Author Guidelines

Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

Manuscripts must be written in clear, accurate, and academically appropriate English. All submissions will undergo an initial screening by the Editorial Board to determine their suitability for the journal. This preliminary assessment considers alignment with the journal's scope, compliance with submission requirements, originality, academic quality, and readiness for peer review.

The main manuscript must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) file. Submissions must present original scholarly work that contributes to the advancement of scientific knowledge, theory, methodology, educational practice, policy, or other areas relevant to the journal's scope.

Manuscripts should generally comprise 5–15 pages or approximately 3,000–6,000 words, excluding references and supplementary materials where appropriate. The manuscript must be prepared in a single-column format on A4-size paper, using Aptos (Body) font, justified alignment, and single-line spacing. Font sizes used in abstracts, tables, figures, captions, or other visual elements may be adjusted where necessary to preserve clarity and readability.

Submission Requirements

Before submitting a manuscript, authors must ensure that all editorial, structural, ethical, and technical requirements have been satisfied.

Authors should verify that:

• The manuscript falls within the scope of the journal;

• The manuscript presents original scholarly work and has not been published previously or submitted simultaneously to another journal;

• The manuscript is written in clear, accurate, and academically appropriate English;

• The manuscript complies with the journal's formatting and structural requirements;

• The manuscript comprises approximately 5–15 pages or 3,000–6,000 words, unless otherwise permitted by the Editorial Board;

• The Literature Review is included as a mandatory and separate section;

• The research objectives, research questions, and/or hypotheses are stated clearly and consistently;

• The methodology is described with sufficient detail to allow readers to understand, evaluate, and, where appropriate, replicate the study;

• All tables and figures are numbered consecutively, appropriately titled, and explicitly referred to in the manuscript text;

• Information presented in tables and figures is not unnecessarily duplicated in the narrative;

• Every in-text citation corresponds accurately to an entry in the References;

• Every source listed in the References is cited in the manuscript;

• References are prepared consistently according to APA style;

• Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are included whenever available;

• DOI links are accurate, active, and clickable;

• Ethical information is accurate and consistent throughout the manuscript;

• Where human participants are involved, the Ethical Declaration and Informed Consent Statement accurately reflect the procedures undertaken in the study;

• Funding information is reported consistently throughout the manuscript and declaration sections;

• The Declarations Statement is included as Section 13, immediately before the References;

• A complete Declarations document is also uploaded as a separate file, prepared using the journal's attached Declarations Sample as a reference; and

• All manuscript files, supplementary materials, and declaration documents have been carefully reviewed before submission.

Manuscripts that do not comply with the journal's technical requirements, including submissions without the mandatory Literature Review or required Declarations Statement, may be returned to the authors for technical revision before editorial assessment or peer review.

Manuscript Structure

The manuscript must be organized systematically in the following order:

1. Title

2. Author Name(s)

3. Author Affiliation(s)

4. Abstract

5. Keywords

6. Introduction

7. Literature Review

8. Methods

9. Results

10. Discussion

11. Conclusion and Implications

12. Limitations, where applicable

13. Declarations Statement

14. References

In addition to including the Declarations Statement in the manuscript, every submission must be accompanied by a separate Declarations document. Authors must prepare this document using the Declarations Sample attached to the journal guidelines. The sample serves as a reference only and must be adapted to the actual circumstances of the submitted research.

1. Title

The title must be written in English and should accurately represent the principal focus, content, and contribution of the manuscript. It should be informative, specific, concise, and readily understandable to readers. The title should preferably contain approximately 12–15 words. Unnecessary expressions, unexplained abbreviations, formulas, symbols, and excessively technical terminology should be avoided unless they are essential to communicating the subject of the study.

2. Author Name(s)

The full names of all authors must be provided without academic degrees, professional titles, or honorifics.

For manuscripts with more than one author, the order of authorship should reflect the agreed contributions of the authors to the work. One author must be clearly identified as the corresponding author. The full names of all authors must be provided exactly as they should appear in the published article, without academic degrees, professional titles, or honorifics.

For manuscripts with more than one author, the order of authorship must reflect the authors' mutually agreed contributions to the work. One author must be clearly designated as the corresponding author and will be responsible for communication with the journal throughout the submission, peer-review, revision, and publication processes.

