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Author Guidelines

Editorial Policy and Copyright

The Nkumba International Research Journal (NIRJ) aims at disseminating research findings and is open to original manuscripts that are in any discipline of research ranging from biophysical to psychosocial. It is, therefore, unrestricted and unlimited to any reader and contributor. All materials submitted must be original unpublished work and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts shall undergo a stringent peer-review process and only papers deemed to be of the required quality and relevance will be accepted for publication.

Types of Paper for Publication

Research Papers are fully documented and interpreted accounts of significant findings of original research, and should not normally exceed 5000 words (less 350 words for each normal-sized figure or table included). Manuscripts exceeding 6000 words will not be accepted for review.
Practical Papers provide new information on subjects of interest to professionals in practice, and should not normally exceed 2500 words. Manuscripts exceeding 3500 words will not be accepted for review
Brief Communications are fully documented, interpreted accounts of significant findings of original research. As compared to research papers they normally reflect a tightly defined piece of work or works confined to a single point or issue of progress, such as an unusual occurrence, an interesting observation, or a topical and timely finding. No sub-headings or subdivisions are necessary. They should not normally exceed 2500 words. Manuscripts exceeding 3500 words will not be accepted for review. An abstract of not more than here lines is required
are critical and comprehensive reviews that provide new insights or interpretation of the subject through thorough and systematic evaluation of available evidence. They should not normally exceed 8000 words. Manuscripts exceeding 10,000 words will not be accepted for review
Discussions should normally take the form of a ‘letter’ and present significant comments or questions about a work published in the Journal. A discussion would normally include substantiated disagreement with, or alternative interpretation of, one or more aspects of a paper. It would also normally discuss associated implications for the conclusions reached. Authors of potential discussions are encouraged to enter into communication with the Editor-in-Chief before preparation or submission of text. While there is no word limit, discussions should be brief and tightly focused. A discussion, if accepted, will normally be shared with the authors of the paper concerned who will be provided opportunity to respond.
Book reviews provide information for its readers on a recently-published book that is within the scope of the journal. They normally provide both an overview and critical commentary, to assist readers in determining the relevance of the book to them. Book reviews should not exceed 3000 words. Authors of book reviews should have no conflict of interest, such as recent collaboration with or authorship with, the authors or editors of the book they are reviewing.

Editorials provide commentary, by an editor or a recognized authority, on an issue of
wide interest. They may precede an event (such as an international development policy
conference); or be in response to a development (for example to a major international policy
change or pandemic disease). Authors of potential Editorials are encouraged to enter into
communication with the Editor-in-Chief before preparation or submission of text. Editorials
should not normally exceed 700 words and are limited to a maximum of 1500 words

Preparation and Submission of Manuscripts

The Article

All manuscripts are to be in English, and should be submitted in electronic form to the web-site that will be updated from time to time. The preferred format for electronic versions is Microsoft Word, though other word-processing packages in PC or Macintosh formats may be accepted. Do not supply the typescript as a PDF. Authors should not add their own macros. Please supply only the final version of the file (with no hidden text), to avoid any risk of old versions of the text being used in error.

Preparation of Typescripts

Authors are strongly advised to submit manuscripts online which will permit quicker and efficient processing of the manuscript. Typing should be on a word processor with all material double-spaced throughout the text, one side of letter-sized paper, with suitably wide margins. All pages should be numbered consecutively beginning with page 1, the title page. Include tables, figures legends, footnotes, and references lists. The first page should bear the title with a concise running headline of not more than 35 characters inclusive of spaces, and names and academic contact(s) of the author(s). If the resent contact of any author is different, it should be added as a footnote. Telephone and facsimile numbers and e-mail address for the corresponding author should also be provided as a footnote. Full papers should generally be arranged in the following sequence: Title; Authors; Abstract; Key Words; Introduction; Materials and Methods; Results with Tables and Figures; Discussion; Conclusion and Recommendations; Acknowledgements; and References Cited. The Introduction should describe the background of the work and its aims. The Materials and Methods should provide a brief description of the methods/techniques used (the principles of these methods should not be described if readers can be directed to easily accessible references or standard texts). Results and Discussion should made clear presentation of experimental results obtained, highlighting any trends or points of interest in the discussion.The Conclusion should present a brief explanation of the significance and implications of the work reported. Recommendations should focus on the usefulness and applicability of the findings. Within sections, subdivision should not normally exceed three grades; a decimal number classification of headings and subheadings should not be used. Alphabet, Arabic, and Roman numerals should be used. All pages should be numbers. Footnotes should be used only if essential. Scientific names of animals and plants should be given in full, i.e. common name (Nile Perch) and Latin name (Latesniloticus) with authority (P). Italics are required for species names that are written in full the first time they appear in the text (e.g. Latesniloticus P.) but abbreviated at subsequent mention (e.g. L. niloticus). Spelling should be in English (as distinct from American English) throughout except in quotations and references. Information in tables should not be duplicated in figures, and vice-versa. Repetition of table headings and figure legends in the text should be avoided.

