Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation

The guidelines for manuscript preparation for the KAPATU Journal.

Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation

Title of the paper

The title of the paper should be fairly short and able to sufficiently reflect the problem addressed. Avoid manuscript titles that present as short paragraphs.

Attribution

Where the paper has multiple authors, they should be presented in their order of importance in terms of contribution, and should indicate the corresponding author. The authors should indicate their affiliations, physical and email addresses, and telephone contacts. Individual authors are advised to pay attention to the order of their names (order: first name, other names, last/surname).

Abstract and key words

Authors submitting full-length articles, synoptic research articles and comments are required to include abstracts. The journal prefers the informative abstract, which is a summary of the main arguments and important results, rather than abstracts that merely describe the longer work. The abstract should be presented in one paragraph of 250-300 words. Below the abstract please provide a list of 4 to 6 keywords that best represent the content of the manuscript.

Structure of the paper

Differences in the sections of the journal (see Submissions to the journal para 2) present a limitation to the extent a uniform structure can be maintained across the submissions. For example, a book review or a brief on an on-going project may not be expected to carry the same structure as a synoptic research report or an annotated bibliography. Nevertheless, authors in the categories of the longer submissions (full- length and synoptic research articles) are expected to start with the introduction section, proceed to the substantive sections and subsections, and end with the conclusion.

Citation style

There are many citation styles used in scholarly communication across disciplines, all of them legitimate. The journal accepts manuscripts that follow the APA style, which is an in-text citation style. Authors that are not familiar with this style are advised to consult the APA Style Guide (7th Edition). All cited materials should be included in the reference list at the end of the paper.

File format

Submissions should be made in MS Word (doc, docx) or Rich Text Format. Manuscripts in other file formats will be rejected.

Text Formatting

The text of the manuscript should be formatted in Times New Roman. The title should be font size 14, the body font size 12, and footnotes (author details) font size 10. The title, and the author(s) below it, should be centred. The paragraphs should be fully justified and not indented. Section headings should be bolded and sub-section headings italicised, and both aligned to the left. All aids (tables, charts, graphs, formulas, maps) should be included at the appropriate place within the body of the paper, not appended to it.

Acknowledgments

After the substantive body of the manuscript, just before the reference list, authors may acknowledge individuals or organizations that provided assistance or funding for the study.

Conflict of interest

Authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may influence the results or interpretations presented in the manuscript.

List of references

This list is interlinked with the citations made in the text of the manuscript. It provides full bibliographic records of all the sources/authorities cited. Authors should ensure that the reference list follows the APA style and includes all the sources cited.