Submissions

Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Journal of Innovation in Education, Technology, and Sustainability (JIETS)

1. General Submission Requirements

The Journal of Innovation in Education, Technology, and Sustainability (JIETS) invites submissions of original scholarly manuscripts relevant to educational innovation, technological development, sustainability, and interdisciplinary research.

All manuscripts must be submitted through the journal's official Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform.

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that:

• The work is original and has not been previously published as a journal article.
• The manuscript is not under consideration by another journal.
• All authors have approved the submitted version.
• The research complies with applicable ethical standards.
• All relevant funding sources and conflicts of interest have been disclosed.
• The manuscript follows the journal's formatting and submission requirements.

Preprints are permitted when appropriately disclosed and do not constitute prior journal publication.

2. Language

Manuscripts must be written in English using clear, precise, and academically appropriate language.

Authors are responsible for ensuring language quality before submission.

The journal may request language improvements when clarity is insufficient for meaningful scientific evaluation.

3. Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be prepared in Microsoft Word (.docx) format.

The following general formatting is recommended:

• Paper size: A4
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt
• Line spacing: 1.5
• Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides
• Page numbers: Continuous
• Tables and figures: Numbered sequentially
• Citations and references: APA 7th edition

Authors should use the official JIETS manuscript template when provided on the journal website.

For double-anonymous review, the manuscript file must not contain author names, affiliations, email addresses, or other directly identifying information.

4. Manuscript Title

The title should be concise, informative, and accurately reflect the scope and contribution of the research.

Avoid unnecessary abbreviations, unexplained acronyms, and overly broad claims.

5. Author Information

Authors must provide complete and accurate metadata through OJS, including:

• Full name
• Institutional affiliation
• Country
• Institutional email address
• ORCID iD, where available
• Corresponding author information

The corresponding author is responsible for communications with the editorial office.

Author information must not appear in the anonymized manuscript submitted for review.

6. Abstract

Each manuscript must include an abstract of 150–250 words.

For empirical research, the abstract should clearly communicate:

• Research background or problem
• Study objective
• Research methods
• Principal findings
• Main conclusions and implications

Review and conceptual articles may adapt this structure to their methodological approach.

The abstract should be self-contained and avoid unnecessary citations and unexplained abbreviations.

7. Keywords

Authors must provide 4–6 keywords representing the manuscript's main concepts, methods, or application areas.

Keywords should be specific, internationally recognizable, and relevant to the journal's scope.

8. Main Manuscript Structure

8.1 Introduction

The Introduction should establish the research context, identify the problem, critically discuss relevant literature, explain the research gap, and clearly state the objectives or research questions.

Authors should explain how their research contributes to existing knowledge and why the findings are relevant beyond the immediate study context.

8.2 Methods

The Methods section should provide sufficient information to support methodological evaluation and reproducibility.

Depending on the research design, authors should describe:

• Study design and setting
• Population and sampling procedures
• Research materials and instruments
• Data collection procedures
• Validity, reliability, or trustworthiness procedures
• Data analysis techniques
• Ethical considerations

Authors of systematic reviews and meta-analyses must provide transparent search, screening, extraction, appraisal, and synthesis procedures, as appropriate.

8.3 Results

The Results section should present findings clearly, systematically, and accurately.

Tables, figures, statistical outputs, and qualitative evidence should directly support the research questions and objectives.

Authors should distinguish observed results from interpretation and avoid unnecessary repetition of numerical information.

8.4 Discussion

The Discussion should critically interpret findings in relation to relevant theories, previous research, and the wider international literature.

Authors should explain the study's scientific contribution, practical significance, and relevance to innovation, education, technology, or sustainability.

Limitations, alternative explanations, and implications for future research should be appropriately addressed.

8.5 Conclusions

The Conclusions section should summarize the major contributions and implications without merely repeating the abstract or introducing unsupported claims.

Recommendations should follow logically from the findings.

9. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures must be relevant, clearly presented, accurately labeled, and appropriately cited in the text.

Authors should:

• Number tables and figures consecutively.
• Provide informative captions.
• Use legible text and adequate resolution.
• Explain abbreviations and symbols.
• Obtain necessary permissions for reused copyrighted material.
• Avoid misleading visual representations.