The Abstract

The abstract that should be concise and a summary of the significant findings of the paper, and of approximately of 200 words, should accompany each article. It should be followed by a list of not more than six key words.

Figures (Graphics

All figures should be embedded correctly positioned within the Word files, and should also be supplied as separate graphics files in their original formats. JPEG, PNG, EPS, TIFF or PSD formats are preferred. Use a minimum of 300dpi. Figures should appear in numerical order, be described in the body of the text and be positioned close to where they are first cited. Each figure should have a caption which describes the illustration, and that can be understood independently of the main text. The caption should be given in the text, and not on the figure itself. Make sure all figures and tables will fit inside the text area. Because figures may be resized in the course of production please use scale bars and not magnification factors. The journal is printed in black and white, with colour graphics in the online version

Tables

The tables should be submitted as editable text and not as images. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules. Footnotes to the tables should be indicated by superscripts and typed at the bottom of the tables.

Metric Units and Symbols

Metric units should be used. Symbols for physical measurements should be in accordance with the System International d’Unites (SI), e.g. mm, mm2, mgl-1, etc. In mathematical expression, please use a single letters for variables, qualifying them with subscripts if required, e.g. length L, fork length L1, standard length Ls, etc. The 24-hour clock should be used for time of day, e.g. 1545 hours not 3:45 p.m. Calendar dates should be as e.g. 20 October 2019. In the text, one-digit numbers should be spelt out unless they are used with units of measure, e.g. six boxes and 6 cm. Numerals should be used for all number of two or more digits, e.g. 29 boxes.

Statistics

tatistics should be presented as follows: name of test, number of observations or degree of freedom, and probability level. Values of text statistics are not required.

Citations in text

Use surname of author and year of publication: Jones (2002) or (Jones 2002).Insert initials only if there are two different authors with the same surname and same year of publication. Two or more years in parentheses following an author’s name are cited in ascending order of year, and two or more references published in the same year by the same author are differentiated by letters a, b, c, etc. For example: Brown (1999, 2002, 2003a, b).Different references cited together should be in date order, for example: (Smith 1959; Thomson & Jones 2008; Green 2015).The abbreviation “et al.” should be used in the text when there are more than two co-authors of a cited paper.If a paper has been accepted for publication but has not been published the term “(in press)” should be used instead of a date.If a paper has been submitted but not definitely accepted the term “(submitted)” should be used. If the paper is still being prepared the term “(in preparation)” should be used. Ensure that surnames, journal/book titles, publication year and pagination are all correct. Please include Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) where available to link references to the source material. References should be listed alphabetically at the end of the paper. Although “et al.” is preferable in the text, in the list of references all authors should be given as in the following list:

List

Journal reference style - Note that to unambiguously identify articles published in in a journal, the issue number, the volume number, and the pages are needed.

Acceptance of Manuscripts

The DOI is assigned to your paper when the first proof is generated, and it will not change, meaning you can cite an Uncorrected Proof immediately using the DOI.

Procedure for Proofreading

Proofs will be sent by e-mail to the listed corresponding author. Any corrections must be returned within one week of receipt and should only cover typesetting errors. All corrections must be returned to us in one communication. Proofreading is the sole responsibility of the authors.

Circulation of Offprints

Upon publication, the Corresponding Author will receive an electronic file of the paper.