Manuscripts should include four major sections: the Title Page, Abstract, Main Body – entire manuscript including all illustrations, and Cited References. You should submit the manuscript, and each table and figure as a separate file on the submission portal. Be sure to verify each item, and follow the guidelines provided for each section below.

General

Letter size page (8.5” x 11”).
Margins: 2.5 cm (1.0 inch) on all sides.
The font is Times New Roman.
Font size is variable as follows: 14 pt for the manuscript title, 10 pt for table/figure caption and table/figure entries, and 12 pt for the rest of the manuscript text; see other specific instructions in respective sections below.
Text in manuscripts should be double-spaced.
Have consecutive line numbers (on the left side).
Page numbers (centered at the bottom of each page).
Submit as an editable document, e.g., MS Word, table in Excel, and figure/illustration in one of these file formats: TIFF, JPEG, PNG, or EPS.

Manuscript Length

The submitted manuscript should not exceed 7,500 words, excluding the list of cited references. The total number of tables and figures together should not exceed 12. An exception to the manuscript word limit or the number of tables or figures may be granted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

Title Page

A manuscript title on the title page should be concise and reflect the content of the manuscript. The title must not exceed 150 characters including spaces and punctuation.

Manuscript Title

Bold, left justified.
The first letter of each major word in the title is uppercase, except for words such as “a,” “the,” “and,” and “of.”

Author name and affiliations

Author names are written on the second line below the title with the given (first) name, middle initial (if applicable) followed by the family (last) name of all authors.
All initials are followed by a period with a single space between initials.
Author(s) with differing affiliation/addresses shall be marked with a superscript Arabic number associated with the address; addresses shall be complete with affiliation, city, (state, postal codes), and country.
The corresponding author will be marked by an asterisk (*) following the last name.

Corresponding author: The text “*Corresponding author” followed by the corresponding author’s mailing address and email shall be placed on the second line below the author’s affiliation.
A short Running Title (no more than 50 characters including space and punctuation).

Abstract

The heading “Abstract” is bold, and left justified with the first letter of Abstract in uppercase.

The text of the abstract is not bold and left justified.

The abstract should be concise (maximum 250 words). It should briefly state the rationale for the study, the hypothesis, the objective(s), and main methods, findings, and conclusions. The abstract should not include any citations.

Keywords

The heading “Keywords” is bold and left justified. A maximum of 6 (six) keywords (in alphabetical order, separated by commas, not bolded) should be provided immediately after the abstract. Keywords are words NOT contained in the title but are words that reference the subject matter as presented in the abstract. Abbreviations should not be used as keywords unless they are firmly established in the field and presented multiple times in the manuscript.

Main Body

No line space between paragraphs.
In-text citation details are given under its own subheading later in these guidelines.

Section Headings and Subheadings in the Main Text

Further details on headings and subheadings within the main text are specified below.

Level 1 headings (section headings) such as Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions should be numbered (1, 2, 3…), bolded, and left-justified. The first paragraph of the text after the level 1 heading should start after a blank line.

Level 2 headings (subheadings) should be numbered as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and so on, left justified and italicized. Capitalize the first letter of all major words in the headings, but do not capitalize articles (a, an, the), and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, with, etc.). The first paragraph of the text after the level 2 heading should begin immediately (without a blank line).
If needed, level 3 headings (subheadings) can be used and should be indented, left justified, italicized, and numbered as 1.1.1, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, and so on. Capitalize the first letter of all major words. The first paragraph of the text after the level 3 heading should start immediately (without a blank line), as in level 2.
The first line of paragraph text following the heading of each level should be left justified with no indentation, but the first line of the subsequent paragraphs shall be indented.

Introduction

The introduction should identify problems/research question(s) and provide an adequate background and rationale for the study with a relevant literature review in a logical order. A typical ending of the introduction should include a hypothesis and objective. It should not include any methods, results, or conclusions.

Theory/Calculation/Equations (if necessary, in the field of Social Sciences/Economics, wherever appropriate): This section should extend the background of the article with the necessary theoretical/empirical framework without repeating any content included in the earlier portion of the Introduction Section.

Methods

This section should provide sufficient details of methods/procedures, location (study site), year(s) of research, study design (e.g., experimental or survey), equipment and measurements, data (study setting, sample, data collection), and statistical analyses to allow other researchers to reproduce the work.

Results

All major findings should be presented clearly, concisely, and sequentially in the order of hypothesis and objective by citing the illustration numbers related to the findings presented. The Results Section should not include content that is appropriate to the Introduction, Methods, or Discussion sections.

