Journal Policy

Policy Document of Journal of Research in Psychology (JRP)

About the Journal

Journal of Research in Psychology (JRP) is a multidisciplinary journal published by Department of Applied Psychology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore. The journal welcomes original empirical research from all areas of psychology. Preference will be given to empirical research articles dealing with the application of psychological knowledge in understanding issues of national and international significance. JRP employs a blind review process and maintains an editorial board of consulting editors belonging to various countries with expertise in diverse areas of psychology.

Aim and Scope

The Journal of Research in Psychology is a biannual publication of Department of Applied Psychology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore. It welcomes significant and rigorous empirical and theoretical contributions from all the major areas of psychology, including cognitive, social, clinical, health, developmental, educational, personality, neuropsychology, psychometrics, and other areas of psychology. Preference is given to empirical research articles dealing with the application of psychological knowledge in understanding issues of national and international significance. The journal welcomes contributions from all over the world and allied disciplines. Participation from developing countries is highly appreciated in view of their under-representation in the field of research.

Ownership and Management

            Department of Applied Psychology, Lahore College for Women University, Lahore, Pakistan.

Publishing Schedule

Journal of Research in Psychology is a biannual journal (one volume with two issues per year). The Publication Schedule is as follows:

1st Issue: January-June

2nd Issue: July- Dec

Contact Information for the Editorial Office

Postal Address: Department of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Lahore College for Women University, Jail Road, Lahore

Contact Information.: 92-42-99203801-05 Ext: 270

Email: jrp.psy@lcwu.edu.pk

Website: www.jrplcwu.pk

Journal Policies

Peer Review Process

In order to maintain the high quality and potential contribution of each manuscript, a peer review policy is adopted as per HEC recommendations. All research articles published in JRP go through an initial editor screening followed by a rigorous peer review (double-blind peer review) by two independent reviewers to determine their suitability for publication. to determine an academic paper's suitability for publication. The JRP reviewers are qualified individuals selected by the action editor (typically, the journal editor or associate editor) to review a manuscript on the basis of their expertise in particular content areas of their field. Although the journal editor holds final responsibility for a manuscript, the journal editor usually weighs reviewers' inputs heavily. The process of submission of an article, including review and editing, and all other correspondence with authors is through email. JRP strictly follows HEC ‘s ethical policy of publications.

 

Plagiarism Policy

As per HEC policy, JRP is strictly against any unethical act of copying or plagiarism in any form. Plagiarism is said to have occurred when large portions of a manuscript have been copied from existing previously published resources. All manuscripts submitted for publication to JPR are cross-checked for plagiarism using Turnitin software. All sources must be cited at the point they are used in the manuscript. With the submission, the author must declare the originality of their work. The similarity index must be less than 19% similarity and no individual source of similarity should exceed more than 5%.

Manuscripts found to be plagiarized during the initial stages of review are outrightly rejected and not considered for publication in the journal. In case a manuscript is found to be plagiarized after publication, the Editor-in-Chief will conduct a preliminary investigation, maybe with the help of a suitable committee constituted for the purpose. If the manuscript is found to be plagiarized beyond the acceptable limits, the journal will contact the author's Institute / College / University and Funding Agency, if any. Serious action will be taken against the authors as per HEC policy. Upon determination of the extent of plagiarism, the paper may also be formally retracted.

See HEC plagiarism policy https://www.hec.gov.pk/english/services/faculty/Plagiarism/Pages/default.aspx.

 

 

Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest is anything that interferes with, or could reasonably be perceived as interfering with, the full and objective presentation, commissioning, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication of research or non-research articles submitted to JRP.

A conflict of interest exists if a person or institution has a relationship, personal or otherwise, which has the potential to compromise or in any way interfere with professional objectivity or judgment in issues related to the relationship.

The author has an obligation to reveal any personal interest or relationship that has the potential to be affected by the publication of the submitted manuscript. Sources of funding must be acknowledged in the manuscript. All authors must report any financial interest in corporate or commercial entities dealing with the subject matter of the manuscript. On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author has the responsibility to declare any actual or apparent conflict of interest at the time of submission of the manuscript. Such conflicts will be acknowledged in the published article. Authors must also submit corrections if conflicts of interest are revealed after publication.

