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Author Guidelines

1.  Instructions for Authors & Guide for Submissions,

 1a.    Main instructions for Authors Regarding the Consent of Authors:

At AUNIJAH, the editors and publishers of the journal assume that all authors listed on the work have agreed with the content and have given explicit consent to submit. Thus, it is expected that consent has been obtained from the responsible authorities at the institution/organization where they work prior to the submission of the manuscript.

To this end, AUNIJAH recommends adhering to the following guidelines when establishing authorship of a submitted manuscript. Specifically, all authors whose names appear on the submission should have contributed in the following ways (Sources: ICMJE & PNAS)

  1. Made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work;
  2. Drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content;
  3. Provided final approval of the version to be published; and
  4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Special recognition may be added to in the acknowledgments section of the submission for anyone who has contributed to the work but not in an author capacity.

1b.     Regarding the Use of AI-Assisted Technologies

            At AUNIJAH, we allow limited use of AI tools to support authors' writing processes. However, as AI can produce incorrect, repetitive, or biased output, authors must provide a level of oversight and control in its usage and must carefully review and edit the content generated. Authors are ultimately accountable for the contents of the work. In more explicit terms, authors may use AI tools to:

  1. Support the analysis of data during the research process.
  2. Improve the readability of the paper.

However, Authors choosing to use AI tools in the research and writing process must also disclose the tool and its usage by providing a written statement in the manuscript.

No AI tool will be credited with authorship and authors should not list or cite any AI as an author. This is because only humans have the ability to accept the responsibilities and accountability for the work, such as confirming its accuracy and integrity, of which AI cannot take responsibility.

 1c. Regarding the Subject of Diversity and Inclusion

At AUNIJAH, we do not tolerate discrimination based on age, gender, race, affiliation, religious beliefs, political beliefs, sexual orientation or country of origin. We are an inclusive Journal organization that continually strives to ensure that our team of co-editors, associate editors and staff, management, review boards, publications, and all aspects of the Journal reflect the highest level of inclusion of experts from all over the world. Our goal is to continue to demonstrate a diverse, inclusive culture that fuels innovation among the communities we serve.

1d. On the Subject of Academic Pear Review Articles Published by this Journal

All chapters and articles published in AUNIJAH are made to undergo a rigorous double-anonymized academic peer review process. Allegations of improperly or unethically conducted peer review can be very damaging to the success of a publication, as well as to the careers of any scholars affiliated with the questioned work. For this reason, AUNJAH follows the guidelines set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).  

1e. Regarding Unethical Research Practices

                All research is to be conducted according to the general standards of practice, which include proper protection of any subjects, whether they are individuals or organizations. Defamatory or intentionally false information is considered a serious offense, and any work including unethical research will be rejected and the authors barred from publishing with AUNIJAH and with all other AUN Journals. All identities of private organizations and individuals should be removed from any proposed work unless proper written consent has been gained prior to publication.

Furthermore, the research and data being presented for publication must be complete and whole. Falsification of one’s research through intentional data suppression or misrepresentation is considered unethical and will result in the rejection of the submitted work and may be cause for other actions. This pertains only to cases in which data is misconstrued with the author’s knowledge.

1f. Regarding the Subject of Informed Consent and Participant Privacy

AUNIJAH follows the guidance of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which acknowledges that patients and study participants have a right to privacy that should not be breached without informed consent.

  1. Consent to Participate

Informed written consent must be voluntarily provided from any participants involved in a study, prior to the start of the study. Should the participant be a minor or is considered vulnerable and unable to provide informed consent, a legal guardian will need to provide consent. Should the participant be deceased, a next of kin may provide consent. Participants must have full knowledge of the study they are participating in, including the risks involved. Authors must include a statement confirming the participant's consent within the manuscript.

Should verbal consent be obtained instead of written consent, authors must explain why written consent was not obtained, the approval process for the verbal consent, and its documentation methods.

  1. Consent to Publish

Individuals who agree to participate in a study, may not agree to have their identifiable data published. Identifiable data includes but is not limited to descriptions, photographs, images, videos, names, dates of birth, and biometrical characteristics. Identifiable data should generally be excluded from the manuscript as much as possible. Manuscripts that do include potentially identifiable data should obtain written informed consent that the data and any additional images may be published. Consent must be received from the participant (or a legal guardian for minors or next of kin for the deceased) prior to submission. When in doubt, it is best to obtain written informed consent.

Manuscripts that include identifiable images or data of participants must include a statement confirming that permission was obtained to publish the images or data. If the data is anonymized, authors must state that no consent to publish was required. Alterations to images and/or data to anonymize them should not distort scientific meaning.

1g. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Humans

All studies on humans (individuals, human data, or material) must be conducted in accordance with the principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki. Authors must receive ethical approval for all protocols from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committees to ensure compliance with national and international guidelines. Authors must include details of this approval upon submission of the manuscript and should provide the name of the ethics committee and permit numbers where available.