Discussion

The Discussion Section should present the significance and implications of the results without repeating what was presented in the Results Section. Here you will discuss whether the research hypothesis is supported or not, based on how the hypothesis was constructed, and the reasons for such a decision; the potential reasons why the results came out the way you observed; compare your findings with previous findings reported by other scientists on similar research, in terms of whether their findings are similar or contradictory to your findings; if contradictory, give the potential reasons. Present how the findings of the current research would be useful to the scientific community, end users, and the public as applicable and their significance. Discuss the limitations of the findings. Cite pertinent literature used in the discussion.

Conclusions

This section should provide the main takeaways and implications of the findings for future research and/or technology transfer and applications.

Acknowledgements

The authors should acknowledge funding sources, if any, for conducting the research, including any salary support for the authors. Persons who played a role in the research or the development of the article but were not mentioned on the author line may be acknowledged. Neither authors nor co-authors are mentioned under Acknowledgements.

In-Text Citations

APA style (https://apastyle.apa.org/) guidelines should be followed for text citations as shown below. Additional details and examples can be found at Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) website: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html

One Author

The last name of the author and the year of publication should be inserted into the text as, for example, “Marks (2011) states that …” or … “(Marks, 2011).”

Two Authors

Both authors should be cited, e.g., Bee and Boyd (2010) state that…. or …. (Bee & Boyd, 2010).

Three or More Authors

If there are three more authors, cite the first author followed by the words “et al.” For example, “Thompson et al. (2020) suggest that …” or … “(Thompson et al., 2020).”

However, if the same first author leads multiple works involving different authors in the same publication year, you should indicate the differences with the use of “a,” “b,” “c,” and so on with the publication year to avoid ambiguity. For example, simply writing “Rolfe et al. (2010)” would not distinguish the following two different publications.

Rolfe, Kolbe, and Gomez (2010) should be cited as, “Rolfe et al. (2010),” if cited prior to citing another reference with the same first author and published in the same year, such as Rolfe, Kolbe, Sylvia, and Gomez (2010), which should be cited as “Kolbe et al. (2010a).”

In the list of cited references, you should list all authors up to 20 authors. If there are more than 20 authors, you should put “…” between the 19th author and the last author. The in-text citation in such cases will still be “Author et al. (Year)” by avoiding ambiguity across publications as described above.

Citing Two or More Works at the Same Place

If citing two or more works within the same parentheses, they should be in alphabetical order of authors and each citation separated by a semi-colon, e.g., (Phillips et al., 2010; Rolfe et al., 2010).

Citation of Two or More Works by the Same Author Published in Separate Years

Give the author's last name followed by the years in ascending order each separated by a comma, e.g., (Davis, 2008, 2010, 2012).

Citation of Two or More Works by the Same Author Published in the Same Year

Use lowercase letters (a, b, c, and so on) to distinguish between works published in the same year by the same author(s). For instance, express it as “Hewitt (2010a) states that ...,” and/or … “this was supported by Hewitt (2010b)” or “(Hewitt 2010 a, b).” The suffixes are assigned in the reference list, where these types of references are ordered alphabetically by title (of the article, chapter, or book).

Citing from Websites

If it is difficult to identify the author of a web page, you should decide who is responsible for the page and that person or corporate body can be referenced as the author. Searching the 'About Us' or 'Contact Us' section will help to identify the author. If no author can be found, use the title of the web page, such as American Psychological Association (2012). If no title is available, use the URL and provide the date of access or retrieval.

For works with no identified author or those authored anonymously, cite as follows: Use “Anonymous (2012)” in the narrative, such as “Anonymous (2012) states that.” In the citations, use (Anonymous, 2012).

Listing the Cited References

Authors should follow the APA (Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association) 7th edition reference style. All references cited in the text should be in the reference list and vice versa. The number of references should not exceed 50 for research papers and 100 for review papers. You can refer to the website https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_basic_rules.html for details on how to list a publication based on its type, e.g., articles in periodicals vs. books (see separate links on the left side of the webpage given above). A sample of the most common entries in reference lists are provided below.

Book with Single Author

Last name, Initial (s). (Year). Title. Place: Publisher. For example:

Pant, P. R. (1975). Social science research and dissertation writing. Kathmandu: Buddha Academic Enterprises.