All manuscripts submitted to the journal must be accompanied by a conflict-of-interest disclosure statement or a declaration by the authors that they do not have any conflicts of interest to declare.

 

Authorship

As per ICMJE guidelines the authorship should be based on the following criteria:

1. Substantial contributions to conception & design, or acquisition of data, or analysis & interpretation of data.
2. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published. All those who meet the above three conditions are eligible to be included as Authors in the manuscript
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

When a large multicentre group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship defined above. Acquisition of funding, collection of data, general supervision of the research group does not qualify any one to be an author. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the acknowledgment section. Those who provide technical support, writing assistance, or department chair who provided just general support should also be mentioned in acknowledgment. It is also important that all those whose names appear in acknowledgement must have given permission to be acknowledged.

 

Licensing & Copyright

All articles published by JRP will be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This permits anyone to copy, redistribute, transmit and adapt the work provided the original work and source are appropriately cited as specified by the Creative Commons Attribution License. Copyright of the manuscripts published is retained by the author/authors and the first publication rights are granted to JRP.

 

Publication Ethics

To effectively maintain high publication standards, JRP strives to work with editors, authors, peer-reviewers and copy editors.The publication ethics are based on the guidelines of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). These publication ethics are briefly described to provide a snapshot for authors, reviewers, editors and readers.

1. Author’s Responsibilities
2. Editor/Associate Editors/Editorial Members Responsibilities
3. Reviewers Responsibilities
4. Publisher/Copy Editor Responsibilities
5. Recording Complaints

Author’s Responsibilities 

Authorship: Authorship should be attributed to personnel with substantial contributions to the conception & design, or acquisition of data, or analysis & interpretation of data. General supervision, or financial support shall not suffice the authorship. Contribution of each author shall clearly be stated.

Acknowledgement of Funding Sources: All authors shall fairly and clearly state the portion of the studies funded, supported or sponsored by any of the government, non-government or personal sources.

Conflicts of Interest/Disclosures: Authors are required to declare any financial, academic, commercial, political or personal conflicts before the publication of the manuscript.

Data Ownership and Access: Authors are expected to clarify the ownership, appropriate access and full understanding of the data being presented in the submitted manuscripts.

Reporting Standards: It is essential that authors are aware of international standards on the publications, and are professional and authorised to conduct studies on living objects. Moreover, authors are expected to be fully aware of practices for multiple, redundant or concurrent publications and their mitigations consequences.

Ethical Approvals: In cases where living organisms are used in the submitted manuscript, the methods section must clearly indicate approval from the ethics committee of the institute or organisation and should state that all efforts were taken to minimize pain and discomfort to the animal while conducting these experiments.

Ethics of Investigation: Authors should make sure that the manuscript is designed according to the guidelines of the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 1975, otherwise the manuscript will not be accepted for publication or will be rejected later.

Permissions: In case any part (e.g. table or figure) of the submitted manuscript has been taken from previously published work, it is the responsibility of the authors to obtain permission either from the publishers or from the authors depending on the copyright ownership.

Originality and Plagiarism Policy: The Editorial Office will strictly monitor text plagiarism and obvious fraudulent data prior to the review process and if plagiarism is detected at this stage or later, the manuscript will be rejected.

Appeal of Decision: Authors have the right to appeal the Editor's decision in writing to the Editorial Office stating the reasons for appealing the decision with evidence and supporting data.

 

Editor/Associate Editors/Editorial Members Responsibilities 

Editorship: Editors (chief editor, associate editor or member of the editorial board) are expert in the field and play central roles in the peer-review process. Editors are selected based on their excellent scientific qualification, and reputation in the field. They are expected to strictly follow guidelines to not only maintain quality of publications but also to ensure best possible publication ethics.

Confidentiality: Editors shall only access the submitted manuscripts for evaluation of quality and peer-review process. They shall not disclose any contents (full or partial) in any media (electronic or print) before the publication of the material or without prior written consent of the authors. Any idea or concept generated through the submitted manuscript shall not be used for personal benefits or financial gain.