Manuscripts granted an exemption by an ethics committee should state so with a full explanation and the name of the granting committee within the manuscript. Ethical approval should always be sought prior to the start of the research/study. Retrospective ethics approval usually cannot be obtained. Authors should also check their national ethical guidelines.

Non-stigmatizing and non-discriminatory language should be used when categorizing groups by race/ethnicity, age, disease, disability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. A justification of the choice of definitions and categories should be explained including whether a relevant funding agency required the categorization.

1h. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Clinical Trials.

Clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry prior to the trial's initiation. Suitable registries can be found at the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). The trial registration number and registration date should be included in the article and/or article’s abstract.

Should a trial not have been registered prior to participant recruitment, a retrospective trial registration should be sought. Authors retrospectively registering trials should provide an explanation for the retrospective registration as well as the trial registration number and date.

1i. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Human Embryos and Stem Cells.

Human embryos and gametes, embryonic stem cells, and related materials that are included in report experiments must have been utilized in accordance with all safety considerations, ethical guidelines, and applicable regulations. Authors must include a statement within the manuscript that outlines the name of the ethic(s) committee that approved the study, reference/permit numbers (if applicable), and confirmation of informed consent from recipients, donors, or next of kin if the donor is deceased. Please follow the principles described in the 2016 ISSCR Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation.

1j. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Animals.

Submissions that include studies involving vertebrates or regulated invertebrates must offer detailed information on the ethical treatment of the animals including their appropriate care and handling. Manuscripts should include the name of the ethics committee(s) which approved the study and study procedures must be carried out in accordance with applicable national or international guidelines. If the study did not require ethics approval or was granted an exemption, this should be stated in the manuscript.

Studies involving client-owned animals should have documented informed consent from the client or owner. Such studies should still showcase an adherence to the best practices of veterinary care.

Authors should consult with the “Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments’ (ARRIVE) guidelines developed by the NC3Rs when submitting manuscripts describing animal research. Every effort should be taken to reduce suffering and euthanasia or anesthesia methods must be described in detail. Researchers are advised to consult the NC3Rs guide on Humane Endpoints and the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals, as well as follow applicable veterinary guidelines such as the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Authors should also consult the ethical principles in the Basel Declaration and the guidelines by the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) and the Association for the study of Animal Behaviour.

When describing research on threatened/endangered species, studies should comply with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction, the IUCN red list index of threatened species and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

1k. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Plants

            Research involving cultivated or wild plants and plant material should follow guidelines provided by the authors’ institution and national or international regulations. Manuscripts describing such research should include a statement of permissions granted and/or licenses.

Voucher specimens must be deposited in a public herbarium or other public collection that provides access to deposited material. The manuscript must include information on the voucher specimen and who identified it, including Genus name, species name, and year of publication.

Authors should comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

1l. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Paleontological and Geological Material.

Manuscripts that include paleontological and geological material should provide detailed information that shows a clear provenance (or attempt to determine provenance in older museum collections), numbers and repository information, museum name (if applicable), and geographic location. Studies must be conducted in accordance with national or international regulations and the author should obtain any permits that may be required for the research and publication of the manuscript from the relevant authority. Manuscripts must include a statement confirming that the necessary permits were acquired and should name the authority that provided those permits. All samples must be collected and exported responsibly and in accordance with national and local law.

Archaeological work that involves human remains requires that all necessary permits relevant for access to the site and the handling of the remains is obtained prior to data collection. Authors should comply with the Guidelines to the Standards for Recording Human Remains (Chartered Institute for Archaeologists).

Authors should also consult the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) normative instruments for the protection of cultural heritage, and Resolutions, Motions, guidance and other statements of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

1m. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Heritage Sites

Manuscripts that include studies from protected heritage sites must be conducted in accordance with any necessary guidelines and authors should obtain any permits that may be required for the research and publication of the manuscript from the relevant authority prior to data collection. Manuscripts must include a statement confirming that the necessary permits were acquired and should name the authority that provided those permits.

Authors should also consult the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) normative instruments for the protection of cultural heritage.

 

1n. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Data Availability and Privacy.

Authors may be asked to provide the underlying source data used to support their manuscript in order to comply with open data requirements of the publication, especially in the case of Open Access publications. In such cases, authors should be prepared to provide public access to such data or present an explanation for why the data cannot be openly displayed (i.e., ethical or security considerations). In cases where the data is restricted for such reasons, authors should provide a description for its restrictions and the necessary information required for a reader to apply to access the data.

1o. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Standards of Reporting

Standards of reporting guidelines should be utilized to ensure transparency and reproducibility of research. A comprehensive list of reporting guidelines for medical research can be viewed via the EQUATOR network website.

Matters Regarding Copyright Infringements and Intellectual Property

 2. Types of Submissions Expected From Authors Include,

The AUNIJAH is poised to publish the under-listed types of Articles:

  1. Scientific Research,
  2. Research Methodologies.
  3. Empirical Research.
  4. Practice-Based Research,
  5. Case Studies,
  6. Literature Reviews.