For each author, the following information must be provided:

• Full name;

• Institutional affiliation;

• Valid and active email address; and

• ORCID iD, if available, provided as a valid and clickable link (e.g., https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000).

The required author information must be provided consistently in both the manuscript and the submission metadata in the OJS system. All authors must also be entered individually in the Contributors section of the OJS submission system, including their respective names, institutional affiliations, and valid email addresses. Where an author has an ORCID iD, it should also be included in the relevant contributor metadata.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all authorship information entered in the OJS system is complete, accurate, and fully consistent with the information provided in the manuscript. The author names, authorship order, corresponding author designation, institutional affiliations, email addresses, and, where applicable, ORCID iDs must therefore be carefully verified before the submission is finalized.

Submissions with incomplete mandatory author information, including missing author email addresses, incomplete contributor metadata, or inconsistencies between the manuscript and the OJS submission metadata, will not be processed further and may be rejected during the initial editorial screening. The absence of an ORCID iD will not constitute grounds for rejection where an author does not have one. Authors are therefore strongly advised to complete and verify all required author information and metadata before finalizing their submission.

3. Author Affiliation(s)

Each author's name must be accompanied by a complete institutional affiliation. Where applicable, the affiliation should include:

• Department, faculty, school, or research unit;

• University or institution;

• City and country;

• Postal code; and

• Email address.

The corresponding author's active email address must be clearly identified. Additional contact information may be provided where required by the journal.

4. Abstract

The abstract must be written in English as a single paragraph of approximately 150–200 words.

It should provide a concise and coherent account of the study, including:

• The background or context of the research;

• The research problem or objective;

• The methodology or research design;

• The principal findings;

• The main conclusion; and

• The scientific, theoretical, methodological, educational, or practical contribution of the study.

The abstract should be understandable independently of the main manuscript. It should not contain citations, undefined abbreviations, tables, figures, or information that is not addressed elsewhere in the manuscript.

5. Keywords

Authors must provide 3–5 keywords or key phrases in English and Indonesian.

Keywords should represent the central concepts of the study and facilitate indexing and discoverability. Unnecessary repetition of words already contained in the title should be avoided where suitable alternatives are available. Keywords must be arranged alphabetically.

6. Introduction

The Introduction should establish the scholarly context and rationale for the study. It must describe the background of the research, identify the principal problem or issue under investigation, and explain why the study warrants academic and practical attention. Relevant previous research should be synthesized sufficiently to establish the context of the problem and identify the research gap. The Introduction, however, should not replace the more extensive analytical treatment of previous scholarship required in the Literature Review, which is a mandatory and separate section. Authors should establish clearly how the study responds to a specific gap, unresolved question, theoretical concern, methodological problem, or practical need. The novelty and expected contribution of the research should emerge logically from this discussion rather than being presented merely as an unsupported assertion. The final part of the Introduction must state explicitly the research objective(s), research question(s), and/or hypotheses, as appropriate to the study design. As a general guideline, the Introduction may comprise approximately 1,000 words, although its actual length should remain proportionate to the scope and complexity of the manuscript.

7. Literature Review

The Literature Review is mandatory for all manuscripts and must be presented as a separate section.

This section should provide a critical, analytical, and current synthesis of scholarly literature directly relevant to the research problem. A Literature Review should not merely describe or list previous studies one after another.

The Literature Review should:

• Establish the conceptual and empirical foundations of the study;

• Critically examine relevant theories, concepts, models, and previous findings;

• Identify areas of agreement, disagreement, contradiction, or uncertainty within the existing literature;

• Examine methodological, theoretical, or conceptual limitations in previous research where relevant;

• Establish clearly the research gap addressed by the study;

• Explain how the present research extends, challenges, integrates, refines, or otherwise advances previous scholarship; and

• Provide the theoretical or conceptual basis for the research questions, hypotheses, analytical framework, or research design.

Authors should prioritize relevant, current, credible, and high-quality scholarly sources, particularly peer-reviewed journal articles published in reputable academic outlets. Foundational literature may be included where it remains theoretically or historically relevant to the study. Where a specific theoretical or conceptual framework is required, it should be developed clearly within the Literature Review or presented as an appropriately identified subsection.

