Author Guidelines
For all manuscript submissions, please email: ulksj.editor@ulk.ac.rw
The manuscript should be formatted in UK English, adhering to the following guidelines:
Title
The title should be concise and informative, capturing the main focus of the research. It should
include essential keywords and give readers a clear idea of the study's scope, purpose, and
content.
Abstract
The abstract is a brief summary (150–250 words) of the study's purpose, methodology, key
results, and conclusions. It should highlight the significance of the study and contain keywords to
aid in indexing and retrieval.
Keywords: 4 to 6 keywords that closely defines the article
1. Introduction
The introduction provides background information on the research topic, identifies the problem
or gap the study addresses, and states the research objectives or hypotheses. It should also briefly mention the importance and potential impact of the research.
2. Literature Review
The literature review surveys relevant previous research, discussing theories, models, and
findings related to the topic. It helps to position the study within the existing body of knowledge,
showing how it contributes to or differs from prior research.
3. Methodology
The methodology section explains how the research was conducted. It includes details about the
study design, data collection methods, sample or participants, and data analysis procedures. This
section should be detailed enough to allow other researchers to replicate the study.
4. Results
The results section presents the findings of the study in an organized format, using tables,
figures, and descriptive text. It should report the outcomes objectively without interpretation,
focusing on the data obtained from the analysis.
5. Discussion
The discussion interprets the results, explaining their significance and how they align or contrast
with previous research. It also explores implications, potential limitations of the study, and areas
for future research.
6. Conclusion
The conclusion provides a summary of the main findings and their implications. It should restate
the significance of the study, its contributions to the field, and any practical applications. It may
also suggest recommendations or next steps in the research area.
7. References
The references section lists all the sources cited in the article, formatted in American
Psychological Association (APA) referencing style. Each reference entry should provide
complete details for locating the source, including author(s), publication year, title, and source
information (such as journal name, volume, issue, page numbers for articles, or publisher and
location for books).
Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's
compliance with all of the following items. Submissions may be returned to authors that do not
adhere to these guidelines. The Journal strongly recommends that all manuscripts should be
checked for plagiarism before submission.
Manuscript not submitted elsewhere nor not previously published:
The manuscript has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for
consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
The submission file is in Open Office, Microsoft Word document file format.
Manuscript length:
The complete text including the references, tables and figures should be 7000 and 10000 words.
Abstract:
Please provide an abstract of 150 to 250 words. The abstract should not contain any undefined
abbreviations or unspecified references.
Keywords should be provided on the abstract page, at the end of the abstract. Please provide 4 to 6 keywords for indexing purposes.
Manuscript’s text formatting:
The manuscripts submitted should strictly comply with the journal formatting expectations as
stated below:
Title page and author(s) information:
Manuscripts should be single spaced.
A separate title page should be provided and be different from the manuscript
The title page should include a concise title of the contribution
The title page should include the name(s) of the author(s)
The title page should include the affiliation of the author(s)
The title page should include the email of the corresponding author
All information that identifying author(s) should be removed from manuscript
All pages should be numbered.
Manuscripts should be submitted in Word:
Use a normal, plain font (e.g., 12-point Times Roman) for text.
Use italics for emphasis.
Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages.
Do not use field functions.
Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar.
Use the table function, not spreadsheets, to make tables.
Save your file in doc format (Word).
Do not use tabs except in tables.
Do not indent block quotations.
Do not hyphenate or otherwise break words across lines.
Justify the text.
All figures (include relevant captions) and all tables (including titles, description, footnotes) are
placed at the appropriate places in the manuscript
Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided
Indicate clearly if colour should be used for any figures in print
Manuscript has been meticulously spell checked and grammar checked
All references in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the
Internet)
Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed
Referee suggested names and contact details are provided, based on the journal requirements
Headings:
Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings.
Abbreviations:
Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter.
Footnotes:
Footnotes can be used to give additional information, which may include the citation of a
reference included in the reference list. They should not consist solely of a reference citation, and
they should never include the bibliographic details of a reference. They should also not contain
any figures or tables.
Footnotes to the text are numbered consecutively; those to tables should be indicated by
superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data).
Footnotes to the title or the authors of the article are not given reference symbols.
Always use footnotes instead of endnotes.
Figures:
Please make sure that your artwork in a finished form is easy is suitable and easy for
reproduction.
Titles of journals should not be abbreviated.
References
Citations in the text should follow the referencing style used by the American Psychological
Association (See Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7 th Edition, ISBN 978-1-
4338-3215-4). Please use the following format when referencing works in your manuscript:
In the text:
References should be indicated in the typescript by giving the author's name, with the year of publication in parentheses. E.g. (Scullion, 2006) or (Scullion & Collings, 2006); (Scullion, 2006, 2006a and 2006b) if there are several works from the same author; (Scullion, 2006, p. 234) if the page number is needed; (Scullion, in press) if the work cited is in press.
At the end of the text:
The references should be listed in full at the end of the paper in the following standard form:
For articles:
Meyer, K. (2001). Institutions, transaction costs, and entry mode choice in eastern
Europe. Journal of International Business Studies, 32(2), 357-367.
Kremer, M. (2002). Pharmaceuticals and the developing world. Journal of Economic
Perspectives, 16(4): 67-90.
For books:
Porter, M. E. (1990). The competitive advantage of nations. New York: Free Press.
Argyris, C. (1993). Knowledge for action: A guide to overcoming barriers to organizational
change. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
For articles in books:
Smith, K.G., & Di Gregorio, D. (2002). Bisocation, discovery and the role of entrepreneurial
action. In M. A. Hitt, R. D. Ireland, S. M. Camp, & D. L. Sexton (Eds.), Strategic
entrepreneurship(pp. 129-150). Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1995). Evaluating model fit. In R. H. Hoyle (Ed.), Structural equation
modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications (pp. 76-99). Sand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Acknowledgments:
Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc. should be placed in a separate section on the title page. The names of funding organizations should be written in full.
Language of the manuscript
Contributions should be submitted in English.
Plagiarism:
All manuscript should go through plagiarism checks before submission. The plagiarism check
results should be below 10%.
Proofs:
Proofs will be sent to the authors after their manuscript’s acceptance if there is sufficient time to
do so. They should be corrected and returned to the publisher within three days. Major alterations
to the text cannot be accepted.
Copyright Notice:
Papers accepted become the copyright of the journal, unless otherwise specifically agreed.
Statements and Declarations:
The following statements should be included under the heading "Statements and Declarations" inclusion in the published paper. Please note that submissions that do not include relevant
declarations will be returned as incomplete.
Competing Interests:
Authors are required to disclose financial or non-financial interests that are directly or indirectly
related to the work submitted for publication. Please refer to “Competing Interests and Funding”
below for more information on how to complete this section.
Privacy Statement:
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the statedpurposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
Copyright Notice:
Papers accepted become the copyright of the Journal, unless otherwise specifically agreed.
