Guidelines for Journals
The Journals published by the Strategia Research and Training Institute (STRATI) are quarterly peer-reviewed, full-length research papers and solicited reviews. Invited papers will be published on a periodic basis. Book reviews are also encouraged. The journal adheres to zero plagiarism policy and require submission of plagiarism report along with the paper. Authors, referees, journal editors and copy-editors are desired to follow the following guidelines for submission of manuscripts and their review and dealing with papers submitted for publication in journals. This is mandatory for smooth peer review process and publication of the manuscripts in respective journals.
Authors’ Guidelines
Authors are required to sign and submit ‘Paper Publishing Agreement’ after acceptance of manuscripts for publication to the “STRATI”. Keeping in view, the academic and professional protocols, the Journals published by the “STRATI” accept a paper if it is the original work of the author, must has not been published before, or is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere and must be submitted exclusively to the journal published by the “STRATI”. The paper must not contain any unlawful statements or in any way infringe the rights of others. The author must hold the copyright and be entitled to sign the author agreement. While submitting a paper, the author complies with the conditions laid down for the journal published by the “STRATI”. After submitting the manuscript, until the editorial decision is communicated or if the manuscript is accepted for publication, without prior approval from the Editor, authors cannot publish the manuscript in other publication. Submission of a manuscript indicates a tacit understanding that the paper is not actively under consideration for publication in other journals. Once the paper is accepted, authors are assumed to cede copyrights of the paper to the “STRATI”.
If the manuscript is based on a conference paper, the Authors should ensure that they have cleared any necessary permission with the copyright owner in the original. Papers will not be accepted for publication in the journal unless such permissions have been obtained. The conference paper must have been substantially revised, expanded and rewritten to make it a new, original work. The paper must contain the following statement fully acknowledging the original conference paper: ‘This paper is a revised and expanded version of a paper entitled [title] presented at [name, location and date of conference].
As the author of the submitted work, it is your responsibility to ensure that the manuscript presents a technically as well as grammatically correct copy. A well-prepared manuscript will help to speed up the peer review process as less time will be spent by reviewers annotating technical inefficiencies of the paper and more time evaluating the intellectual content. All manuscripts should be written in good English. This is the responsibility of the authors, not the editors. Papers below the standard for the Journal published by the “STRATI” will be returned to the authors for rewriting and can be rejected for this reason alone. Such problems may be avoided and publication expedited if the authors use “grammar and spell check” software to correct basic errors, and have their manuscripts edited by an English-speaking colleague or a professional editing service before the initial submission.
Authors are required to prepare their manuscripts according to the format given in Guidelines for Contributors. Papers should be of 6000-8000 words and must include an abstract of not more than 200 words. The first page of the manuscript should also contain up to five classification code according to the Classification System for Journal Articles as used by the Journal of Economic Literature. In addition, up to five key words should be supplied. A final paper which would exceed 8000 words or occupy more than 20 pages of the Journal may be returned for abridgement. The text should also be single-spaced throughout with font size of 10 in New Times Roman in Microsoft Word. This will facilitate the formatting for publication. Authors are allowed to check their proofs before publication.
The text of the paper should include title, abstract, text, references and notes, tables, figure captions, figures, but not the names of authors, their biographical notes nor any acknowledgements. Please make sure that authors’ names are not included in the document/file properties. For e-mail submissions, you will need a separate file containing the title of the paper, plus the names, affiliation and complete addresses, e-mail and fax number of authors, and an abstract, keywords, brief biographical notes about authors and any acknowledgements. In the case of a multi-author paper, the cover letter should designate a single author responsible for all future communication. The main or corresponding authors should provide an e-mail address, fax and telephone numbers.
All papers will be acknowledged and refereed. They will not be returned. The review process is double-blind, i.e. reviewers are unaware of the authors’ identities and feedback to authors is anonymous. To assist this process, please do not identify authors on the cover page (or anywhere in the manuscript) and only include the title, abstract and key words. Authors may be required to revise their manuscripts for reasons of style and content. Manuscripts with excessive typographical errors may be returned to authors for retyping. Compliance by authors to requested revisions does not automatically bind the Journal to publish the article. All submissions to the Journals published by the “STRATI” must be submitted as e-mail attachments in Microsoft Word for speedier peer-review. The authors should specify to which section the paper belongs, while submitting the same.
