Paper Structure:

 The submitted article should be structured as follows: Title, List of authors with their affiliations and email addresses, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Literature review, Methodology, Results/Findings, Conclusion, References.

Articles are accepted in Sinhala and English languages. All submissions should be made electronically as Microsoft Word documents, to the submission link on the journal website.

Manuscripts submitted will be subject to a rigorous and independent double-blind expert review process administered by the Journal’s Editorial Board, and the authors will be contacted after the review process is complete. The Editorial Board’s decision regarding the publication of an article will be final.

Title Page

A separate title page should be provided allowing for blind review. All identifying information should be featured only on the title page. Ensure that no information identifying the authors, their institutions, or the institutions cited in the original research is presented in the abstract, text, tables, or figures.

List the names and affiliations of each author. Include full mailing addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail contact information of every author. Identify the corresponding author. This person will be responsible for ushering the manuscript through the review and publication process. The corresponding author is responsible for keeping contact information updated.

Abstract

An Abstract not exceeding 250 words in English should be included in the manuscript.  It should review the paper’s objectives, significance, results, and main conclusion/s. References should not be cited in the Abstract.

Key Words

Authors should submit a list of five unique and informative keywords relating to the manuscript. Editorial Board reserves the right to replace keywords if necessary.

Text

• Submit all manuscript files as Word .doc or .docx files.
• Page size: A4
• Manuscripts may be typed in FM-Abhaya (Sinhala) or Times New Roman (English)
• Use 12 pt. font size for the entire document, including tables, figures, headings, captions, and table notes (page footnotes, generated in Word, will be smaller).
• 5 Space the manuscript.
• Keep 1-inch margins all around.
• Place the page number at the bottom center.
• Do not use section or page breaks in the running text.
• Words limit of the manuscript: 5000 words

Equations

The author is responsible for ensuring that equations are presented properly. Use Math Type, and not the Word equation function.

Tables

All tables and figures should be professionally typeset based on a standardized style.

Number all tables (Arabic) as they appear in the text and ensure that all tables are mentioned in the text.

• Use Word table generator; do not apply styles, shading, or underlining.
• Do not merge cells for spanning headers.
• Single space all rows; do not allow lead or following spaces in the paragraph option.
• Do not center columns or rows.
• Use superscripts a, b, c, and so forth sparingly for table notes.

Figures

• Number all figures (Arabic) as they appear in the text.
• Use color in graphics.
• The author is responsible for securing permission to use graphics or data from other sources.
• If re-creating a graphic from another source, secure permission to adapt the figure.
• Do not send a scan or photocopy of a graphic.

Appendices

Sometimes appendices help readers to further study the issue presented. Submit appendices separately after attaching tables and figures. If more than one appendix is featured, use capital letters to refer to them in the text:

Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. Follow guidelines for tables or figures, as appropriate, when formatting appendices.

References

The detailed style of referencing is available at https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples.

Step 01:
Any manuscript submitted to the journal during the designated submission period is first screened by the editorial team (editor-in-chief and associate editors). If the manuscript is a good fit for the journal, follows the ethical norms (plagiarism detection software is used) and For the Author guidelines (available on the journal’s website), one of the editors assigns it, anonymized, to two peer reviewers with relevant expertise (double-blind peer review).

If the manuscript does not comply with the journal’s requirements, it can be rejected at this stage without being further reviewed. A manuscript can also be rejected if the editors cannot find peer reviewers in the study’s research area(s).

Step 02:
The peer reviewers have at least one month to carefully read and assess the manuscript by filling in a peer review report, where they are invited to make constructive, detailed comments for the author(s) and to make a recommendation for the editors.

The manuscript can be;

• accepted (with or without minor suggestions),
• accepted subject to minor revisions,
• accepted subject to major revisions or

Step 03:
Once the peer review reports are returned, the editors make a decision, inform the authors by email and send them a synthesis of the two peer review reports, accompanied by editorial suggestions. If the peer review reports are divergent, the editors can either send the manuscript to a third reviewer or decide on the basis of an editorial review. The entire process lasts between eight and ten weeks, but delays are possible depending on the period and other objective factors. The extra time that authors receive for improving the manuscript is decided according to the necessary revision type.