 However, AUNIAH will not publish the following:

  1. Previously Published Research,
  2. Translations,
  3. Dissertations/Theses,
  4. Introductory/Basic Monographs,
  5. Textbooks,
  6. Biographies,
  7. How-To Guides/Manuals,
  8. Fiction.

 3. On Originality, Copyright Laws Guide Lines & Plagiarism

AUNIJAH follows United States copyright law for all published books and journals. Additional information on US copyright law can be found here.

3a. Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright

            Corresponding authors on submissions will be required to sign an Author’s Warranty (if open access) or an Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright Agreement (if subscription-based) prior to the publication of the submitted work. In the Author’s Warranty the author is confirming originality of the work. In the Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright Agreement the author is both ensuring originality of the work, as well as transferring the copyright to the publisher.

            In the event of multiple authors, if the Corresponding Author is not given authorization by the co-authors on the submission to sign the Agreement, then all authors will be required to sign. This Agreement must be signed and submitted before AUNIJAH will agree to publish any manuscript.

The Warranty portion includes the following language:

The author(s) hereby warrants that the manuscript named above that has been submitted to AUNIJAH for publication in the named publication, IS ORIGINAL AND HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION OR PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE, and that all trademark use within the manuscript has been credited to its owner or written permission to use the name has been granted. In addition, the author(s) acknowledges that all images such as tables, screenshots, graphics, etc., do not have a copyright that is held by a third party. AUNIJAH will not accept a manuscript for which the copyright is held by a third party. Authors may not use substantial verbatim text from another copyrighted work without the written permission of the copyright holder.

When an author transfers the copyright of the work to the publisher it is for the verbatim text within the submission only and should not to be confused with intellectual property rights.

3b. Regarding Copy Right Infringements.

            Copyright infringement is the reuse of materials for which the author does not have ownership without the express permission of the copyright holder. AUNIJAH recognizes that transfer of copyright to a publisher is a standard practice in the industry and that large quantities of quoted text, images, layouts, and formats, which may or may not be the creation of the author, may be owned by a third party. AUNIJAH also recognizes that all models, equations, conclusions, theories, algorithms, mathematical definitions, and computer code are the intellectual property of the author and that ownership of these elements belongs solely to that author, unless otherwise agreed upon with a third party. In cases in which an author is allegedly infringing upon the copyright of a third party prior to the publication of the work in question, AUNIJAH will return the work to the author(s) and request revision to remove all copyrighted materials.

            Images taken from a third-party source are protected under United States copyright law, and permission must be obtained before any such image or figure may be included in a manuscript published under an AUNIJAH mprint. Please see Part 4 of the sample image permission form which can be downloaded here.

            Reported cases of allegations of copyright infringement in which the work has already been published by AUNIJAH or any other journals organization will be investigated immediately upon receipt of the initial complaint.

→ Work which has been found to be in breach of a third-party copyright will be removed from circulation and a retraction and notification of the infringement will be published at the corresponding link in all AUNIJ products.

→ The author(s) of the infringing work may be prohibited from publishing with AUNIJAH for an allotted period of time or indefinitely, at the discretion of the publisher.

→ Any submissions accepted for review after an allotted period may be subject to further review by the publisher to satisfy the publisher that no copyrighted material is included in the manuscript and that all legal stipulations within the publisher’s Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright are met.

→ Further action may be taken as deemed necessary by the publisher based on the severity and quantity of the infringement.

AUNIJAH acknowledges that in some cases copyright infringement can also be classified as plagiarism. In these cases, AUNIJAH will also undertake a review for plagiarism within the text as well as implement any further actions necessary to satisfy the requirements of the publisher’s own copyright as well as the copyright of the third party.

 

12c. Regarding the Subject of Plagiarism

            AUNIJAH perceives plagiarism as the intentional or unintentional use of another individuals, or collection of individuals’, ideas, theories, models, equations, conclusions, research (intellectual property), and/or verbatim or paraphrased words without proper attribution to the original source.

AUNIJAH takes these claims very seriously and immediately will launch a full and fair investigation of the allegations to learn more about the claim. AUNIJAH conducts the appropriate due process in order to be fair to both the individual bringing forth the claim, as well as to the author(s) in question to ensure their side of the story is also fairly heard. As a result, the due process may take some time, as proper documentation must be secured.

Furthermore, the manuscript will be carefully reviewed with the goal of determining if plagiarism has taken place and, if so, to what extent. AUNIJAH uses Turnitin and iThenticate, a plagiarism detection software, to assist with the identification of plagiarized content.

If it is determined that a manuscript contains plagiarism, the authors(s) will be notified promptly of the rejection of their submitted work and may be barred from consideration for future publication with AUNIJAH Publishing for an allotted period or indefinitely, at the publisher’s discretion. Further action may be taken as deemed necessary by the publisher based on the severity and quantity of the plagiarism. Any submissions accepted for review after the allotted period may be subject to further review by the publisher to satisfy the publisher that no plagiarism is included.

