Author Guidelines

INFORMATION TO CONTRIBUTORS/AUTHORS

GENERAL INFORMATION: In order to ensure quality and efficient publication on EJSSD, the journal demands the author to strictly follow this submission guideline. Submission of a manuscript implies that the author(s) has/have seen and approved the manuscript and its contents and that they are aware of the responsibilities concerning the authorship. All authors will be notified upon receiving a new manuscript and upon acceptance of the manuscript, yet the editorial board makes frequent communication only with the Corresponding Author.

FOCUS AND SCOPE: Ethiopian Journal of Science and Sustainable Development (EJSSD) is a double-blind reviewed biannual journal published by Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU). EJSSD is cross-disciplinary in nature and publishes original research articles, review articles, and short communications. The journal serves as a platform for the exchange of information and research results that describe significant advances in the field of Engineering, Science, Technology, Business, Education, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Papers from researchers working in different public and private sectors, academic institutions, industries, companies, etc., having national/international interests are accepted for publication.

CONTENTS OF EJSSD

Original Research Articles: Include reports of original research undertakings which present well-founded studies reporting innovative advances that further knowledge primarily in the areas of science and technology and other topics within the scope of the journal. The Original Research Articles are required to include conclusions/implications which emanate from the empirical data and results of the study. The articles shall be submitted to EJSSD as full-length articles (not more than 25 pages in double line spacing) and abstracts of 250 words.

Review Articles: Review articles are documents that are based on a critical survey and examination of a particular subject of research within the scope of the journal. Review articles can take the form of a mini-review (not greater than 2,000 words) or a long review that extends up to 4000 words.  Review articles shall include a critical evaluation of the works cited, synthesis and explanation of commonalities and differences in the literature, and conclusion. The conclusion should clearly depict the limitations in the existing literature, and future directions to be pursued in research.  Review articles need to include the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Body (with sub-headings), and Conclusion.

Short Communication: This includes brief scientific notes such as preliminary results, scientific observations, experimental techniques, and recent technological advances in science, technology, and social development. Information on indigenous knowledge and practice will also be made known to the community through this column. The manuscript for this column should not be more than 4 typed pages. They should have an abstract and do not contain more than two figures or tables.

SUBMISSION: Submission of a manuscript represents that the manuscript is an original contribution, has not been published previously, and is not considered for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts should be submitted online using the submission portal (https://ejssd.astu.edu.et/home.php) typed single column, 12-point font (Times New Roman) on double spacing with margins of at least 2.5 cm all around. The authors(s) should submit the electronic copy of the word format manuscript by opening an account under the link https://ejssd.astu.edu.et/home.php. 

Authors should adhere to the following while submitting the manuscript:

• Papers are accepted only in English.
• Manuscripts should be compiled in the following order: Cover page/title page; abstract and keywords; Introduction, materials and methods, result and discussion, conclusion; acknowledgments; and references.
• The cover page of the manuscript should include the author’s full name, affiliations, telephone, and e-mail addresses. Author/s profile should be on a separate page.  One author should be identified as the corresponding author using an asterisk.
• Abstracts of up to 250 words are required for all papers indicating the objectives, purpose of the research, methods used, major results, conclusions & implications.
• Each paper should have four to six keywords separated by a comma.

• The title and main text heading should be centered and typed in bold capitals. Section headings should be concise and numbered sequentially, using a decimal system for subsections.

• All submissions must be limited to a maximum of 25 to 30 A4 pages in length (including the cover page and brief profile of the author/s, figures, and tables) typed on one side in 12-point font double-spaced in Microsoft Word format. 
• Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2,...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering).

• All figures and tables must be numbered in the order in which they appear on the paper (Figure 1, Figure 2, Table 1, and Table 2). In multi-part figures and tables, each part should be labeled (Figure 1(a), Figure 1(b)). Figures & tables must be included in the text.
• All references mentioned in the Reference List must be cited in the text, and vice versa. The citation should be in the name-year format.

Cover Letter: A letter signed by all authors declaring that it has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere should accompany the manuscript. The cover letter can be downloaded from the same websites (https://ejssd.astu.edu.et/linkedpdf/EJSSD%20Covering_Letter.pdf). 

Title Page: Each paper should include the title of the paper and name(s) of the author(s), full addresses, and institutional affiliation. It should also indicate the name and address (including Email) of the author responsible for correspondence. The title of the manuscript should be selected carefully. It should be concise, specific, and descriptive enough to contain keywords or phrases indicating the contents of the manuscript. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

Abstract: Each manuscript should have a structured abstract not exceeding 250 words. This abstract should indicate the background, methods (design), results, and conclusions. They should briefly describe, respectively, the problem being addressed and the objectives of the study, how the study was performed, the salient results, and what the authors conclude from the results. Abbreviations should be avoided in the abstract. Below the abstract authors should provide 4 to 6 Keywords.

Introduction: This part of the paper should provide background information on the subject, justification or underlying hypothesis for doing the work, and the major objectives of the research or investigation; it should provide a brief review of literature, limited to information essential to orient the reader. A summary of the paper content or a repetition of results should be avoided.