Assessment of Manuscripts: Editors shall evaluate contents purely based on the scientific quality and advancement in the existing understanding. Decisions shall not be based on race, gender, geographical origin, religion, and ethnicity and on any other personal or commercial interests.

Flexibility and Cooperation: Editors are required to suggest and support the ethical standards, be willing to consider retractions, rectifications, and erratum and cooperate with authors to improve the quality of publications.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Editors shall not consider any submitted manuscript for the review process himself/herself where there is conflict of interests. In such situations, an alternative associate editor or member of the editorial board shall be considered.

Accountabilities: In case publisher suspect any form of misconduct, malpractice or unethical act, the matter shall be investigated promptly in agreement with authors and would be solved with diligence.

 

Reviewers Responsibilities

Reviewership: Reviewers are essential part of the peer-review process and are important benchmarks for quality publications. Although sometimes tedious and time consuming, reviewing a manuscript is also a privilege.

Pre-acceptance Obligations: Reviewers are expected to only accept to review the manuscript when the scope of the research/study falls within his/her areas of expertise and that they have sufficient time to submit the report timely.

Conflict of Interest and Willingness: Reviewers shall decline to review the manuscript if there is any conflict of interest, the study is beyond the ken of knowledge or they are unable to submit the evaluation in time. They shall notify the editors at their earliest convenience and can/shall suggestive alternative reviewers.

Confidentiality: The journal follow single-blinded review in which names of the reviewers are not disclosed to authors, however, reviewers are aware of authors and their affiliations. Reviewers shall only access the submitted manuscripts for evaluation of quality and peer-review process. They shall not disclose any contents (full or partial) in any media (electronic or print) before the publication of the material or without prior written consent of the authors. Any idea or concept generated through the submitted manuscript shall not be used for personal benefits or financial gain.

Objectivity: Reviewers are requested to comments on scientific contents, appropriateness of the study and value of the outcome. They are requested to not to assess the manuscripts based on race, gender, geographical origin, religion, and ethnicity and on any other personal or commercial interests.

Meeting Standards: Reviewers shall adhere to the criteria set by the journal in the online portal. Any comments on competing interests, duplication of publication, unethical practice or dubious act shall be conducted to the editor in the “confidential comments to the Editor” section in the online submission system.

 

Publisher/Copy-Editor Responsibilities 

Involvement and Cooperation in the Peer-Review Process: We are committed to bridge all components of peer-review process for delivery of quality publications and benefiting researchers. Our all advertisements, reprinting, or other commercial interests shall not effect the decision of the editors, associate editors, and reviewers.

Article Withdrawal and Corrections to the Record: The published articles may be considered for withdrawal if proven to be plagiarised, presenting fake, duplicate or fraudulent data, or showing clear evidences of infringements of ethical codes. Such articles (html, pdf, epub, eflip) will be replaced by the content stating the withdrawal of the manuscripts. Minor errors such as typos, textual changes, or clearer statements on the existing contents will be published as corrections.

Integrity and Quality of Services: We will ensure that all contents are confidential before publication, meeting standard of archiving and abstracting and timely publication of the accepted manuscripts.

Recording Complaints 

In case of any concern that dictates unethical practice, misuse of data or deviation from individual’s responsibilities, it is requested to write us at jrp.psy@lcwu.edu.pk  

 

Article Duplication, Redundant Submission and Withdrawal Policy

• Duplicate submission/publication: This refers to the practice of submitting the same study to two journals or publishing more or less the same study in two journals. These submissions/publications can be nearly simultaneous or years later.
• Redundant publication refers to the situation where one study is split into several parts and submitted to two or more journals. Or the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission or justification. “Self-plagiarism” is considered a form of redundant publication. It concerns recycling or borrowing content from previous work without citation. Transparency by the author on the use of previously published work usually provides the necessary information to make an assessment on whether it is deliberate or unintentional.
• During the submission process, the authors are required to provide an undertaking/declaration stating that the manuscript under consideration is original and has not been submitted to any other journal in any form. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable. Also, an author should not submit for consideration any paper that has been published previously, except in the form of an abstract as part of a published lecture or academic thesis or as an electronic preprint.
• Any kind of duplicate publication is a violation of the journal code of ethics and will result in prompt rejection of the submitted manuscript and those involved in publication misconduct (such as multiple submissions, false claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data or the like) are liable to be black listed.
• If the authors want to withdraw the manuscript during its processing, an email has to be sent to the managing editor notifying them of the withdrawal intention with the consent of all the authors. A reply email from the editorial office will then be sent back to the corresponding author notifying of the final withdrawal of the manuscript. However, the request cannot be entertained after the completion of the review.

