These author guidelines are intended to help prospective authors prepare clear, consistent, and publication-ready submissions before using the journal's online submission system.

Authors should read these manuscript preparation guidelines carefully. A manuscript that follows the journal's formatting, structure, language, and referencing expectations is easier to assess during editorial screening and peer review. Careful preparation does not guarantee acceptance, but it helps reviewers and editors focus on the academic contribution rather than avoidable presentation problems.

IJSPE accepts original research papers, review papers, conceptual frameworks, analytical and simulation models, case studies, empirical research, technical notes, and book reviews. Occasional themed special issues may also be published. Regardless of type, submissions should be original, relevant to the journal's scope, properly cited, and not under simultaneous consideration elsewhere.

Language and Writing Style

Manuscripts must be written in English. Authors may use either British English or American English, but the selected form must be applied consistently throughout the manuscript. Authors should not switch between forms such as "organisation" and "organization" or "behaviour" and "behavior" within the same paper unless a direct quotation requires the original spelling.

The writing should be clear, precise, and academically appropriate. Avoid unnecessary repetition, overly long sentences, undefined technical language, and unsupported claims. Specialized terms should be defined when first introduced.

Authors are responsible for language accuracy. Manuscripts should be proofread carefully for grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, and consistency. Inclusive and respectful language should be used when referring to individuals, communities, identities, institutions, and social groups.

Manuscript Length and General Formatting

The length of a manuscript should be appropriate to its type, research question, method, and contribution. Authors should write concisely and avoid adding material solely to increase word count. A complete paper should provide enough information for readers and reviewers to understand the purpose, background, method or analytical approach, findings or argument, and contribution.

Unless a specific instruction states otherwise, use a standard, readable font and consistent formatting. The document should be double-spaced, including the abstract, main text, quotations, references, tables, and figure captions. Use appropriate margins on all sides and include page numbers.

Paragraphs, headings, quotations, references, and lists should follow a uniform style. Avoid decorative formatting, multiple font families, colored text, unnecessary text boxes, or manual spacing created with repeated spaces or tabs.

The manuscript file should remain editable. Tables, figures, equations, and special characters should display clearly when opened on another computer. Authors should check that no information is missing, cut off, or distorted in the uploaded file.

Title Page

The title page should identify the manuscript and provide complete author information. Because IJSPE uses double-blind peer review, identifying information should be presented where requested during submission and should not be repeated unintentionally in the blinded manuscript. The title page should include:

1. the full manuscript title;
2. the full name of each author;
3. the institutional affiliation of each author;
4. the corresponding author's email address and contact information;
5. a clear indication of the corresponding author;
6. any funding or sponsorship disclosure;
7. any relevant conflict-of-interest disclosure.

The title should be specific, informative, and concise. Author names and affiliations should be presented consistently and checked carefully before submission.

The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal during submission, review, revision, acceptance, and publication. That person should use an active email address and keep all co-authors informed.

Abstract and Keywords

Every research, review, conceptual, analytical, empirical, or case-study manuscript should include a concise, self-contained abstract of no more than approximately 150 words.

A strong abstract should allow a reader to understand the paper without consulting the full text. Depending on manuscript type, it should briefly identify the background or problem, purpose, method or analytical approach, principal findings or central argument, and main conclusion or implication.

The abstract should not contain unexplained abbreviations, extensive citations, detailed tables, equations, or claims unsupported by the manuscript.

Authors may provide up to eight keywords. Keywords should describe the manuscript's central subject, method, population, setting, policy area, educational field, or conceptual focus. Avoid terms that are too broad to support discovery, such as "research," "study," "education," or "policy," unless they form part of a more specific phrase.

Article Structure

The organization of the manuscript should reflect the type of submission. Original empirical research commonly includes an introduction, literature review or background, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. Review papers, conceptual frameworks, analytical models, case studies, technical notes, and book reviews may require different structures.