Materials and Methods: This section should present details about the research design and procedures to clearly prove that the research was done following a systematic and rigorous scientific approach. It should include the research design utilized including data sources, sampling techniques and sample size, methods of data collection (including the issue of instrument validation), and the scientific method of data analysis. 

Result and Discussion: This section must include major findings, an assessment of the significance of the findings of the investigation, and the possible practical implications. The results of the study shall be discussed with references to the problems indicated in the introduction or stated as objectives. The discussion should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. If treated separately, the result section should include the associated figures, tables, and supplementary information which accurately describe the findings of the study.

Conclusion and Recommendations: This section should briefly present the conclusions which emanate from the results of the study. It is expected that the original contributions of the work and its policy or other implications be briefly described. Recommendations are not mandatory for all fields, and hence a separate treatment could be optional. Yet a critical assessment of the limitation of the study is worth mentioning here indicating possible directions for further research.

Acknowledgment: Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.). 

References: The journal requires citation of primary sources wherever appropriate. Authors are responsible for ensuring that the sources utilized in the document are properly cited following APA (author-date) referencing style. References should be listed alphabetically by the author’s last name. References should be selected on their relevance and as much as possible, recent references should be cited and the number kept to a minimum. Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). 

In the case of Ethiopian names, the author’s given (first) name precedes that of the father’s name (Example: Taye Alemu and not Alemu, T.) is used. Ethiopian names should not be abbreviated (Solomon Kebede and Chala Hunde, 1989), (Solomon Kebede, 1987; Chala Hunde, 1989). For three or more authors use et al. which is not italics, Solomon Kebede, et al. (1987).

Some of the examples of acceptable formats for listing references in the references section are shown below. References are in the same font space as the text.

Books: Reference to a book should contain the name(s) of the author(s), year of publication, full title, name of the editor(s) and edition, if applicable, chapter, name, and domicile of publishers, first and last page numbers.

Examples:

Collier, A. (2008). The world of tourism and travel. Rosedale, New Zealand: Pearson Education New Zealand.

Whitney, E., & Rolfes, S. (2011). Understanding nutrition (12th Eds.). Australia: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Journal articles: Include the DOI if available.

Examples:

Thompson, C. (2010). Facebook: Cautionary tales for nurses. Kai Tiaki: Nursing New Zealand, 16(7), 26.

Huy, C., Becker, S., Gomolinsky, U., Klein, T., & Thiel, A. (2008). Health, medical risk factors and bicycle use in everyday life in the over-50 population. Journal of Aging & Physical Activity, 16(4), 454-464.

Web references: As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given.

Unpublished Materials: Citations of unpublished and other source materials not readily available in the libraries are not recommendable to include in the references list.

FIGURE CAPTIONS: Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

TABLES: Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.

MANUSCRIPT PEER REVIEW: The editor-in-chief will acknowledge receipt of manuscripts and assess all contributions for suitability for the journal. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor-in-chief and then by associate editors for suitability for the journal (overall soundness, EJSSD guidelines, and scope and evidence of plagiarism or duplicate publication). Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to refuse any manuscript including desk rejection particularly if the manuscript submitted is not as per the guideline, and to make suggestions and/or modifications before sending it to associate editors and external reviewers. In case of rejection before peer-review, he/she writes an explanation for the authors why the manuscript was not suitable for peer-review. Papers deemed suitable are sent to at least two independent expert reviewers relevant to the manuscript content to assess the scientific quality of the paper. Outcomes and decisions of the peer reviewers will be communicated to the authors. The process generally takes up to 60 days. The review process considers the originality of the work, relationship to literature, appropriateness of the methodology (i.e. built on an appropriate base of theory, concepts, or other ideas), results and conclusions, and the implications for the research, practice, and/or society and quality of communication. After completion of recommended revisions by the authors, the Editor-in-chief sends the revised manuscript to the Associate Editors and external reviewers, who will eventually check if the comments are incorporated or not. The final decision of external reviewers and editors will be adopted. If the two reviewers recommend acceptance, the paper is accepted directly. If only one reviewer accepts the manuscript, it will be sent to another reviewer. The editorial board reserves the right to edit all accepted manuscripts for clarity or structure, fit within the space available and decide on editorial matters. After all the copyediting and formatting, the corresponding author will be contacted by email with the pdf file of the manuscript for proofread. Please use the proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. To ensure a fast publication process of the article, we kindly ask authors to provide us with their proof corrections within three days. 

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Copyright belongs to the journal. A CopyRight Form signed by all authors should accompany the manuscript. The form can be  downloaded from the same websites (https://ejssd.astu.edu.et/linkedpdf/EJSSD%20Copyright%20Agreement.pdf)

OPEN ACCESS POLICY and CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSING: EJSSD provides open access to its contents based on the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI) recommendations. It works on the principle that research be made available freely to the scientific community and public, and EJSSD strongly supports the global exchange of knowledge. The articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which allows others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon the work, even commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given.

ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGE (APC): EJSSD publishes all articles free of cost. It will not charge any processing fee in any form.