 

Open Access Policy

Journal of Research in Psychology (JRP) follows an open access policy under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, allowing researchers to have open access to the full-text published articles. Researchers are allowed to use articles for any lawful purpose. Please see our guidelines for Authors for information on article submission. Initially, there are no submission and publication charges.

 

Archiving Policy

All manuscripts published in the journal will be archived after the current publication is released. The archived publication will be maintained in the archived folders of the journal website.

 

Evaluation Process

Initial Manuscript Evaluation

The editor first evaluates all manuscripts. Manuscripts which are insufficiently original, have serious scientific flaws, have poor grammar or English language, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal will be rejected at this stage. The editor will usually inform authors of manuscript’s rejection within two weeks of receipt. Manuscripts meeting the minimum criteria are then passed on to at least two experts for review.

Type of Peer Review

This journal employs double-blind reviewing, where both the referee and author remain anonymous throughout the process.

Selection of Reviewers

Reviewers are selected for the manuscript according to their expertise, reputation, experience, and qualifications (having at least a PhD degree in a relevant field). JRP gets reviewers' consent before sending them manuscripts for review. Our database is constantly being updated. Author(s) may reject any potential reviewers on the grounds of conflict of interest.

Criteria for Referee Reports

Referees will evaluate the manuscripts on the following criteria looking at whether the manuscript:

• Is original
• Is methodologically sound
• Follows appropriate ethical guidelines
• Has results which are presented clearly and support the conclusions
• Correctly references previous relevant work

Referees are not expected to correct or copyedit manuscripts. Language correction is not part of the peer-review process.

Review Process

Typically, it will take three months for the manuscript to be reviewed. If the referees' reports contradict one another or a report is unnecessarily delayed, a further expert opinion will be sought. Revised manuscripts are usually returned to the initial referees within one week. Referees may request more than one revision of a manuscript. If the comments/evaluation of both experts is satisfactory, the paper is submitted to the Editorial Board for possible acceptance. Otherwise, it is returned to the author(s) for modification as suggested by the expert(s).

The revised paper submitted by the author(s) is again sent to the same experts for final comments if required. Upon the unavailability of the initial reviewer, that manuscript will be sent to another reviewer for comments. The final comments of the experts/reviewers are submitted to the Editorial Board for final decision.

Final Report

A final decision to accept or reject the manuscript will be sent to the author along with any recommendations made by the referees and may include comments by the referees. Furthermore, upon acceptance, authors will be required to submit the manuscript as per JRP author guidelines.

Editor's Decision is Final

Section editors would recommend a decision on a submitted manuscript based on reviewer reports to the editor. The editor is responsible for the final decision to accept or reject the article. The editorial board is under no obligation to justify its decision.

 

Common Reasons for Manuscript Rejection

Manuscripts can be rejected for many reasons, but these can generally be divided into technical and editorial reasons. Technical reasons usually require more work, such as further experiments or analyses before your work can be published.

Technical reasons for rejection include:

• The manuscript provides incomplete data such as too small a sample size or missing or inadequate controls.
• The author presents poor analysis, such as using inappropriate statistical tests
• An inappropriate methodology is used for testing the hypotheses.
• Unclear rationale for research or hypothesis.
• The author presents inaccurate conclusions that are not supported by the data or the author has fabricated the data.
• Submission guidelines of JRP have not been followed.