Headings should be brief, informative, and hierarchically consistent. Section numbering may be used where it improves navigation:

• 1. Main section
• 1.1 Subsection
• 1.1.1 Lower-level subsection

Do not create unnecessary heading levels. Most manuscripts should not require more than three.

The introduction should establish the problem, context, rationale, and purpose. The literature review should engage critically with previous scholarship and identify the gap, question, debate, or problem addressed by the paper.

For empirical research, the methods section should describe the design, participants or data sources, procedures, measures, analytical approach, and relevant ethical or institutional considerations clearly enough for readers to evaluate the research.

Results should be reported accurately and without unnecessary duplication. The discussion should interpret the findings, relate them to the research question and prior scholarship, acknowledge limitations, and explain implications without overstating what the evidence supports.

The conclusion should synthesize the contribution rather than repeat the abstract or discussion. It may identify policy, educational, theoretical, professional, or research implications where supported.

Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be used only where they improve understanding and should not duplicate information already presented fully in the text.

Each table and figure must be numbered in the order mentioned and should have a clear title or caption. The manuscript text should refer to every table and figure explicitly.

Tables should be editable where possible. Use clear column headings and avoid excessive shading, decorative borders, or unexplained abbreviations. Figures should be clear, readable, and of sufficient quality for publication. Labels, legends, axis titles, and symbols should remain understandable when resized.

Tables and figures may be placed close to their first relevant mention unless later production instructions require separate placement. If material is reproduced or adapted from another source, the author is responsible for proper citation and any necessary permission.

Citations and References

IJSPE manuscripts should use APA-style referencing consistently. Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and every item in the reference list should be cited in the manuscript.

In-text citations should follow standard author-date form, for example (Rahman, 2026) or Rahman (2026). For two authors, use both surnames. For works with multiple authors, follow the applicable APA convention consistently.

The reference list should appear at the end of the manuscript in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author. Entries should include accurate author names, publication year, title, journal or book information, volume and issue numbers, page range, publisher, DOI, or URL where relevant.

Authors must not copy fictional or placeholder references into their manuscripts. Actual sources must be formatted using accurate bibliographic details. Where a DOI is available, include it. Web links should direct readers to the cited material and should be checked before submission.

Ethical and Submission Responsibilities

Before submission, authors should confirm that the manuscript is original, properly attributed, and not being considered elsewhere. All authors should approve the submitted version and accept responsibility for the work.

Funding, sponsorship, institutional support, and relevant conflicts of interest should be disclosed. Data, quotations, tables, figures, and results must be presented honestly. Authors must not fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or selectively omit material information.

Where legal, institutional, or ethical approval is relevant, authors are responsible for meeting the requirements applicable to the research and for providing relevant information when requested.

Final Submission-Readiness Checklist

The following checklist provides a final review before submission. A condensed version is also available on the separate Submission Checklist page.

• The manuscript fits the IJSPE aims and scope.
• The submission is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.
• The language is English and British or American spelling is used consistently.
• The manuscript is double-spaced, clearly formatted, and paginated.
• The title page includes author names, affiliations, and corresponding-author details.
• Funding, sponsorship, and conflicts of interest are disclosed where relevant.
• The abstract is self-contained and approximately 150 words or fewer.
• No more than eight focused keywords are included.
• Headings and section numbering are consistent.
• Tables and figures are numbered, titled, cited in the text, and readable.
• All in-text citations appear in the reference list.
• All reference-list entries are cited in the manuscript.
• APA style is applied consistently.
• Author-identifying details have been removed from the blinded manuscript where required.
• All authors have approved the final submitted version.
• The manuscript file has been opened and checked after final saving.
• The Author Guidelines, Publication Ethics, and Submission pages have been reviewed.

Authors who complete these checks may proceed to the IJSPE submission page and provide the required manuscript and author information through the journal's online submission wizard. Following these guidelines helps reduce avoidable delays and allows the editorial team and reviewers to evaluate the paper on its scholarly quality, relevance, and contribution.