Once accepted for publication, authors need to sign & confirm the form of originality and Copyright. The transfer of copyright is standard practice in journal publishing. Copy of the same is available with Editor. We ask authors to sign Author Agreement assigning (or transferring) copyright to the “STRATI”. Author Agreements should be submitted if/when a paper is accepted for publication. Each author must sign a copyright agreement. Signatures of all authors may appear on one form or be sent on individual forms. Each form must list the names of all authors of the paper under the title of the paper at the top of the form, and must reflect the order given in the paper.
Peer Reviewers’ Guidelines
The “STRATI” is wholly committed to the highest standards of publishing, founded on rigorous double-blind peer review. Once a manuscript is submitted for publication, it will be sent for the full peer review by the Editor-in-Chief/Editor and an Associate Editor in charge of the review of a submission. The Editor reserves the right to reject a manuscript before full peer review. Full peer review involves the assessment of a minimum of at least two reviewers, using the double-blinded peer review process.
The criteria used for evaluation of manuscripts includes originality of thought or data presented, validity of data, use of appropriate methodology and statistical techniques, interest of content to the readers, justified conclusions and policy relevance, and an acceptable standard of writing. The reviewers will consider the submitted manuscripts as privileged and confidential information and must not disclose data, theories, concepts, results or any other information contained in a submission at any time ahead of publication. After review of the manuscript, the reviewers are obligated to destroy or delete any copy they retain of the manuscript under review. If reviewers believe a potential conflict of interest may exist they should decline to review the manuscript immediately, and inform the Editor promptly. A peer reviewer should not evaluate a manuscript authored or co-authored by a person with whom the peer reviewer has a personal or professional relationship that would bias judgment of the manuscript.
Authors will see comments from the reviewer(s) but will remain blinded to the identity of the reviewer. A peer reviewer should treat the peer review process as entirely confidential, and neither the submitted manuscript, nor information about the submitted manuscript, nor correspondence related to their peer review should be shared or circulated to any person not engaged in the peer review process.
The Journal will not publish the comments from reviewers nor release them to any party other than the Author and will not place the Author and reviewer in contact with one another. A peer reviewer should provide a comprehensive, evidenced, and appropriately substantial peer review report. Reviewers will be provided with a brief set of instructions on how to review a manuscript, proper reviewer behaviour and matters of confidentiality. A peer reviewer should make all reasonable effort to submit her or his report and recommendation in a timely manner.
Reviewers’ comments will be returned to the Authors and they may receive comments such as publish unaltered (ready for publication without any change), acceptance after minor changes (need minor changes as per the instruction of the Journal Editor), acceptance after major changes (need major changes as per the instruction of the Journal Editor), and rejection (manuscript not suitable). Authors of accepted manuscript are required to submit the final paper before the deadline mentioned in the acceptance letter.
Journal Editors Guidelines
The Journal Editors will play an active role in ensuring the soundness, timeliness, originality and readability of the papers published in the respective journal(s). In consonance with the aims and scope of the journal, the papers should be interdisciplinary in character and the Journal Editor will also uphold the journal’s need for a balanced mix of subject material.
Manuscripts submitted are first screened by the Journal editors. The papers within the scope of the Journal are sent to expert referees for evaluation. This two-tier screening process helps to ensure an appropriate focus as well as high scientific quality of the Journal. It is optional that the authors are required to submit the names, addresses and e-mail addresses of five potential reviewers. Decision on whether or not the suggested referees are used lies solely with the Journal editors.
In addition, the Journal Editor reserve the right to re-referee and/or reject an accepted paper if the paper does not meet the review criteria or if the paper is deemed unsuitable. Following acceptance, the “STRATI” reserves copyright of all published materials and such materials may not be reproduced in any form without the written permission. The Editor-in-Chief of the respective journal(s) makes all final decisions regarding publication. It is the responsibility of the Corresponding Author to inform all co-authors of a decision regarding publication made by the Editor-in-Chief.
