This is a note.
    2. This is another note.
    Text smaller
  • Appendix
    Appendix 1. Title if given (A heading)
    Goes after references, Text smaller
  • Spelling preferences
    Oxford English Dictionary spelling (British English)
  • Punctuation
    Initials (e.g. US, NJ, BBC) do not have full points between them. For names of article authors and in references, no space between initials (J.P. Smith, Smith, J.P. or Smith JP depending on reference style).
  • Dashes
    Spaced en rules for parenthetical dashes
    Use en rule between spans of numbers (e.g. 20-40), including page
    numbers in references
  • Numbers
    Numbers: spell out one to nine, then 10, 1000, 10,000 10% (except at start of sentence).
  • Dates
    4th October 2005
    in the twenty-first century
    in the 1970s

BILBIOGRAHY

Please use American Psychological Association (APA) 7th style. Examples can be found here:
https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-guide.pdf
If your article is accepted for publication, it will be additionally copy-edited and proofread in the correct style. If you have any queries, please contact us at jemie@ecmi.de

ABSTRACT

Your abstract is what readers will use when they are deciding whether to read your article. For this reason your abstract is very important and you should spend time making sure that it is readable and that it contains a complete description of your research. In approximately 100-200 words, you will need to summarize your findings and what the implications of those findings are.
The abstract must be accurate as a reflection of what is in your article.
• The abstract must be self-contained, without abbreviations, footnotes, or incomplete references. It must make sense on its own.
• It is a good idea to include keywords in your abstract, as this will help readers to findit. Key phrases need to make sense within the abstract. Try to keep to a maximum ofthree or four different keyword phrases, and avoid over-repetition of such phrases as this can look like an attempt to trick a search engine, which may result in a page being rejected.
• Check that the abstract reads well.
• Check the Information for Authors to see how what length is required. Make sure that you stick to this limit, otherwise it is likely that your abstract will be edited.
For papers reporting original research, state the primary objective and any hypothesis tested; describe the research design and your reasons for adopting that methodology; state the methods and procedures employed, state the main outcomes and results, and state the conclusions that might be drawn from these data and results, including their implications for further research or application/practice. For review papers and comments, state the primary objective of the review; the reasoning behind your focus on literature and/or events; and the way you critically analyse these; state the main outcomes and results of your review; and state the conclusions that might be drawn, including their implications for further research or application/practice.

KEYWORDS

It is essential that authors, editors, and publishers make every effort to ensure articles are found online, quickly and accurately, ideally within the Top Three hits. The key to this is the appropriate use of keywords. Recent evidence suggests that a strong correlation exists between online hits and subsequent citations for journal articles. Search engines rank highly as starting points. Students are increasingly more likely to start their research by using Google Scholar, rather than by the traditional starting point of Abstracting and Indexing resources. We know that the use of keywords helps to increase the chances of the article being located, and therefore cited. Many search engines have their own algorithms for ranking sites, some by ranking the relevance of content and links to the site from other websites. Some search engines use metadata or "meta-tagging" to assess relevant content. Most search engines, however, scan a page for keyword phrases, which gives emphasis to phrases in headings and/or repeated phrases. The number of other sites that link to a web page also indicates how that page is valued. Keyword terms may differ from the actual text used in the title and abstract, but should accurately reflect what the article is about.

ANONYMITY

To ensure that article referees or peer reviewers do not know your identity (as author[s] of the manuscript being reviewed), you will need to make sure that you remove any information in your manuscript (including footnotes and acknowledgements) that could identify you, and disguise all references to personally identifiable information such as the research institution where your work was carried out.You will be submitting your manuscript as Word document, please use the title page to provide individual details which will be removed from the pdf file, which is sent to the reviewers. The first page that reviewers will see should not contain author names or affiliations but should contain only the title, abstract and keywords, with no acknowledgements, footnotes or any other information identifying the authors.In text, replace any information that would identify the author(s), for example:
[name deleted to maintain the integrity of the review process].
• Do not mention a grant awarded to a named person. (This information can be added later.)
• Do not add any running headers or footers that would identify authors.
• Refer to your own references in the third person. For example, write "Smith and Black (2007) have demonstrated", not "We have previously demonstrated (Smith & Black, 2007)".
• Check that all identifiers have been removed from electronic files. Hidden information includes hidden text, revised text, comments, or field codes, and these remains in a document even though you can't see them. If you entered your name or email address when you registered your software, this will be stored as part of the document.
Information contained in custom fields that you add to the document, such as an "author" or "owner" field, is not automatically removed. You must edit or remove the custom field to remove that information. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Security tab. Select the Remove personal information from File properties on Save check box.
• When you submit the final draft of the manuscript for publication, you will need to put back any references to yourself, your institution, grants awarded, etc.
• Avoid or minimize self-citation. If it is necessary to cite your own work, delete the names of authors and other identifying information and place substitute words in brackets, such as: [name deleted to maintain the integrity of the review process]. In the reference list, you should delete the citation and add it before submitting your final draft.