8. Methods

The Methods section must provide sufficient information for readers to understand how the research was designed and conducted, assess its methodological rigor, and, where appropriate, replicate the procedures.

The methodological description should correspond directly to the nature and design of the study. Depending on the research approach, relevant information may include:

• Research design and approach;

• Research setting or context;

• Population, sample, or participants;

• Sampling procedures;

• Participant inclusion and exclusion criteria, where applicable;

• Research instruments or materials;

• Instrument validity and reliability, where relevant;

• Data collection procedures;

• Experimental procedures, interventions, or treatments, where applicable;

• Materials, equipment, software, or technologies used;

• Data analysis procedures;

• Statistical or qualitative analytical techniques;

• Ethical approval and informed consent procedures, where applicable; and

• Other methodological information required to assess the rigor, transparency, and reproducibility of the research.

Materials, instruments, equipment, software, and analytical procedures should be described with sufficient specificity when they are necessary for interpreting or reproducing the study. For quantitative research, authors should explain the statistical procedures employed and provide sufficient information to assess the appropriateness of the analysis. For qualitative research, the procedures used for data collection, coding, interpretation, and verification should be explained clearly. Mixed-methods studies should describe how the quantitative and qualitative components were designed, analyzed, and integrated.

9. Results

The Results section must present the principal findings clearly, objectively, and systematically. Findings should be organized in direct relation to the research objectives, research questions, and/or hypotheses.

Tables and figures may be used when they improve the clarity and interpretation of the findings. As a general guideline, manuscripts may contain approximately three to seven tables and/or figures, depending on the nature and complexity of the study.

Authors must ensure that:

• Tables and figures are numbered consecutively;

• Every table and figure is explicitly referred to in the manuscript text;

• Titles and captions are clear, concise, and informative;

• The same data are not unnecessarily duplicated in both table and figure formats;

• Information already presented visually is not repeated verbatim in the narrative; and

• The accompanying text directs readers to the most relevant patterns, relationships, differences, trends, or observations.

The Results section should concentrate primarily on presenting the evidence generated by the study. Detailed interpretation, comparison with previous research, and broader theoretical analysis should be developed in the Discussion.

10. Discussion

The Discussion should provide a critical and analytical interpretation of the findings rather than repeat the Results.

Authors should explain why the findings may have occurred, how they should be interpreted, and how they address the research objectives, research questions, or hypotheses.

The discussion should establish a clear relationship between the present findings and the scholarly literature reviewed earlier in the manuscript.

Where appropriate, authors should examine:

• Whether the findings support, extend, refine, or contradict previous research;

• Possible explanations for similarities or differences between the present study and previous findings;

• How the findings relate to the theoretical or conceptual framework;

• The theoretical and methodological implications of the findings;

• Their educational, practical, social, professional, or policy relevance; and

• The extent to which the findings may reasonably be transferred or applied to other relevant populations, settings, or contexts.

Claims made in the Discussion must be supported by the study findings and relevant scholarly literature. Generalizations that extend beyond the scope of the research design, data, participants, or analytical procedures should be avoided.

11. Conclusion and Implications

The Conclusion must be derived directly from the study findings and should respond clearly to the research objectives, research questions, and/or hypotheses. It should synthesize the principal outcomes and scholarly contribution of the research rather than repeat statements already presented in the Results or Discussion. The conclusion should preferably be presented in coherent paragraph form rather than as a numbered list.

Authors should explain the contribution of the study to the relevant field of knowledge and, where appropriate, address its:

• Theoretical implications;

• Methodological implications;

• Practical implications;

• Educational implications;

• Policy implications; and/or

• Implications for future research.

Recommendations should arise logically from the findings and remain proportionate to the scope and limitations of the study.

12. Limitations

A Limitations section should be included where relevant.

Authors should identify methodological, contextual, theoretical, sampling, measurement, analytical, or other constraints that may influence the interpretation, transferability, or generalizability of the findings. The purpose of this section is not merely to list weaknesses. Authors should explain how relevant limitations may affect the interpretation of the findings and, where appropriate, indicate how future research could address them.