The Journal Editor should give unbiased consideration to each manuscript submitted for consideration of publication. The Journal Editor should judge the manuscripts on its merits without discrimination. The Journal Editor has sole responsibility for the acceptance or the rejection of a submitted manuscript. The Journal Editor should make all possible effort to process submitted manuscripts in an efficient and timely manner. The Journal Editor, Associate Editors, and members of the Editorial Board should treat the peer review process as entirely confidential.
The Journal Editor should arrange for responsibility for the peer review of any manuscript authored by her- or himself to be delegated to an Associate Editor. Any data or analysis presented in a submitted manuscript should not be used in a Journal Editor’s own research except with the consent of the author. If the Journal Editor is presented with convincing evidence that a submitted article is under consideration elsewhere, or has already been published, then the Journal Editor may reject the article forthwith and reserve the right to impose sanctions on the submitting author.
Copyeditors Guidelines
The copyeditor will be responsible for correction and accurate publication of the manuscript. The copy editing to journal style is an important stage and that it adds value to the paper. However, for completeness and accuracy, the careful proof reading is solely the responsibility of the Author.
Upon acceptance of paper, the copyeditors will check that the paper is complete in terms of the general style and format along with the references as per the manuscript submission guidelines of the respective Journal(s), including quality of figures/artwork, layout, spelling and minor punctuation errors, and inclusion of all references and their citation in accordance to the journal format. However, the copyeditors will not be responsible for checking the errors in grammar, spelling errors of scientific words/terms, wrong cross-references among formulae and text and mistakes in formulae and equations and it is the sole responsibility of the Authors to prepare and submit the correct manuscript in all respects as per the guidelines and qualitative aspects.
The copyeditors will send the typeset proof version of the manuscript (pdf format) to the author for his/her proofreading and incorporation of final corrections, if any, before sending to press. The copyeditors will send queries to Authors, if required, to clarify references in terms of incomplete information, incorrect volume or page number, publication year, update of preprint status. Authors are discouraged from making major changes, or else they have to bear additional cost incurred.
Expedited Review
The “STRATI” has adopted a policy for expedited review of the submitted paper. Manuscripts are accepted on the basis of the quality and originality of the research and its significance to the readership. Manuscripts are peer reviewed by two anonymous reviewers and an Editor. Manuscripts should be written in a clear, concise, and direct style. The editor(s) or co-editors may reject a manuscript without obtaining a referee report from an outside reviewer if the paper is determined to be clearly non-publishable in the respective journal.
When a manuscript is accepted for publication, the Journal Editor reserves the right to modify typescripts to remove ambiguity and improve communication between the Author and reader. If extensive alterations are required, the manuscript will be returned to the Author for revision. The accepted manuscript not complying with the Journal requirements will be returned to the authors for correction before they start the production process.
Manuscript Preparation
Manuscript length (including references, endnotes, tables and appendices) should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words. Comments, research notes and other communications should not exceed 3,000 words unless invited to do so by an Editor. Book reviews should not exceed 800 words.
Manuscripts should be type written in Microsoft Word format horizontally and lengthwise, single-spaced, font size of 10 in New Times Roman with 70 letters a line and 30 lines per page and one space of paragraphs indented.
Manuscript should have a cover page which includes the title of the paper, author(s) name(s), affiliations and mailing address(es) including Email(s) plus facsimile and telephone numbers, of the author to whom correspondence about the manuscript should be sent (the present address of any author, if different from where the work was carried out, should be supplied in a footnote), and brief biographical description of the Author(s) in 100 words each, and acknowledgement in footnotes (if any).
The main text of the paper should be organized in the following sequence: Title of the paper (not more than 12 words), Abstract (not more than 200 words), Key words (not more than 5 words), JEL classification codes (not more than 5), exact length of the paper, followed by Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion and Policy Recommendations, References, Tables complete with title and footnotes, Figures with legends, and Appendices (not more than 8000 words).
The title of the paper should be very precise and concise with no abbreviations. Capitalize the first letter of all words of title of the paper except articles, prepositions and conjunctions.