Also, work which has been found to contain plagiarism will be removed from all AUNIJAH website products. A statement of notification and retraction will be included on the journals website.

3d. Regarding the Subject of Simultaneous Submission and (Self-Plagiarism)

Simultaneous submission is defined as a work submitted to AUNIJAH or any other Publishing organization for publication that is under review, has been previously published, or has been accepted for publication elsewhere in whole or in part. 

Although AUNIJAH acknowledges the importance of the use of previously published work to the evolving research process, work submitted for publication must show significant advances in the research conducted and should appropriately quote, cite, and attribute the earlier work for any prior research mentioned. The failure to disclose previously published work upon which the current work is based may be considered cause for investigation into allegations of plagiarism.

Below are three articles that explain the dangers of plagiarism and self-plagiarism in greater depth:

  1. Download a Free Whitepaper on Self-Plagiarism (iThenticate)
  2. A Q&A Forum (iThenticate)
  3. The 10 Types of Plagiarism and How to Avoid Them (Turnitin)

3e. Regarding the Subject of Corrections and Retractions

After an article or chapter is published, it may be found that major corrections must be made, or the chapter or article needs to be retracted due to ethical concerns including plagiarism. AUNIJAH will conduct a thorough investigation of these corrections and retractions and take the appropriate steps, as outlined below.

 

3f. Regarding the subject of Plagiarized Content:

            Prior to 2023: Once the article or chapter in question has been fully and thoroughly investigated and confirmed to be plagiarized, AUNIJAH removes the specific article or chapter listing from their e-Collections and website so as to prevent accidental individual chapter or article-level sales of the manuscript, and then makes a note in the remaining documentation (the physical publication and all electronic files) that the article or chapter has been retracted. The title and author information of the article or chapter is still present in the print and e-publication (PDF); however, the body text (content) is no longer present and instead the retraction statement has replaced it. The adjusted publication is resent to the printers without the plagiarized content and our full network of booksellers and distributors are notified and provided updated metadata feeds and the electronic content.

            As at 2024: our retraction processes evolved further in 2024, as the academic community came forward with a more consistent and preferred method for handling plagiarized content. The article or chapter in question is still fully and thoroughly investigated before further action is taken.

Once confirmed to be plagiarized, as of 2024, AUNIJAH now keeps the full plagiarized content (body text) within the publication; however, each page is noted with a watermark that the content is considered retracted from the publication. This is so that the various retraction monitoring databases can adjust their data appropriately and it offers even fuller transparency. The adjusted publication is resent to the printers and our full network of booksellers and distributors are notified and provided updated metadata feeds and the electronic content.

3g. Regarding the Subject of Major Corrections:

            If an author, editor, or reviewer brings forth a major correction request to AUNIJAH, the request will be carefully reviewed and the decision to honor the change request will be made at the publisher’s discretion. Major correction requests include: changes to titles, name changes, affiliation changes, and content changes. If a change is made, the file in question will be updated appropriately and distributed out in the form of updated files and/or metadata to all impacted parties, and AUNIJAH will communicate with the contributors impacted. Let it be known however, that these request for major or minor corrections is subject to the payment of certain correction fees that will be determined by the publisher. The volume of correction will determine the amount of fees to be paid in each instance.

  1. Conflicts of Interests and Competing Interests

            A conflict of interest occurs when an entity or individual becomes unreliable because of a clash between personal (or self-serving) interests and professional duties or responsibilities and can be highly detrimental to academic publications.

  1. At AUNIHAH, if at any time an Editor-in-Chief suspects a conflict of interest, the matter is brought to the publisher’s attention immediately (e.g. an author of submitted work is based at their same institution and on a competitive project).
  2. Should a reviewer experience a conflict of interest (e.g. they are aware of the article manuscript author’s identity and/or are based at the same institution), the matter is brought to the attention of the Editor(s)-in-Chief immediately.
  3. If an author perceives that there may be a conflict of interest for their submitted work, they are advised to include a declaration of any conflict of interest along with the article manuscript upon submission.

Competing interests include, but are not limited to: funding sources, financial interests, employment status, as well as those that go beyond financial interests (non-financial interests).

  1. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

                       If an author is interested in having a chapter or article reproduced in a forthcoming publication (for commercial or non-commercial use), they should contact our Intellectual Property and Contracts Division at AUNIJAH to consult our Fair Use Policy here, for further details on sharing you can send an email to the editor via this email contact address ahjournals@aun.edu.ng

 6. Publication Ethics Statement

            Since we (AUNIJAH) are striving to become an Internationally Recognized Journal, our goal is to facilitate the availability of academic excellence and disseminate innovative knowledge via the publication of quality Articles in our Journal worldwide.