13. Declarations Statement

A Declarations Statement is mandatory for every manuscript and must be placed immediately before the References.

The declarations must accurately reflect the actual circumstances of the research. Authors should use the Declarations Sample attached to the journal guidelines as a reference and adapt each statement accordingly. Sample wording must not be reproduced unchanged when it does not correspond to the submitted study. The Declarations Statement must be presented in the following order.

13.1 CRediT Authorship Contribution Statement

The contribution of each author must be described accurately using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), where applicable. The statement should reflect the actual contribution of each author to the conception, conduct, analysis, preparation, and supervision of the research.

Contribution roles may include:

• Conceptualization;

• Methodology;

• Software;

• Validation;

• Formal analysis;

• Investigation;

• Resources;

• Data curation;

• Writing – original draft;

• Writing – review and editing;

• Visualization;

• Supervision;

• Project administration; and

• Funding acquisition.

For example:

First Author: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Data curation, Writing – original draft. Second Author: Investigation, Resources, Methodology, Project administration, Writing – review and editing. Last Author: Supervision, Validation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Writing – review and editing.

This example is provided only as a guide. Authors must assign roles according to their actual contributions and should not include roles that were not performed.

13.2 Declaration of Competing Interest

All authors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research, interpretation of the findings, or preparation of the manuscript.

Where no competing interests exist, the following statement may be used:

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Where a competing interest exists, it must be disclosed clearly and with sufficient detail to allow the Editorial Board and readers to assess its relevance.

13.3 Funding Statement

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support received for conducting the research and/or preparing the manuscript.

Where funding was received, authors should provide the full name of the funding organization, funding scheme, grant or project number, and other relevant funding information.

For example:

This research was supported by [Name of Funding Agency/Institution] under Grant/Project No. [Grant Number].

Where no specific financial support was received, authors may state:

This research received no specific grant or financial support from any public, commercial, institutional, or not-for-profit organization.

Where funding information is also mentioned in the optional Acknowledgement subsection below, both statements must be fully consistent.

13.4 Data Availability Statement

All manuscripts must include a statement explaining whether the data supporting the findings of the study are available and, where applicable, the conditions governing access to those data.

Where the data may be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, authors may state:

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Where the data contain confidential, sensitive, or human participant information, authors may state:

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Because the data contain information relating to human participants, they are not publicly available in order to protect participant privacy and confidentiality.

Where research data are deposited in a public repository, authors should provide the name of the repository and the relevant DOI, persistent identifier, accession number, or other appropriate access information.

The statement must accurately reflect the data-access arrangements applicable to the study.

13.5 Ethical Declaration

Authors must provide a clear and accurate Ethical Approval Statement appropriate to the nature of the research.

For studies involving human participants, identifiable human data, human biological materials, or animals, authors must provide relevant information concerning ethical review and approval. Where applicable, the declaration should identify the Institutional Review Board, Research Ethics Committee, or equivalent authority, together with the ethical approval or reference number. For research involving human participants, authors should also confirm that the study was conducted in accordance with applicable institutional and national ethical requirements and, where relevant, the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

An appropriate statement may follow this format:

The study involving human participants was reviewed and approved by [Name of Institutional Review Board/Research Ethics Committee] under Approval No. [Approval Number]. All procedures were conducted in accordance with the approved protocol, applicable institutional and national ethical requirements, and the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

If ethical approval was formally waived or the study was exempted from ethical review, authors must identify the relevant authority and explain the basis for the waiver or exemption.

Where the research did not involve human participants, identifiable human data, human biological materials, or animals requiring ethical review, authors may state:

Ethical approval is not applicable to this manuscript because the study did not involve human participants, identifiable human data, human biological materials, or animals requiring ethical review.

Authors must not state that ethical approval is “not applicable” when the research involved activities for which institutional or ethical review was required.

13.6 Informed Consent Statement

Research involving human participants must include an appropriate Informed Consent Statement.