Tables should preferably remain editable.

Images and figures must accurately represent the data and must not contain undisclosed or misleading manipulation.

10. References

JIETS uses the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition referencing style.

All in-text citations must correspond to entries in the reference list, and all listed references must be cited in the manuscript.

Authors should prioritize relevant, credible, and scientifically appropriate sources.

Recent scholarship should be considered where relevant, while foundational works may be cited when theoretically or historically important.

DOIs should be included when available.

Authors are encouraged to use reference management software such as Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote.

Fabricated, unverifiable, irrelevant, or deliberately manipulated references are prohibited.

11. Research Ethics

Authors must comply with the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

Research involving human participants must report ethical approval or exemption and informed consent, as applicable.

Authors must protect participant confidentiality and respect relevant data protection and research governance requirements.

12. Funding and Conflicts of Interest

Authors must provide a funding declaration identifying financial support received for the research.

Authors must also disclose relevant financial or nonfinancial conflicts of interest.

Where no external funding was received, authors may state:

"This research received no external funding."

Where no conflicts of interest exist, authors may state:

"The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

These declarations should be entered in the relevant OJS fields or provided in a separate declaration file to preserve anonymous review.

13. Author Contributions

For manuscripts with multiple authors, a contribution statement is required.

Authors are encouraged to follow the CRediT taxonomy, including roles such as conceptualization, methodology, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, writing, supervision, and funding acquisition.

All authors must approve the final submitted and published versions of the manuscript.

14. Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

Authors must disclose substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation or research.

The declaration should specify the technology, its purpose, and the extent of its use.

Where applicable, authors may use the following wording:

"During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [tool name] for [specific purpose]. The authors reviewed and verified the relevant outputs and take full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript."

When no disclosable AI-assisted technologies were used, authors may state:

"The authors declare that no generative AI or AI-assisted technologies requiring disclosure were used in the preparation of this manuscript."

AI-assisted analytical procedures that materially affect the research must also be explained in the Methods section.

Generative AI systems cannot be listed as authors.

15. Data Availability Statement

Authors must include a statement describing the availability of data supporting the study's findings.

Examples include:

• "The data supporting the findings of this study are available in [repository] at [DOI or URL]."
• "The data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, subject to applicable ethical and legal restrictions."
• "The data are not publicly available because of participant confidentiality restrictions."
• "No new data were generated or analyzed in this study."

Authors should select the statement that accurately reflects their research.

16. Supplementary Materials

Authors may submit relevant supplementary materials, including datasets, questionnaires, instruments, analytical code, additional tables, or research protocols.

Supplementary materials must be clearly identified and appropriately referenced in the manuscript.

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, ethical compliance, and copyright status of supplementary content.

17. Peer Review and Revisions

All submissions undergo initial editorial screening.

Manuscripts passing this stage are evaluated through double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent reviewers.

Authors invited to revise must submit:

• A revised manuscript.
• A point-by-point response to reviewer and editor comments.
• A clearly identified record of substantive revisions, where requested.

Submission of a revised manuscript does not guarantee acceptance.

18. Copyright and Open Access

JIETS publishes scholarly articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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

Published articles are immediately accessible to readers without subscription or registration requirements.

Authors may share and deposit their work in appropriate repositories with proper attribution.

19. Submission Checklist

Before completing submission, authors must ensure that:

• The manuscript fits the journal's focus and scope.
• The submission is original and is not under simultaneous consideration elsewhere.
• All authors have approved the manuscript.
• The title, abstract, keywords, and references are complete.
• The manuscript follows the prescribed format.
• The review manuscript has been anonymized.
• Ethical approval or exemption has been reported where applicable.
• Funding, conflicts of interest, and author contributions have been disclosed.
• AI-assisted technology use has been disclosed where required.
• The data availability statement is included.
• All figures, tables, and supplementary materials are appropriately identified.
• The manuscript meets the journal's ethical and academic standards.

20. Editorial Discretion

JIETS reserves the right to request clarification, additional information, methodological improvements, ethical documentation, or manuscript revisions when necessary.

The editorial team may reject manuscripts that do not meet the journal's scientific, ethical, or editorial standards.

All final publication decisions are based on scientific merit, integrity, and relevance to the journal's mission.