Manuscript Submission
Manuscripts submitted to the Journal must comply with instructions for paper preparation. Failure to do so will result in return of the manuscript and possible delay in publication. Manuscript submissions are required to be made in the Word template format as per the following guidelines.
i. Title, abstract, keywords, addresses, biographical notes
Title should be as short as possible (not more than 12 words), Abstract of not more than 200 words, Keywords not more than 5 words, Address must include position, department, name of institution, full postal address, email address, fax and telephone of each author followed by biographical notes of not more than 100 words per author.
ii. Section Headings
Section headings should be numbered in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). The sub-section headings should follow the double numeration system (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, etc.). All headings are to be left-aligned and in bold.
iii. Footnotes
Footnotes should be preferably avoided, but any short, succinct notes making a specific point, may be placed in number order following the alphabetical list of references.
iv. Citing in the text
References should be cited in the text either in brackets, e.g. Earlier studies (John, 1999) showed….…. or using the name as part of a sentence, e.g. John (1999) states……….. For two authors: (Sudan and McKay, 2024); for three authors: (Sudan, Sadhu, and Mink, 2023); for four or more authors: (Sudan et al., 2024); for groups of references, first alphabetically and then chronologically: (Sudan, 2021; 2024; Freeman and Davis, 2022; Gunter, 2023); for quoted material, give page number(s): (John, 2022:22); for personal communications such as emails, conversations, letters: may be mentioned in the text, but not in the reference list e.g. (interview with the Prof. Gupta, University of South Australia, 21 April 2024).
v. Research Methodology
Research Methodology used in the preparation of the manuscript should be explained in detail and all equations should be consecutively numbered using Arabic numerals in parentheses. Equation editor should be used to type the mathematical equation used in the manuscript. Data sources used should be duly acknowledged and the procedures used to convert raw data into usable data should be explained in detail.
vi. Reference list
References must be in APA style (latest edition). References should be given at the end of the main body of the text in alphabetical order by the author, using APA style. The author should ensure that there is a strict one-to-one correspondence between the references cited in the text and those on the reference list.
vii. Tables and Figures
Tables and Figures should be numbered in Arabic Numerals and given at the end of the manuscript. Sources of data used in tables and figures should be duly acknowledged in footnote to the same. Abbreviations and acronyms used in the tables and figures should be duly described in the manuscript where they have been cited/referenced/interpreted and also in the footnotes of the table/figure. Tables and figures should be duly referenced in the manuscript where these have been interpreted. Figures must be of professional quality and be ready for reproduction. The journal does not accept any colour reproductions of figures and illustrations. They must be submitted in black and white.
viii. Submission Preparation Checklist
The submission preparation checklist is required to be adhered strictly, while submitting the paper. The submission file must be in MS Word format. All submissions are made through E-mail, using 3 files. File 1 should include the title of the paper, plus the names, affiliation and complete addresses, E-mails, fax and telephone numbers of the Author(s), and brief biographical notes about authors and any acknowledgements. File 2 should include the title, abstract, keywords, JEL classification codes, exact length of the paper, followed by the main text of the paper, including introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, conclusion and policy recommendations, references, tables complete with title and footnotes, figures with legends, and appendices (all not more than 8000 words), but without the names of the Authors, their biographical notes or any acknowledgements, and File 3 – The cover letter. Check that you have removed all author identification (names and affiliations) and any acknowledgements from the main file 2 that you are going to submit. Please make sure that Authors’ names are not included in the document/file properties. All papers must be written in UK English. If English is not your first language, please ask an English-speaking colleague to proofread your paper, before submission.
ix. Copyright
All articles published are protected by the copyright held by Publisher (or its subsidiaries). This copyright covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including in electronic forms, reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, or similar. Transfer of copyright to the Publisher (or its subsidiaries) becomes effective when an article is accepted for publication.
x. E-mail Submission
Manuscripts are to be submitted by E-mail only. The hardcopy submission of manuscripts is not acceptable. All prospective authors are requested to visit “STRATI” website for information on preparing manuscripts for submission.
xi. Covering letter
Papers are accepted for publication in the Journal published by “STRATI” on the understanding that the manuscript has not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. Authors must declare any financial support or relationships that may pose conflict of interest. This must be reflected in the covering letter.
xii. Privacy Statement
As a privacy statement, it is ensured that 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.