The statement should confirm, as applicable, that:

• Participants received adequate information about the research before participation;

• The purpose and procedures of the study were explained;

• Participation was voluntary;

• Participants were informed of any reasonably foreseeable risks or inconveniences;

• Participants understood their right to decline participation or withdraw without penalty;

• Written, verbal, or otherwise appropriately documented informed consent was obtained before participation; and

• Appropriate measures were implemented to protect participant privacy and confidentiality.

An appropriate statement may be:

All participants provided informed consent prior to their involvement in the study. Participants were informed about the purpose and procedures of the research, the voluntary nature of their participation, the measures adopted to protect their privacy and confidentiality, and their right to withdraw from the study at any time without penalty or adverse consequences.

Where written informed consent was obtained, authors may state:

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation in the study.

Where verbal informed consent was used and was ethically appropriate, authors may state:

Verbal informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to participation in accordance with the approved or applicable ethical procedures.

Where the requirement for informed consent was formally waived by an authorized Research Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board, authors must identify the approving authority and state that the requirement was waived.

For studies that did not involve human participants, authors may state:

Informed consent is not applicable because the study did not involve human participants.

The Informed Consent Statement must be consistent with the Ethical Declaration and the methodological procedures reported in the manuscript.

13.7 Acknowledgement (Optional)

The Acknowledgement is not presented as a separate main section of the manuscript. Where applicable, it should be included within the Declarations Statement.

Individuals who made meaningful contributions to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged. Their specific contributions should be described where appropriate.

Authors may also acknowledge relevant institutional, technical, administrative, logistical, or other support received during the conduct of the research.

For example:

The authors would like to thank [individuals/institutions] for their assistance and support during the conduct of this study.

Where appropriate:

The authors acknowledge the support provided by [Institution/Organization] during the conduct of this research.

If financial support is mentioned in the Acknowledgement, it must be consistent with the information provided in the Funding Statement.

13.8 Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

Authors must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies when such tools have been used during the preparation of the manuscript, including for drafting, language refinement, translation, summarization, editorial organization, coding assistance, data visualization, or image generation.

The declaration should identify:

1. The AI tool and, where appropriate, its version or provider;

2. The purpose for which the tool was used;

3. The extent of its use; and

4. The authors' responsibility for reviewing, editing, and validating the resulting content.

An appropriate disclosure statement may follow this format:

During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [Name and Version of AI Tool/Provider] for [specific purpose, such as improving grammatical accuracy, language clarity, academic style, translation, or editorial organization]. Following the use of this tool, the author(s) reviewed, edited, and validated the relevant content and take full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, originality, and final content of the manuscript.

Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies must not be used as a substitute for scholarly judgment or authorial responsibility. Authors remain fully responsible for verifying factual claims, citations, references, analyses, interpretations, and conclusions contained in the manuscript.

Where generative AI was used to create or substantially modify an image or figure, authors should provide a specific disclosure, for example:

Figure X was generated with the assistance of [Name and Version of AI Tool/Provider]. The authors developed the prompts and subsequently reviewed and edited the output to ensure its accuracy, relevance, and consistency with the scientific content of the manuscript.

Generative AI tools must not be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for scholarly work.

Where no generative AI or AI-assisted technology was used during manuscript preparation, authors may state:

The authors declare that no generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies were used in the preparation of this manuscript.

Authors must ensure that all declarations included in the manuscript correspond accurately with those provided in the separate Declarations document uploaded during submission.

14. References

Authors must use a recognized reference management application, such as Mendeley, EndNote, or Zotero, to manage citations and references.

The journal requires the American Psychological Association (APA) style for both in-text citations and the reference list.

Authors must ensure that:

• Every source cited in the manuscript appears in the References;

• Every entry in the References is cited in the manuscript;

• Author names and publication years are correct;

• Article and journal titles are accurate;

• Volume, issue, page range, and other bibliographic information are complete where applicable;

• References are formatted consistently according to APA style;

• Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are included whenever available;

• DOI links are presented in an active and clickable format; and

• Retracted, unreliable, or unverifiable sources are avoided as authoritative scholarly evidence.

Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy and accessibility of all DOI links before submission.

Contact Information

For questions concerning manuscript preparation, submission requirements, or the editorial process, please contact:

Email: [email protected]

Manuscript Template: Template
Declarations Sample: Declarations Sample