Book with Two Authors or More

Last name, Initial(s), & Last name, Initial (s). (Year). Title. Place: Publisher. For example:

Phillips, J., Ajrouch, K., & Hillcoat-Nalletamby, S. (2010). Key concepts in social gerontology. London: Sage.

Edited Book

Last name, Initial(s). (Ed.). (Year). Title. Place: Publisher. For example:

Karki, U. (Ed.). (2015). Sustainable agroforestry practices in the Southeastern Region: Training Handbook [Training Handbook]. Tuskegee University https://www.tuskegee.edu/Content/Uploads/Tuskegee/files/CAENS/Others/agroforestry/Agroforestry_Handbook.pdf.

Use (Eds.) if Two or More Editors

Cash, T. F., & Smolak, L. (Eds.). (2011). Body image: A handbook of science, practice, and prevention (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.

If a book is cited that was published as the first edition, there is no need to specify the first edition. Note how the second edition has been specified in the example above.

Chapter in Edited Book

Author Last name, Initial (s). (Year). Chapter title. In Editor Initial(s) Last name (Ed.), Book title (pages of chapter). Place: Publisher. For example:

Benton, D. (2011). Diet, behaviour and cognition in children. In D. Kilcast, & F. Angus (Eds.), Developing children's food products (pp. 62-81). Cambridge: Woodhead.

E-book

Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title. Retrieved from URL. For example:

Ogden, J. (2007). Health psychology: A textbook (4th ed.). Retrieved from http://www.dawsonera.com.

Thesis/Dissertation

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master's thesis [doctoral dissertation or master's thesis]. Name of institution, Location. For example:

Pokhrel, N. (2014). Effects of different fertilization and feeding systems on water quality and growth performance in Nile tilapia [master thesis]. Agriculture and Forestry University, Chitwan, Nepal.

Journal Article

Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Article title. Journal title, Volume number (issue or part number if needed), page numbers. For example:

Blann, A. (2014). Why do we test for urea and electrolytes? Nursing Times, 110 (5), 19-21.

Tapper, K., Shaw, C., Ilsley, J., Hill, A. J., Bond. F. W., & Moore, L. (2009). Exploratory randomized controlled trial of a mindfulness-based weight loss intervention for women. Appetite, 52, 396-404.

Online Journal Article

Last name, Initial (s). (Year). Article title. Journal title, Volume, Page numbers. DOI or journal homepage URL. For example:

Allen, S. J., Jordan, S., Storey, M., Thornton, C. A., Gravenor, M., Garaiova, I., & Morgan, G. (2010). Dietary supplementation with lactobacilli and bifidobacteria is well tolerated and not associated with adverse events during late pregnancy and early infancy. The Journal of Nutrition, 140, 483-488. doi:10.3945/jn.109.117093

Newspaper Article

Reporter’s Last name, Initial (s). (Date). Article title. Title of Newspaper, page numbers of the entire article or URL (for online newspaper). For example:

Drezner, D. W. (2021, August 10). Climate change is real, and it’s permanent. The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2021/08/10/climate-change-is-real-its-permanent/.

Newsletter Article

Last name, Initial (s). (Date). Article title. Title of Newsletter, volume (issue): page numbers. For example:

Ojha, J. (2023, September). The epidemiology of Panama wilt in banana. Agri-Connection, 8(3): 26-28. https://www.napaamericas.org/agri-connection/AC.8.3.pdf

Magazine Article

Allen, L. (2004, August). Will Tuvalu disappear beneath the sea? Global warming threatens to swamp a small island nation, Smithsonian, 35 (5), 44-52.

Begley, S., & Murr, A. (2007, July 2). Which of these is not causing global warming? A. Sport utility vehicles; B. Rice fields; C. Increased solar output. Newsweek, 150 (2), 48-50.

Book Review in a Journal

Nagorski, A. (2013). The totalitarian temptation [Review of the book The devil in history: communism, fascism and some lessons of the 20th century, by V. Tismaneanu]. Foreign Affairs, 92, 172-176.

Website

Author. (Year). Title, Retrieved month day, year, from URL. For example:

American Psychological Association. (2015). APA style blog. Retrieved December 1, 2023, from https://apastyle.apa.org/blog

Personal Communication

P. Mooney (personal communication, June 6, 2013).

Code of Practice

Author. (Year). Title. Place: Publisher. For example:

Welsh Assembly Government. (2008). Mental Health Act 1983: Code of Practice for Wales. Cardiff: Welsh Assembly Government.

