author-guidelines

Author Guidelines

1. General Information and Journal Scope

The Journal of Higher Education Service Science and Management (JoHESSM) is an international multidisciplinary scholarly journal published by the Centre for Higher Education Research and Academic Development (CHERAD). The journal welcomes original research across engineering, applied sciences, medical and health sciences, management, and higher education.

JoHESSM considers manuscripts that make a significant theoretical, empirical, methodological, technological, or practical contribution to their respective fields. Submissions should address clearly defined research questions, demonstrate methodological rigour, engage critically with relevant scholarship, and present conclusions supported by reliable evidence.

Interdisciplinary contributions are particularly welcome where the integration of different disciplinary perspectives provides meaningful scientific or professional insights.

2. Types of Manuscripts

JoHESSM considers the following categories of scholarly contributions:

Original Research Articles: Original empirical, experimental, clinical, computational, quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods investigations.
Review Articles: Critical reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and integrative reviews that provide substantial synthesis and evaluation of existing knowledge.
Methodological and Technical Articles: Studies introducing or evaluating research methods, analytical approaches, computational models, scientific instruments, or technological developments.
Short Communications: Concise reports presenting significant findings or focused scientific contributions.
Case Studies: Analytically rigorous clinical, technological, educational, or organisational investigations with broader scholarly relevance.
Conceptual and Perspective Articles: Original theoretical contributions, conceptual frameworks, and critical perspectives grounded in established scholarship.

The journal may request modifications to the selected article category where necessary.

3. Originality and Submission Conditions

Submitted manuscripts must represent original scholarly work and must not be under consideration by another journal.

Authors must disclose any previous dissemination of substantially related material, including preprints, conference proceedings, working papers, or related publications. Where the submission extends earlier research, its additional contribution must be clearly established.

All authors must have approved the submitted manuscript, agreed to its submission, and accepted responsibility for their respective contributions.

Plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, falsification, inappropriate text recycling, and manipulation of research findings are prohibited.

The journal reserves the right to reject submissions that fail to satisfy its originality, integrity, or scholarly quality requirements.

4. Language and Manuscript Formatting

Manuscripts must be written in clear, professional academic English. British or American English may be used, provided that spelling and terminology remain consistent.

Authors should prepare manuscripts in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx). LaTeX submissions may be considered for manuscripts containing complex mathematical or technical content, provided that appropriate review and source files are supplied.

The following formatting is recommended:

A4 page size with margins of approximately 2.5 cm.
Times New Roman, 12-point font.
Double line spacing.
Consecutive page numbering.
Clearly organised headings and subheadings.
Consecutively numbered tables, figures, and equations.
Consistent citation and reference formatting.

Manuscripts should be presented in a readable format that facilitates editorial assessment and peer review. Authors should avoid unnecessary formatting, excessive abbreviations, and repetition.

5. Title Page and Author Information

The title page must include:

Manuscript title: Concise, informative, and accurately reflecting the research contribution.
Author names: Full names of all contributors in the agreed authorship order.
Affiliations: Department, institution, city, and country.
Corresponding author: Name and valid email address.
ORCID identifiers: Recommended for all authors.
Article type: The appropriate manuscript category.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authorship information is accurate and that every coauthor has approved the submitted version.

Any changes to authorship after submission must be justified and agreed upon by the individuals concerned.

6. Abstract and Keywords

Each manuscript must include an abstract that accurately reflects its objectives, methodology, principal findings, and scholarly contribution.

The abstract should not exceed 250 words.

For empirical research, a structured abstract is encouraged, addressing the following elements:

Purpose: The research problem and principal objective.
Methods: The research design, data sources, and analytical approach.
Results: The most important findings, including relevant quantitative evidence.
Conclusion: The principal contribution and implications of the research.

An unstructured abstract may be appropriate for conceptual, theoretical, and certain review articles.

Abstracts should not ordinarily contain references, unexplained abbreviations, or unsupported claims.

Authors must provide four to six keywords that accurately represent the manuscript's main concepts, methods, and disciplinary focus.

7. Manuscript Structure

Original Research Articles should generally follow the structure outlined below. Appropriate modifications are permitted where required by the research design or disciplinary conventions.

Introduction

The Introduction should establish the research context, critically examine relevant literature, identify the knowledge gap, and explain the significance of the investigation. Research objectives, questions, or hypotheses should be clearly articulated.

Materials and Methods

The Methods section must describe the research design, setting, sampling procedures, data sources, instruments, analytical techniques, and relevant methodological decisions in sufficient detail to permit scholarly evaluation and, where feasible, replication.

Authors should explain procedures used to establish validity, reliability, analytical robustness, or experimental reproducibility, as appropriate.

Results

Findings should be presented systematically, accurately, and in accordance with the stated research objectives.

Relevant numerical results, statistical estimates, and supporting evidence must be reported consistently across the text, tables, figures, and supplementary materials.

Discussion

The Discussion should interpret the findings in relation to the research objectives and existing literature, explain their theoretical or practical significance, and critically address methodological limitations.

Authors should distinguish between conclusions supported directly by the findings and broader interpretations requiring further investigation.

Conclusion

The Conclusion should summarise the principal contribution, explain its implications, and identify relevant directions for future research without introducing unsupported claims or new results.

Alternative structures may be adopted for review, conceptual, qualitative, methodological, and other specialised manuscripts where academically justified.

8. Research Methods and Statistical Reporting

Authors must report research methods and analytical procedures transparently and in accordance with accepted standards within their disciplines.