Editorial Reasons for Rejection include

• The manuscript is not within the scope of the journal.
• The standards of research ethics (e.g. indication of potential risk/harm to the participants; informed consent from the participants was not obtained; ethics approval was not acquired) and integrity (instrument validity check, standard pay rate for all participants if they have been paid for the participation, completion time, falsification of IP addresses, attention checks, consistency, manipulation, response patterns, seriousness, and atypicality checks) have not been met.
• Violation of publication ethics (for example contacting the reviewers and letting them know about the author’s identity).
• Lack of originality and novelty. Irrelevant subject matter. The manuscript has not made a significant contribution to the existing body of knowledge.
• Lack of structure and critical reviews.
• Journal formatting requirements not followed. Grammatical and typographical errors. Inadequate corrections of the final copy of proofs. Referencing mistakes within the text and the list of references.
• Lack of the necessary details for the readers to fully understand the content.
• Verbosity and redundancy.
• Lack of up-to-date references or references containing a high proportion of self-citations.
• Poor language quality.
• Illogical and poorly presented data and results.
• Improper emailing/uploading of the manuscript. Careless mistakes such as a missing cover letter, or faulty author affiliations.
• Factors such as units and abbreviations, spellings, company brand names, tables, figures, and illustrations are inappropriately presented.
• Submission deadlines are not met and copyright forms are not submitted at the appropriate time.
• Syntax errors, etc.
• Failure to meet the above-mentioned criteria can also delay the publication of your manuscript adding to unnecessary afflictions. These rejection reasons can be avoided by following principles of research ethics and integrity, journal-specific guidelines, writing a coherent paper in good English, and honestly assessing your work when deciding on a target journal.

 

Complaints & Appeals

Authors have a right to appeal editorial decisions. However, only those appeals will be considered where the author(s) provide strong evidence or new data that can respond to and alleviate the concerns of the editors and reviewers. Appeals must be rational arguments not emotional ones so be sure you have enough evidence before trying to change the editor’s mind.

If you do decide to go ahead with an appeal you should:

• Clearly explain why you disagree with the decision and provide any new information that you would like the editors to take into consideration. This should not be a repetition of what you have included in your original submission or cover letter.
• If the editors or reviewers have highlighted shortcomings with your paper that you think you can address, please indicate how you would do this, such as providing further data.
• Include a point-by-point response to any reviewer comments.
• Provide any evidence to support your opinion when you believe a reviewer has made technical errors in their assessment of your manuscript or has been biased.

Upon receiving an eligible appeal, the editors will mediate all exchanges between authors and peer-reviewers during the review process. Additional peer reviewers can be added if required. After reviewing the appeal, the Editor's decision will be the "Final decision".

Appeals & Complaints Process

Pakistan Journal of Psychology will investigate the appeals as per guidelines given by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). In case of a complaint/appeal, the author may send an email to the editorial office on jrp.psy@lcwu.edu.pk

 

Research Misconduct

JRP will take reasonable steps to prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred including plagiarism, citation manipulation and data falsification/fabrication. If the journal’s publisher or editor is made aware of any allegation of research misconduct, the publisher or editor shall follow COPE’s guidelines or equivalent for dealing with it.

 

Originality of Manuscript

JRP accepts original manuscripts with the understanding that:

• They have not been published already in whole or part, nor are they under consideration or accepted for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts must report original research and will be subjected to peer review at the discretion of the Editors.
• Please note that JPR requires a similarity index from the authors at the time of article submission and also uses Turnitin software to screen manuscripts for unoriginal material. By submitting your article to JPR you are agreeing to any originality checks your manuscript may undergo during the peer review and production processes.
• Those who contributed in various capacities are either included as authors or have been duly acknowledged
• Author(s) will be solely responsible for any plagiarism.
• It is highly recommended that author(s) follow the publication ethics and malpractice policies laid down by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
• In case of any breach of policy, or rules being found, the editorial team reserves the right to take legal action/ penalty as decided accordingly.

 

Revenue Sources

The JRP will accept revenue from a range of sources to ensure wide and affordable access while maintaining high standards of quality and full editorial independence. The sources of income may include subscriptions from institutions and individuals initially. At a later stage sale of reprints, rights, and royalties; sponsorship; and open access publication fees can also be included in journal revenue.

