Submissions

Author Guidelines

1. Manuscript Submission Overview

Before you decide to publish with Journal of Applied Business & Behavioral Sciences (JABBS), please read the following items carefully and make sure that you are well aware of Editorial Policies and the following requirements.

1.1 Topic Suitability

The topic of the manuscript must fit the scope of the journal. Please refer to Aims and Scope for more information.

1.2 Language Editing

All submissions are required to be presented clearly and cohesively in good English. Authors whose first language is not English are advised to have their manuscripts checked or edited by a native English speaker before submission to ensure the high quality of expression. A well-organized manuscript in good English would make the peer review even the whole editorial handling more smoothly and efficiently.

1.3 Article Types

Manuscripts submitted to Journal of Applied Business & Behavioral Sciences should neither be published previously nor be under consideration for publication in another journal. The main article types are listed below and a comprehensive list of article types can be found here—please note that not all article types are available for all disciplines.

• Research Article: Report of original research findings and data.
• Review Article: Critically examines the body of research on a particular subject and gives insights/informed opinions on the direction and future of the research field.
• Case Study: Research report that presents detailed findings and analysis based on a specific case or situation.

1.4 Publication Fees

All articles published in Journal of Applied Business & Behavioral Sciences can be freely accessed from the journal website. In order to ensure contents are freely available and maintain publishing quality, Article Process Charges (APC) are levied on all authors whose papers are accepted for publication after peer-review to cover the costs incurred in manuscript processing, such as copy-editing, typesetting, publishing, content depositing and archiving processes.

The Article Process Charges are 2000USD (US Dollar). However, as a newly established journal, we are currently waiving the publication fee to encourage submissions and support the dissemination of high-quality research. The publisher will cover this cost during this promotional period. There are no additional charges based on color, length, figures, or other elements.

1.5 Accepted File Formats

Authors are encouraged to use the Microsoft Word template to prepare their manuscript. Using the template file will substantially shorten the time to complete copy-editing and publication of accepted manuscripts.

1.6 Submission Process

Manuscripts for Journal of Applied Business & Behavioral Sciences should be submitted online. The submitting author, who is generally the corresponding author, is responsible for the manuscript during the submission and peer review process. To submit your manuscript, register and log in to the submission website.

2. Submission Preparation

2.1 Cover Letter

A cover letter is required to be submitted accompanying each manuscript. It should be concise and explain why the study is significant, why it fits the scope of the journal, and why it would be attractive to readers, etc.

Here is a guideline of a cover letter for authors' consideration:

In the first paragraph: include the title and type (e.g., Original Research Article, Review, Case Report,etc.) of the manuscript, a brief on the background of the study, the question the author sought out to answer and why;

In the second paragraph: concisely explain what was done, the main findings and why they are significant;

In the third paragraph: indicate why the manuscript fits the Aims and Scope of the journal, and why it would be attractive to readers;

In the fourth paragraph: confirm that the manuscript has not been published elsewhere and not under consideration of any other journal. All authors have approved the manuscript and agreed on its submission to the journal. Journal's specific requirements have been met if any.

If the manuscript is contributed to a Special Issue, please also mention it in the cover letter.

If the manuscript was presented partly or entirely in a conference, the author should clearly state the background information of the event, including the conference name, time and place in the cover letter.

2.2 Manuscript Guidelines

All manuscript should be prepared according to the following manuscript guidelines and saved as a word document (in Microsoft Word format). We recommend using our templates to prepare the submission files.

JABBS_Title Page (with Author Details) Download

JABBS_Article Template (Anonymous) Download

JABBS_Manuscript Formatting Guidelines Download

JABBS_Reviewer Nominations Download

2.2.1 Title

The title of the manuscript should be concise, specific and relevant, with no more than 16 words if possible.

2.2.2 Authors and Affiliations

Authors' full names should be listed. The initials of middle names can be provided. Institutional addresses and email addresses for all authors should be listed. At least one author should be designated as corresponding author. In addition, corresponding authors are suggested to provide their Open Researcher and Contributor ID upon submission. Please note that any change to authorship is not allowed after manuscript acceptance.