Great Britain. Department for Constitutional Affairs. (2007). Mental Capacity Act 2005: Code of Practice. London: TSO.

Further examples can be found at https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_author_authors.html

Tables, figures, equations, and formulas, if any, as part of a manuscript should meet the requirements as described below.

Each table or figure should be submitted as a separate file. For example, you will need to submit the figure caption and figure file separately to the submission portal for administrative purposes by following steps during the submission process. The caption and figure will be later merged or appended for review and publication. You will follow a similar process for tables. The maximum number of tables and figures allowed is 12. Any tables and figures that are needed to provide additional information should be submitted as “Supplementary Materials,” as explained in a separate section below .

Tables

Each table should have a number and descriptive caption that begins with Table 1, Table 2, and so on. The caption should provide complete information to the readers about the table, e.g., topic, method, unit, location, and time.

Example: Table 1. Growing season sum of evapotranspiration (ET) (mm/day?) in maize during the 2014 growing season at Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal

Table caption italicized; table entries not italicized.

Explain all symbols and abbreviations on the first mention in tables below the tables.
Each column and row should have headings.
Tables should be numbered in the order they are cited in the text.
Submit tables as editable text, e.g., Excel or csv file (not as images).
All tables should be formatted as indicated below.

Title/header for each column, which includes the units in parenthesis.
Solid lines above and below the header row (the row with the column titles).
A solid line beneath the last line of the table.
Columns that are properly aligned (usually centered), no column solid lines.
A limited number of significant digits (usually 2 decimal places, depending on data).

Use asterisks *, **, and *** to indicate statistical significance at the 0.05, 0.01, and 0.001 probability levels, respectively as appropriate; also add this as a footnote.

Figures

Figures are graphs, charts, or images other than tables in a manuscript. They should be kept simple but sufficient to convey scientific information. Each figure should have an explanatory caption beginning with Figure 1, Figure 2, and so on.
Example: Figure 1. Evolution of leaf area index (LAI) of maize during the 2014 growing season at Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal.

Explain all symbols and abbreviations the first time they appear in figures, just below the figures. Most common symbols or legends (e.g., ○, ●, ▲, Δ, □, ■) should be used in figures.

Figures should be numbered in the order in which they are cited in the text. Figure panels should be labeled with lowercase letters in parentheses as (a), (b), and (c).
Refer to the figures in the text as Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Figures should not have outer borders, and all lines and bars should be distinct with different colors or symbols/patterns.

File format – jpeg, tiff, png, or eps (image files should be saved at 300 dpi or higher resolution) (each figure should be submitted as a single file).
Avoid heavy color patterns.
Avoid grids unless they are needed for crucial comparisons.

If images, drawings, or photos are needed, they should be submitted as separate files as well.

Equations and Formulas

If any equations or formulas are needed, they should be typed using a standard equation editor, (e.g., MS Equation Editor), and inserted into MS Word.

Units

Standard metric units should be used.

Instructions Specific to a Short Communication

A manuscript for a Short Communication needs to follow all guidelines presented above for the full article, except for the magnitude of its content as specified below.

A short manuscript with original research and/or methodology with a word limit of 2,500 to 3,000 excluding abstract, tables, figures, and references.
When tables and figures are included, the manuscript should not exceed 2 tables and 2 figures/illustrations.

Appendixes or Supplementary Materials

With the approval of the Editor-in-Chief, extra supporting materials may be published with the manuscript to enhance it, e.g., measurement or survey instruments, additional tables, figures, or images (if more than 12), and additional text beyond the limit of the main body. Provide a concise and descriptive caption for each supplementary file. Provide numberings for supplementary figures and tables as Fig. S1, Fig. S2, Table S1, Table S2, etc.

Manuscript Submission Agreement

When you are ready to submit a manuscript, you will be asked to complete the manuscript submission agreement, stating that the author(s) confirm(s) that the work being submitted is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and that articles and any other materials represent the opinions of the authors and should not be construed to reflect the opinions of the Publisher or Editors. After you agree to the terms, you can upload your files and submit them. After your submission, you will receive an email confirming your submission.

Peer Review Process

The submitted manuscripts will be reviewed for completeness, formatting, and suitability for publication in GJAAS. After this screening, manuscripts that meet formatting standards and other requirements outlined in the guidelines will be peer-reviewed following a double-blind review process. Authors should not include any self-identifying information in the manuscript, except on the title page. After receiving peer review, the Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision regarding acceptance, further revision, or rejection of the manuscript.