Fee:

Individual	Single Copy                                                  Rs.2000
Institution	Single copy for each issue for one year        Rs.5,000
Foreign	Single copy for each issue for one year        US $ 500

 

 

 

 

 

Advertising policy

We offer different advertisement options to different stakeholders to be published in hard copies of the journals, websites and related e-mail services (e-mail alerts) according to the following principles:

• Advertising must be separate from content. Content may not be altered, added, or deleted to accommodate advertising. Advertisers have no input regarding any of our editorial decisions or advertising policies. The advertising sales representatives have neither control over, nor prior knowledge of, specific editorial content before it is published.
• We reserve the right to decline or cancel any advertisement at any time.
• Third-party advertisements may not use our name, logo, or title on their web pages or email alerts unless previously agreed.
• Advertised products must be compliant with the regulations in the country where the advertisement will be seen.
• Users will be able to distinguish advertising and editorial content clearly on the website and in e-mail alerts. Commercial advertising does not appear on the same screen as editorial content on the website or in full-content e-mails.

 

Direct Marketing

Any direct marketing activities, including solicitation of manuscripts that are conducted on behalf of the journal, shall be appropriate, well targeted and unobtrusive.

 

For Authors

All manuscripts for articles, original research reports, editorials, reviews, book reviews, and letters submitted to the journal must be accompanied by a conflict-of-interest disclosure statement or a declaration by the authors that they do not have any conflicts of interest to declare. The author has the obligation to reveal any personal interest or relationship that has the potential to be affected by publication of the submitted manuscript. Sources of funding must be acknowledged in the manuscript. All authors must report any financial interest in corporate or commercial entities dealing with the subject matter of the manuscript. On behalf of all the authors, the corresponding author has the responsibility to advise the Editor of an actual or apparent conflict of interest at the time of submission of the manuscript. Such conflicts will be acknowledged in the published article. Authors must also submit corrections if conflicts of interests are revealed after publication.

 

For Editors and Reviewers

Editors must manage their own conflicts of interest as well as those of their Associate Editors, staff, authors, reviewers and Editorial Board members. Editors and reviewers must reject /decline to be involved with a submission when they have a recent/current publication or submission with the author, share or recently shared affiliations with the author, collaborate, or have close relationships with the author or financial interest/gain, or feel unable to be objective. Article submissions from the Editors, Editorial Board members, or employees are managed so that no details of the review process, other than the anonymous reviews and decisions, are accessible to the Editor or employee.

A reviewer is entrusted to provide an unbiased assessment of the scientific merit of a manuscript under review. Reviewers are tasked with evaluating any author-disclosed conflicts of interest as well as self-disclosing any situation or relationship to the Editor that could bias or be perceived to bias their assessment of the submitted manuscript. These include personal relations to the authors, concurrent competitive research on the same subject in the manuscript, or professional or financial ties to an organization with interests in the subject under review. In such cases where an actual or apparent Conflict-of-Interest is disclosed, the use of a review provided or requested is at the discretion of the Editor.

 

Author Guidelines

Preparation of Manuscript

Manuscripts must be prepared in the English language for publication. All manuscripts must be written in double-spaced format with Times New Roman Font (12-point Font Size) and a 1-inch margin at each side of the page. The article should not be more than 25 (A4 size) pages (around 5000 words), including one title page, manuscript, tables, figures and references in Microsoft Word format. Manuscripts must be prepared according to the Publication Manual of American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

Language

            Articles written only in English language are accepted for publication. Spellings should follow Webster’s Dictionary or Oxford English Dictionary.

 

 

Title Page

A Title page shall include (1) the title of the research article (up to 12 words) that should be concise but informative; (2) a running head of 3 to 4 words; (3) all authors’ names along with their email address and institutes of affiliation; and (4) one author must be listed as “corresponding author” with complete postal address, email, and telephone number. The corresponding author is the one who will be contacted for article correspondence. The author(s) names should only appear on the title page as the review process requires anonymity. The source of funding for the study should be clearly mentioned if the research is sponsored.

Main Manuscript

A masked peer review policy is followed by JPR. For this, the author(s) should make sure that their names and affiliations are given only on the title page or cover letter only. There should be no clue of the author(s) identity in the manuscript to keep the review process more objective and fairer.