            Hence, AUNIJAH fully adopts the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). As such, AUNIJAH fully adheres to the general Core Practices recommended by COPE. Consequently, AUNIJAH is committed to publishing original scholarly articles and materials of the highest quality that provide comprehensive insight into it’s the areas of specialization of the Journal: Arts and Humanities.

In light of the above, AUNIJAH journal editors and authors are provided written guidelines and checklists that must be followed to maintain the high value that AUNIJAH places on the work it publishes. Following this, AUNIJAH understands that her reviewers are an important component of the scholarly process and therefore are instructed to provide comprehensive, detailed appraisals of work that they are reviewing to assist the author in improving the quality and usability of the presented research.

Furthermore, AUNIJAH affirms that ethical publication practices are critical to the successful development of knowledge. Therefore, it is the policy of AUNIJAH to maintain high ethical standards in all publications. These standards pertain to all books, journals, chapters, and articles accepted for publication. This is in accordance with standard scientific principles and our position as a source of scientific knowledge. (View our Book Editorial Policy Here and our Journal Editorial Policy Here).

 7. Manuscript Requirements & Submission Styles for AUNIJAH,

Please carefully follow the guidelines below as you write. Any manuscripts not meeting these guidelines will be returned to the author(s) for correction, which can cause significant delays in the publication of your work.

7a. Regarding the Appropriate Word Count for AUNIJAH.

Please ensure that your manuscript follows the word count requirements specific to your publication format:

  1. Minimum 10,000 words, to Maximum 11,000 words (Book Chapter)
  2. Minimum 7,000 words, to Maximum 8,000 words (Encyclopedia Article)
  3. Minimum 5,000 words, to Maximum 6,000 words (Journal Article)

 7b. Regarding the Appropriate Format for submitting to AUNIJAH.

All manuscripts must

  1. be in scope of the journal
  2. be submitted in Microsoft® Word
  3. be typewritten in English
  4. be written in 12 Points font size
  5. be written in Times New Roman
  6. be written following the APA 7th Edition style format

 7c. Manuscript Checklist for AUNIJAH

  1. Originality of manuscripts. Only ORIGINAL submissions will be accepted for publication. Manuscripts may not have been previously published or be submitted for consideration and possible publication elsewhere.
  2. Peer review. All submissions must undergo a double-anonymized review process before being accepted for publication. Peer reviewers who have a vested interest in ensuring the quality of all manuscripts within the publication, are improving the quality of the publication as a whole.
  3. Revised manuscripts. AUNIJAH will not publish a manuscript that is a “revised” version of a manuscript that have been published elsewhere. In order to be considered original, a manuscript must be at least 80% new material with no more than 200 consecutive words (properly cited) repeated verbatim from any previously published work.
  4. Copyright. For those already familiar with AUNIJAH’s publication process, please note that PDF copyright agreements are no longer accepted. As part of the manuscript submission process, you and your authors will be asked to sign the Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright Agreement digitally.
  5. General formatting. Please format your article following APA 7th edition guidelines.
  6. Titles. Titles may be no longer than 100 characters. Subtitles, if included, may be no longer than 50 characters.
    1. Note that all titles must be entered in title case. To put a title in title case, the first letter of each word should be capitalized unless that word is a preposition (position words such as “by,” “to,” or “at”), conjunction (connecting words such as “and” or “but”), or article (“a,” “an,” or “the”) fewer than four letters long. The only exceptions to this rule are that the first and last words of the title or subtitle are always capitalized, even if they are articles, prepositions, or conjunctions
    2. Titles may not be written in all capital letters (e.g., "ARTICLE TITLE" is incorrect; "Article Title" is correct).
    3. The tile of the article should be written in 17 Point font size,
    4. The subtitle of the article, it any, should be written in 15 point font size,
    5. The Names of the Authors should be written in 13 Points font size,
    6. The affiliations, address, city, post codes and email addresses of authors should be written in 8 points   
  1. Abstract. Every article should include an abstract of 100-150 words that provides the reader with an overview of the article. Please write abstracts in third person. up to 5 keywords are appropriate for listing after the writing of the abstract
  2. Headings. Please format all headings to match APA 7th edition guidelines (Example).
  3. Images. All submitted images must follow the requirements outlined in AUNIJAH’s ’Image Formatting Guidelines. Any figures that do not meet these minimum specifications will be returned to the author(s) for correction. All figures must be submitted as separate files in .tif format. Please also note that it is the author's responsibility to obtain permission to use any image currently under copyright by a third party.

4, Figure Captions. All images included in the article manuscript are to be accompanied by captions. These captions should briefly explain the image, study, results, etc. Figures should also be numbered sequentially throughout the manuscript.

5. Figure Callouts. All images included in the article manuscript must be called out in the body of the article.

6. Tables. All tables included in any submitted research manuscript can remain in the document.

7. Table Captions.All tables included in the article manuscript are to be accompanied by captions. These captions should briefly explain the study, results, etc. Tables should also be numbered sequentially throughout the manuscript.

