1. General Principles

• Originality: Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• Language: Submissions must be written in clear and concise English.
• Anonymity: For the double-blind peer-review process, the manuscript must not contain any author-identifying information (e.g., names, affiliations) within the main text, figures, or tables. Details should be provided on a separate Title Page.
• AI and Generative Tools: Authors must explicitly disclose the use of AI tools in the preparation of the manuscript, including the nature and extent of their use, in the Materials and Methods or a similar section of the paper.

2. Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts must be structured as follows:

• Title Page (Separate): Full title, all author names and institutional affiliations, contact information for the corresponding author, and ORCID IDs.
• Abstract: A concise and factual abstract of 150-250 words stating the research purpose, methodology, main findings, and major conclusions.
• Keywords: 4 to 6 keywords immediately following the abstract.
• Main Body: Must be less than 8,000 words (including references, appendixes, tables, and figures).
  • Introduction: Define the problem, significance, literature review, and research aims.
  • Methodology: Detailed design, data sources, sample, and procedures.
  • Results: Clear presentation of findings without interpretation.
  • Discussion: Interpret results, implications, and limitations.
  • Conclusion: Summary of main contributions.

3. Formatting and Style (APA 7th Edition)

• Font: Use a legible font such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Calibri, or 11-point Arial.
• Spacing: Double-space all text, including headings, quotations, and the reference list.
• Margins: 1-inch margins on all sides.
• In-text Citations: Author-date system. Use Smith & Jones (2021) for 1-2 authors, and Lee et al. (2022) for 3+ authors. Provide page numbers for all direct quotations.
• References: Alphabetical order by first author's last name, with hanging indent. All in-text citations must match reference entries. Include DOIs where available.