Abstract

An abstract is required with a maximum length of 250 words. The abstract must include a comprehensive summary of the research article including hypothesis, method, sample, instruments, analysis, main findings of the study and implications of the study. An abstract must be written in one paragraph form without any headings and three to five keywords must be added at the end of the abstract that describes the content of the research article.

Keywords

Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 5 keywords, separated by a comma. Author(s) should avoid general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of').

Introduction

The introduction must contain a brief description of variables, theoretical framework, relevant literature review and rationale of the study. The objectives and hypothesis of the study should also be clearly listed.

Method

The method should include research design, sample description (inclusion/exclusion criteria), assessment protocol, ethical consideration and procedure of data collection.

Results

Present the results in logical sequence in the text tables and illustrations (figure). Do not repeat all the data given in the table or figures while describing in text and emphasize only important findings. Tables, figures and illustrations must be prepared according to the Publication Manual of American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Each table must have a title and it must be numbered in sequence with Arabic numerals.

Table and Figures

The author(s) must present tables and figures in line with the text.

Discussion

Discuss major findings with emphasis on new and important aspects of the study. It must also include conclusions, limitations and implications of the study. Repetition of the material provided in the introduction and result sections must be avoided.

References

References should be formatted according to the Publication Manual of American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Every listed reference must be cited in the text and vice versa.

Citations in the Text

Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa).

Requirement of Consent

Every manuscript submitted to JRP should have ethical approval by the ethical review board of the institution. The statement should be written on the official letterhead of the ERC or IRB duly stamped and signed by the Chairperson of the committee.

The authors would have to declare that participants gave informed consent before being included in the study.

Plagiarism

Authors are also required to submit a report for an index of similarity (less than 19%) generated through “Turnitin” according to the guidelines of the Higher Education Commission. Editors of JRP accept no responsibility for such material given by authors in the journal. Permission is also required for the copyrighted material which is given in the manuscript but is not the author’s original work e.g. tables/figures or is borrowed from any other source, data of any other study, or test material mentioned in the manuscript.

Permission Requirements

As a general rule, permission should be sought from the rights holder to reproduce any substantial part of a copyrighted work. This includes any text, figures, illustrations, charts, tables, photographs, or other material from previously published sources.

 

 

Correspondence

Correspondence between the editorial office and author(s) will be done through email or the OJS system. Please mention the email address that the corresponding author intends to use for correspondence related to the article.

Article Processing and Publication Fee

JRP is not currently charging any fee for publication or processing.

Copyright Notice

The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

 

Submission Preparation Checklist

Before submitting the manuscript, the author(s) should check the following list:

• The submission has not been previously published anywhere or previously submitted to this journal, nor is it being considered by any other journal.
• The submission file is prepared in Microsoft Word file docs (or .doc).
• Two separate files must be prepared: 1. Manuscript including abstract, introduction, results along with table and figures, discussion, and references; 2. Title page with title, header, authors’ names and affiliations including ORCID ID, declarations, and acknowledgements.
• The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
• One author must be designated as the corresponding author of the manuscript with full details including email address, affiliation, phone number and postal address.
• The manuscript must follow the writing and referencing style of APA (7th edition). The reference list should match within text/in-text citations. The manuscript Provides titles for the tables and captions for the figures. Check grammar and spelling before submission. The reference list should match within the text/in-text citations.
• Research involving living things (humans/animals) has received ethical approval from the relevant ethical committees of the institution and the country where the research was carried out. Ethics statement with research ethics and integrity details must appear at the end of the method section in all manuscripts.
• Permission should have been obtained for the use of copyrighted material (in-print or internet sources).
• The author(s) must not mention their name and affiliation in the main text.
• A conflict-of-interest statement should be submitted by the author(s).
• A plagiarism report generated through Turnitin (less than 19%) should be submitted along with the manuscript. The plagiarism should be less than 19% (less than 5% in individual sources) as per the HEC plagiarism policy
• The contribution statement of each author should be submitted by the corresponding author in a separate Word file.
• An authorship certificate signed by all authors or by the corresponding author on behalf of all other co-authors should be submitted at the time of submission.

• Submit the data along with the manuscript. If the authors are unable to submit the data with the manuscript, they must provide a valid reason for it.

• The author(s) must submit the manuscript according to the guidelines of the journal.