8. Table Callouts.All tables included in the article manuscript must be referenced in the body of the article.

9. Equations. If a symbol or equation can by typed directly into Microsoft Word, please do so. Otherwise, we require using MathType to format all equations. Authors can download a free trial version of MathType here: https://www.wiris.com/en/mathtype/.

10. APA citations. Please ensure that all information in your manuscript that is taken from another source is substantiated with an in-text reference citation. The publisher will return your submission to you for correction if you do not properly format your references. For more information and examples on APA citations, please see APA Citation Guidelines.

11. Competing Interests and Funding Statements. Authors are required to include a competing interest’s statement and funding information.

  • Competing Interests.
  • If there are competing interests, they should be disclosed in the following format:

1. "[Name] received a research grant from XX University."

2. "[Name] is a review on XX Journal."

3. If there are not competing interests, the statement should say:

4. "The authors of this publication declare there are no competing interests."

5. If funding was received, it should be disclosed as follows:

6. "This research was supported by the Organization Name [grant number xxxxxx]."

7. If funding was not received, the statement should be formatted as follows:

I. . "This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Funding for this research was covered by the author(s) of the article."

ii. Permission Forms. Please ensure that if any permission forms need to be filled out and supplied to the publisher.

    1. Image Permission Form
    2. Photograph Consent Form
    3. Case Permission Form
    4. Interview Release Form

iii. APA and AUNIJAH house style. Please be advised that while APA 7 is requested for our internal operations, the published document will be formatted in AUNIJAH's house style, which is slightly different from APA 7. See other AUNIJAH publications for examples of how the published article/chapter will appear.

If you need help formatting and styling your journal article manuscript for submission, AUNIJAH highly recommends eContent Pro, a professional editorial services provider, for supplemental editorial services which includes figures/graphics improvement and management and also English Language copy editing. 

iv. Withdrawal policy. All manuscripts submitted to AUNIJAH should be submitted with the full intention to be published if accepted. Manuscripts can be withdrawn from consideration before the peer review process if need be. Articles that are withdrawn after the peer review process or acceptance from the journal are considered to have wasted the voluntary resources of the journal. Please see more information in AUNIJAH’s Editorial Policy under “Withdraw Policy.”

v. Redaction policy. Manuscripts that are formally published online for an AUNIJAH cannot be removed from the journal. AUNIJAH defines this type of request as a “redaction.” AUNIJAH will not be considering any redaction request that does not pertain to ethical negligence or unintentional research issues. Please refer to the information in AUNIJAH’s Editorial Policy under “Redaction Policy.”

 

6. What AUNIJAH Does Not Accept

  1. Simultaneous Submissions. No manuscript may be submitted to two or more AUN Journals at the same time. However, a manuscript rejected from one book or journal may be resubmitted to a different book or journal.
  2. Plagiarism. AUNIJAH takes concerns of plagiarism very seriously. All manuscripts are checked for plagiarized passages prior to being accepted for publication. Please ensure that all information taken from outside sources is properly cited and that all thoughts are composed in your own words. All instances of plagiarism will be immediately returned to the authors for correction and may be cause for removal of the manuscript from the publication. AUNIJAH normally do not accepte articles with similarity index higher than 20%. Learn more about AUNIJAH's Statement on Ethical Publishing Practices.
  3. Bracketed References. Do not include bracketed references in your article. In-text citations must be included in the body of the article in APA format. Learn more.
  4. LaTex. LaTex files are NOT accepted because they are not compatible with AUNIJAH’s typesetting program. As an alternative, we require that you use MathType (see the “Equations” section).

*Please note that all journal article manuscripts MUST be submitted through AUNIJAH's online submission management system. Manuscripts submitted outside of the system will not be considered for publication.**

 8. Regarding the use of ORCID iD at AUNIJAH,

            All authors are advised to affix their valid ORCID ID’s numbers to their names on the articles intended for submission and processing for publication in AUNIJAH.

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

  • This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
  • All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness.
  • All tables and figures have been numbered and labeled.
  • Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission.

Articles

Section default policy

Privacy Statement

1. Regarding the Subject of Informed Consent and Participant Privacy

AUNIJAH follows the guidance of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which acknowledges that patients and study participants have a right to privacy that should not be breached without informed consent.

  1. Consent to Participate

Informed written consent must be voluntarily provided from any participants involved in a study, prior to the start of the study. Should the participant be a minor or is considered vulnerable and unable to provide informed consent, a legal guardian will need to provide consent. Should the participant be deceased, a next of kin may provide consent. Participants must have full knowledge of the study they are participating in, including the risks involved. Authors must include a statement confirming the participants consent within the manuscript.

Should verbal consent be obtained instead of written consent, authors must explain why written consent was not obtained, the approval process for the verbal consent, and its documentation methods.