2.2.3 Abstract

The abstract should provide the context or background for the study and should state the study's purpose, basic procedures, main findings, and principal conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations, note important limitations, and not overinterpret findings. It is not allowed to contain results which are not presented and substantiated in the manuscript, or exaggerate the main conclusions. Citations should not be included in the abstract.

2.2.4 Keywords

Four to six keywords should be provided, which are specific to the article, yet reasonably common within the subject discipline.

2.2.5 Main Text

Manuscripts of different types are structured with different sections of content. Please refer to Types of Manuscripts to make sure which sections should be included in the manuscripts.

2.2.5.1 Introduction

The introduction should contain background that puts the manuscript into context, allow readers to understand why the study is important, include a brief review of key literature, and conclude with a brief statement of the overall aim of the work and a comment about whether that aim was achieved. Relevant controversies or disagreements in the field should be introduced as well.

2.2.5.2 Methods

Methods should contain sufficient details to allow others to fully replicate the study. New methods and protocols should be described in detail while well-established methods can be briefly described or appropriately cited. Experimental participants selected, the drugs and chemicals used, the statistical methods taken, and the computer software used should be identified precisely. Statistical terms, abbreviations, and all symbols used should be defined clearly. Protocol documents for clinical trials, observational studies, and other non-laboratory investigations may be uploaded as supplementary materials.

2.2.5.3 Results

This section contains the findings of the study. Results of statistical analysis should also be included either as text or as tables or figures if appropriate. Authors should emphasize and summarize only the most important observations. Data on all primary and secondary outcomes identified in the section Methods should also be provided. Extra or supplementary materials and technical details can be placed in supplementary documents.

2.2.5.4 Discussion

This section should discuss the implications of the findings in context of existing research and highlight limitations of the study. Future research directions may also be mentioned.

2.2.5.5 References

A list of references is required at the end of the paper. References must be complete, i.e., include, as appropriate, volume, number, month, publisher, city and state, editors, last name & initials of all authors, page numbers, etc. For all references, use full justification; single space; indent ¼” except first line of each reference. Journal of Applied Business & Behavioral Sciences uses the APA citation style.

2.2.6 Acknowledgments

This is an optional section where authors can acknowledge people and/or institutions that provided non-financial support and/or helped with the research and/or preparation of the manuscript. People to be acknowledged include those who do not qualify as authors. Examples of non-financial support include externally-supplied equipment/biological sources, writing assistance, administrative support, and contributions from non-authors. Authors are responsible to obtain the permission for acknowledging people and/or institutions to be included in this list. If none of the above is pertinent, state “Not applicable”.

2.2.7 Funding

Authors should declare all financial support and sources that were used to perform the research, analysis, and/or article publication. Financial supports are generally in the form of grants, royalties, consulting fees and others. Organizations that provide the grants and grant numbers should be declared. If the study is not involved with this issue, state "None." in this section.

2.2.8 Conflict of Interest

At the time of submission, authors must declare any (potential) conflicts or competing interests with any institutes, organizations or agencies that might influence the integrity of results or objective interpretation of their submitted works. State “The authors declare they have no competing interests” or words to that effect, if the authors do not have anything to declare.

3. Reviewers Suggestions and Exclusions

During the submission process, please suggest three potential reviewers with the appropriate expertise to review the manuscript. The editors will not necessarily approach these referees. Please provide detailed contact information (address, homepage, phone, e-mail address). The proposed referees should neither be current collaborators of the co-authors nor have published with any of the co-authors of the manuscript within the last three years. Proposed reviewers should be from different institutions to the authors. You may identify appropriate Editorial Board members of the journal as potential reviewers. You may suggest reviewers from among the authors that you frequently cite in your paper.

You are welcome to exclude a limited number of researchers as potential Editors or reviewers of your manuscript. To ensure a fair and rigorous peer review process, we ask that you keep your exclusions to a maximum of three people. If you wish to exclude additional referees, please explain or justify your concerns—this information will be helpful for Editors when deciding whether to honor your request.