Where applicable, manuscripts should identify sample sizes, measurement procedures, missing-data treatment, statistical assumptions, analytical software, effect estimates, confidence intervals, and relevant measures of uncertainty.

Statistical significance should not be presented as equivalent to clinical, practical, or theoretical importance.

For computational modelling, machine learning, and artificial intelligence research, authors should describe model development, data preprocessing, training and validation procedures, performance metrics, and relevant limitations.

Claims of predictive accuracy, generalisability, or clinical effectiveness must be supported by appropriate validation evidence.

Authors must ensure that the methods reported correspond accurately to the analyses performed and the results presented.

9. Tables, Figures, and Supplementary Materials

Tables and figures should be necessary, clearly presented, and directly relevant to the manuscript's findings.

Each table and figure must be numbered consecutively and accompanied by an informative title or caption. All abbreviations, symbols, and measurement units should be explained where necessary.

Tables should be provided in an editable format wherever practical, while figures must be sufficiently clear and of appropriate resolution for publication.

Authors must obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted material and acknowledge its original source.

Supplementary materials may include additional analyses, research instruments, datasets, methodological documentation, or computational code supporting the published work.

Information presented in tables, figures, and supplementary files must remain consistent with the main manuscript.

10. References and Citations

Authors are responsible for ensuring that references are accurate, relevant, complete, and consistently formatted.

Every in-text citation must correspond to an entry in the reference list, and every listed reference should be cited in the manuscript.

References should appropriately acknowledge foundational scholarship and relevant recent research, with particular attention to primary scientific sources.

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) should be included whenever available.

Authors must verify the authenticity and accuracy of all references, including those identified through artificial intelligence tools.

Citation manipulation, excessive irrelevant self-citation, fabricated references, and the misleading representation of published research are unacceptable.

The journal may request reference-format adjustments during editorial revision or production.

11. Research Ethics and Reporting Standards

All submitted research must comply with applicable ethical principles, institutional requirements, and relevant legislation.

Studies involving human participants, patient information, biological materials, or animals must include appropriate ethical approval or exemption statements where required.

Informed consent and consent for publication must be obtained where applicable, particularly when identifiable clinical or personal information is presented.

Authors should follow recognised reporting standards appropriate to their research designs, including CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, STARD, TRIPOD, CARE, COREQ, SRQR, or other relevant frameworks.

Clinical, computational, engineering, and management studies must provide the methodological information necessary for independent scholarly evaluation.

Authors should consult the journal's dedicated policies on Research Ethics Approval, Informed Consent, Research Integrity, and Research Reporting Guidelines for further requirements.

12. Authorship, Funding, Conflicts of Interest, and AI Disclosure

All listed authors must have made genuine scholarly contributions and must accept responsibility for the integrity of their work.

JoHESSM encourages transparent author contribution statements using the CRediT Contributor Roles Taxonomy.

Manuscripts must disclose relevant funding sources, financial or non-financial conflicts of interest, and other circumstances that could influence the research or its interpretation.

Where no relevant conflicts exist, authors should provide an explicit declaration.

Substantive use of generative artificial intelligence in research activities, data analysis, manuscript preparation, or image generation must be disclosed appropriately.

Artificial intelligence systems cannot be designated as authors. Human authors remain fully accountable for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of submitted material.

13. Data Availability and Research Transparency

JoHESSM encourages transparent research practices and responsible access to materials supporting published findings.

Authors should provide a data availability statement identifying whether the underlying data, analytical code, protocols, or relevant research materials are publicly available, accessible on reasonable request, or subject to restrictions.

Where feasible, research materials should be deposited in recognised repositories with persistent identifiers.

Restrictions arising from participant confidentiality, ethical approval conditions, intellectual property rights, or legal obligations must be explained.

The journal may request supporting information where necessary to assess the reliability or integrity of reported findings.

14. Submission and Peer Review

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal's official online submission system.

The corresponding author is responsible for uploading the manuscript and associated files, completing the required metadata, and providing accurate declarations.

A cover letter should briefly identify the manuscript's contribution, explain its relevance to JoHESSM, and confirm its originality and exclusive submission.

Submitted manuscripts undergo initial editorial screening to assess their relevance, scholarly contribution, methodological quality, completeness, and compliance with ethical requirements.

Manuscripts considered suitable for further evaluation are assessed through the journal's established peer-review procedures.

Editorial decisions may involve rejection, revision, further evaluation, or acceptance.

Authors invited to revise their manuscripts must provide a point-by-point response to editorial and reviewer comments and clearly identify the changes made.

An invitation to revise does not guarantee acceptance.

15. Acceptance, Publication, and Author Responsibilities

Acceptance is subject to the manuscript satisfying the journal's scientific, editorial, ethical, and technical requirements.

Following acceptance, authors may be required to provide final editable files, publication declarations, copyright or licensing documentation, and any additional materials necessary for production.

Authors are responsible for reviewing publication proofs and verifying the accuracy of names, affiliations, tables, figures, references, and other publication details.

Any applicable article processing charges are governed by the journal's published Article Processing Charges and Fees and Waivers policies.

Authors remain responsible for the integrity of their published work and must notify the Editorial Office if significant errors or concerns are identified after publication.

JoHESSM may issue corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions where necessary to preserve the reliability of the scholarly record.

Manuscript Submission: JoHESSM Online Submission System

Further Information: Authors should consult the journal's dedicated publication policies and contact the Editorial Office through its official communication channels.