  1. Consent to Publish

Individuals who agree to participate in a study, may not agree to have their identifiable data published. Identifiable data includes but is not limited to descriptions, photographs, images, videos, names, dates of birth, and biometrical characteristics. Identifiable data should generally be excluded from the manuscript as much as possible. Manuscripts that do include potentially identifiable data should obtain written informed consent that the data and any additional images may be published. Consent must be received from the participant (or a legal guardian for minors or next of kin for the deceased) prior to submission. When in doubt, it is best to obtain written informed consent.

Manuscripts that include identifiable images or data of participants must include a statement confirming that permission was obtained to publish the images or data. If the data is anonymized, authors must state that no consent to publish was required. Alterations to images and/or data to anonymize them should not distort scientific meaning.

2. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Humans

All studies on humans (individuals, human data, or material) must be conducted in accordance with the principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki. Authors must receive ethical approval for all protocols from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committee to ensure compliance with national and international guidelines. Authors must include details of this approval upon submission of the manuscript and should provide the name of the ethics committee and permit numbers where available.

Manuscripts granted an exemption by an ethics committee should state so with a full explanation and the name of the granting committee within the manuscript. Ethical approval should always be sought prior to the start of the research/study. Retrospective ethics approval usually cannot be obtained. Authors should also check their national ethical guidelines.

Non-stigmatizing and non-discriminatory language should be used when categorizing groups by race/ethnicity, age, disease, disability, religion, gender, sexual orientation, etc. A justification of the choice of definitions and categories should be explained including whether a relevant funding agency required the categorization.

3. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Clinical Trials.

Clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry prior to the trials initiation. Suitable registries can be found at the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP). The trial registration number and registration date should be included in the article and/or article’s abstract.

Should a trial not have registered prior to participant recruitment, a retrospective trial registration should be sought. Authors retrospectively registering trials should provide an explanation for the retrospective registration as well as the trial registration number and date.

4. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Human Embryos and Stem Cells.

Human embryos and gametes, embryonic stem cells, and related materials that are included in report experiments must have been utilized in accordance with all safety considerations, ethical guidelines, and applicable regulations. Authors must include a statement within the manuscript that outlines the name of the ethic(s) committee that approved the study, reference/permit numbers (if applicable), and confirmation of informed consent from recipients, donors, or next of kin if the donor is deceased. Please follow the principles described in the 2016 ISSCR Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation.

5. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Animals.

Submissions that include studies involving vertebrates or regulated invertebrates must offer detailed information on the ethical treatment of the animals including their appropriate care and handling. Manuscripts should include the name of the ethics committee(s) which approved the study and study procedures must be carried out in accordance with applicable national or international guidelines. If the study did not require ethics approval or was granted an exemption, this should be stated in the manuscript.

Studies involving client-owned animals should have documented informed consent from the client or owner. Such studies should still showcase an adherence to the best practices of veterinary care.

Authors should consult with the “Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments’ (ARRIVE) guidelines developed by the NC3Rs when submitting manuscripts describing animal research. Every effort should be taken to reduce suffering and euthanasia or anesthesia methods must be described in detail. Researchers are advised to consult the NC3Rs guide on Humane Endpoints and the American Veterinary Medical Association Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals, as well as follow applicable veterinary guidelines such as the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Authors should also consult the ethical principles in the Basel Declaration and the guidelines by the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) and the Association for the study of Animal Behaviour.

When describing research on threatened/endangered species, studies should comply with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction, the IUCN red list index of threatened species and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

6. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Plants

            Research involving cultivated or wild plants and plant material should follow guidelines provided by the authors’ institution and national or international regulations. Manuscripts describing such research should include a statement of permissions granted and/or licenses.

Voucher specimens must be deposited in a public herbarium or other public collection that provides access to deposited material. The manuscript must include information on the voucher specimen and who identified it, including Genus name, species name, and year of publication.

Authors should comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

7. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Paleontological and Geological Material.

Manuscripts that include paleontological and geological material should provide detailed information that shows a clear provenance (or attempt to determine provenance in older museum collections), numbers and repository information, museum name (if applicable), and geographic location. Studies must be conducted in accordance with national or international regulations and the author should obtain any permits that may be required for the research and publication of the manuscript from the relevant authority. Manuscripts must include a statement confirming that the necessary permits were acquired and should name the authority that provided those permits. All samples must be collected and exported responsibly and in accordance with national and local law.

Archaeological work that involves human remains requires that all necessary permits relevant for access to the site and the handling of the remains is obtained prior to data collection. Authors should comply with the Guidelines to the Standards for Recording Human Remains (Chartered Institute for Archaeologists).

Authors should also consult the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) normative instruments for the protection of cultural heritage, and Resolutions, Motions, guidance and other statements of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

8. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Heritage Sites

Manuscripts that include studies from protected heritage sites must be conducted in accordance with any necessary guidelines and authors should obtain any permits that may be required for the research and publication of the manuscript from the relevant authority prior to data collection. Manuscripts must include a statement confirming that the necessary permits were acquired and should name the authority that provided those permits.

