General Guidelines for Authors

General Guidelines for Authors

Diwan Al-Ma'rifah Journal for Applied and Human Sciences welcomes original research articles, review papers, case studies, and scholarly contributions in the fields covered by the journal. Authors must follow the guidelines below before submitting a manuscript.

1. Originality of the Manuscript

The submitted manuscript must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal. Authors must ensure that the work does not contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated data, or other forms of academic misconduct.

2. Language

The journal accepts manuscripts in Arabic or English. The manuscript must be written in clear academic language and carefully checked for grammatical, spelling, and typographical errors.

3. Manuscript Structure

The manuscript should normally include:

  • Title of the article.
  • Full names of all authors.
  • Institutional affiliations.
  • Corresponding author’s email address.
  • Abstract.
  • Keywords.
  • Introduction.
  • Literature review or theoretical framework, where applicable.
  • Materials and methods or methodology.
  • Results.
  • Discussion.
  • Conclusion and recommendations.
  • Acknowledgements, when applicable.
  • Funding statement.
  • Conflict of interest statement.
  • Data availability statement.
  • References.

The structure may be adjusted according to the nature and discipline of the study.

4. Title, Abstract, and Keywords

The title should be concise, informative, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript.

The abstract should summarize the research problem, objectives, methodology, main findings, and conclusions. Authors should provide between three and six keywords that are not unnecessarily repeated in the title.

For Arabic manuscripts, an English title, abstract, and keywords should also be provided. For English manuscripts, an Arabic title, abstract, and keywords are recommended where possible.

5. Author Information

Authors must provide accurate information, including:

  • Full name.
  • Academic or professional affiliation.
  • Department, institution, city, and country.
  • Email address.
  • ORCID identifier, where available.

The order of authors must be agreed upon by all contributors before submission.

6. Manuscript Formatting

The manuscript should be prepared using the journal’s approved template, where available. The text should be clearly organized with consistent headings and subheadings.

Tables and figures must:

  • Be numbered consecutively.
  • Have clear and descriptive titles.
  • Be cited in the manuscript.
  • Be placed near the relevant text or uploaded separately when required.
  • Have sufficient quality and resolution for publication.
  • Include the source when reproduced or adapted from another work.

7. References and Citation Style

Authors should use the APA referencing style, unless otherwise specified by the journal.

All sources cited in the manuscript must appear in the reference list, and every reference listed must be cited in the text. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all references.

Where available, DOI numbers should be included.

8. Research Ethics

Research involving human participants, animals, personal data, or sensitive information must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Authors must provide:

  • Ethical approval details, where required.
  • The name of the approving ethics committee.
  • Approval number and date, where available.
  • A statement confirming informed consent, where applicable.

The privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and rights of participants must be protected.

9. Plagiarism and Similarity

All manuscripts may be screened using Turnitin, Plagiarism Checker X, or other approved similarity-detection software.

The overall similarity index must not exceed 20%. However, the editorial decision is based on the nature and source of the similarity, not only the numerical percentage. Unattributed copying may result in rejection even if the total similarity score is below 20%.

10. Authorship and Contributions

Only individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research should be listed as authors.

The journal does not accept:

  • Gift authorship.
  • Honorary authorship.
  • Guest authorship.
  • Ghost authorship.

The journal may request a statement specifying each author’s contribution to the study.

11. Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, personal, academic, professional, or institutional conflict of interest that could influence the research or its interpretation.

When no conflict exists, authors should include the following statement:

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

12. Funding Disclosure

Authors must identify all sources of financial or institutional support. The role of the funding body in the study should be explained when relevant.

When no funding was received, authors may state:

This research received no external funding.

13. Data Availability

Authors should include a statement explaining where and how the data supporting the findings can be accessed.

Where data cannot be shared because of ethical, legal, privacy, or confidentiality restrictions, the reason must be clearly stated.

14. Copyright and License

Authors retain the copyright to their articles and grant the journal the right of first publication.

Published articles are made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), unless otherwise stated.

15. Submission Process

Manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s online submission system. Authors must complete all required metadata and upload all necessary files, including:

  • The manuscript file.
  • Author information, where requested separately.
  • Tables, figures, and supplementary materials.
  • Ethical approval documents, where applicable.
  • Conflict-of-interest and funding statements.

Incomplete submissions may be returned to the author.

16. Peer Review and Editorial Decision

All manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal’s basic requirements are normally evaluated through double-blind peer review by at least two specialists.

The editorial decision may be:

  • Accept without revision.
  • Accept with minor revisions.
  • Reconsider after major revisions.
  • Reject.

The final publication decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief or the authorized editorial team.

17. Revisions

Authors must respond to all reviewers’ comments in a clear and organized manner. A revised manuscript should normally be accompanied by a response document explaining how each comment was addressed.

Any changes made in the revised manuscript should be clearly identified when requested.

18. Proofreading and Publication

After acceptance, the corresponding author may receive a proof for final checking. Only minor corrections are normally permitted at this stage. Major changes to the content or authorship require editorial approval.

Authors are responsible for reviewing the proof carefully and returning corrections within the specified period.