Authors should also consult the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) normative instruments for the protection of cultural heritage.

9. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Data Availability and Privacy.

Authors may be asked to provide the underlying source data used to support their manuscript in order to comply with open data requirements of the publication, especially in the case of Open Access publications. In such cases, authors should be prepared to provide public access to such data or present an explanation for why the data cannot be openly displayed (i.e., ethical or security considerations). In cases where the data is restricted for such reasons, authors should provide a description for its restrictions and the necessary information required for a reader to apply to access the data.

10. Regarding Ethical Approvals for Research Involving Standards of Reporting

Standards of reporting guidelines should be utilized to ensure transparency and reproducibility of research. A comprehensive list of reporting guidelines for medical research can be viewed via the EQUATOR network website.

Matters Regarding Copyright Infringements and Intellectual Property

 a. Types of Submissions Expected From Authors Include,

The AUNIJAH is poised to publish the under listed types of Articles:

  1. Scientific Research,
  2. Research Methodologies.
  3. Empirical Research.
  4. Practice-Based Research,
  5. Case Studies,
  6. Literature Reviews.

 However, AUNIAH will not publish the following:

  1. Previously Published Research,
  2. Translations,
  3. Dissertations/Theses,
  4. Introductory/Basic Monographs,
  5. Textbooks,
  6. Biographies,
  7. How-To Guides/Manuals,
  8. Fiction.

 11. On Originality, Copyright Laws Guide Lines & Plagiarism

AUNIJAH follows United States copyright law for all published books and journals. Additional information on US copyright law can be found here.

12. Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright

            Corresponding authors on submissions will be required to sign an Author’s Warranty (if open access) or an Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright Agreement (if subscription-based) prior to the publication of the submitted work. In the Author’s Warranty, the author is confirming originality of the work. In the Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright Agreement, the author is both ensuring originality of the work, as well as transferring the copyright to the publisher.

            In the event of multiple authors, if the Corresponding Author is not given authorization by the co-authors on the submission to sign the Agreement, then all authors will be required to sign. This Agreement must be signed and submitted before AUNIJAH will agree to publish any manuscript.

The Warranty portion includes the following language:

The author(s) hereby warrants that the manuscript named above that has been submitted to AUNIJAH for publication in the named publication, IS ORIGINAL AND HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION OR PUBLISHED ELSEWHERE, and that all trademark use within the manuscript has been credited to its owner or written permission to use the name has been granted. In addition, the author(s) acknowledges that all images such as tables, screenshots, graphics, etc., do not have a copyright that is held by a third party. AUNIJAH will not accept a manuscript for which the copyright is held by a third party. Authors may not use substantial verbatim text from another copyrighted work without the written permission of the copyright holder.

When an author transfers the copyright of the work to the publisher it is for the verbatim text within the submission only and should not be confused with intellectual property rights.

13. Regarding Copy Right Infringements.

            Copyright infringement is the reuse of materials for which the author does not have ownership without the express permission of the copyright holder. AUNIJAH recognizes that transfer of copyright to a publisher is a standard practice in the industry and that large quantities of quoted text, images, layouts, and formats, which may or may not be the creation of the author, may be owned by a third party. AUNIJAH also recognizes that all models, equations, conclusions, theories, algorithms, mathematical definitions, and computer code are the intellectual property of the author and that ownership of these elements belongs solely to that author, unless otherwise agreed upon with a third party. In cases in which an author is allegedly infringing upon the copyright of a third party prior to the publication of the work in question, AUNIJAH will return the work to the author(s) and request revision to remove all copyrighted materials.

            Images taken from a third-party source are protected under United States copyright law, and permission must be obtained before any such image or figure may be included in a manuscript published under an AUNIJAH mprint. Please see Part 4 of the sample image permission form which can be downloaded here.

            Reported cases of allegations of copyright infringement in which the work has already been published by AUNIJAH or any other journals organization will be investigated immediately upon receipt of the initial complaint.

→ Work which has been found to be in breach of a third-party copyright will be removed from circulation and a retraction and notification of the infringement will be published at the corresponding link in all AUNIJ products.

→ The author(s) of the infringing work may be prohibited from publishing with AUNIJAH for an allotted period of time or indefinitely, at the discretion of the publisher.

→ Any submissions accepted for review after an allotted period may be subject to further review by the publisher to satisfy the publisher that no copyrighted material is included in the manuscript and that all legal stipulations within the publisher’s Author’s Warranty and Transfer of Copyright are met.

→ Further action may be taken as deemed necessary by the publisher based on the severity and quantity of the infringement.

AUNIJAH acknowledges that in some cases copyright infringement can also be classified as plagiarism. In these cases, AUNIJAH will also undertake a review for plagiarism within the text as well as implement any further actions necessary to satisfy the requirements of the publisher’s own copyright as well as the copyright of the third party.