Unit-II

Writing Journal Articles and Conference

Papers
Dr V.Shreedhara

March,2021
 A JOURNAL
• JOURNAL – A CHANNEL FOR RESEARCH COMMUNICATION
• A journal is a scholarly publication containing articles written by researchers, professors and
other experts. Journals focus on a specific discipline or field of study. Unlike newspapers and
magazines, journals are intended for an academic or technical audience, not general readers.
• Most journal articles...
• Are peer reviewed: Articles are written by experts and are reviewed by several other experts
in the field before the article is published in the journal in order to ensure the article's
quality
• Have original research
• Focus on current developments
• Cite other works and have bibliographies
• Can be in print, online or both
Journals are published on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, half yearly etc.) and are
sequentially numbered. Each copy is an issue; a set of issues makes a volume (usually each year
is a separate volume). Like newspapers and magazines, journals are also called periodicals or
serials.
34,000+ peer-reviewed journals
Publishing 2.5 million articles per year
Growth at 3 percent per year
 TYPES OF JOURNAL ARTICLES

• It is helpful to familiarise yourself with the

different types of articles published by
journals. Although it may appear there are a
large number of types of articles published
due to the wide variety of names they are
published under, most articles published are
one of the following types; Original Research,
Review Articles, Short communications/
reports or Letters.
 ORIGINAL RESEARCH:

• This is the most common type of journal

manuscript used to publish full reports of data
from research. It may be called an Original
Article, Research Article, Research, or just
Article, depending on the journal. The Original
Research format is suitable for many different
fields and different types of studies. It includes
full Introduction, Methods, Results, and
Discussion sections.
 REVIEW ARTICLES:

• Review Articles provide a comprehensive summary of research on a

certain topic, and a perspective on the state of the field and where it
is heading. They are often written by leaders in a particular discipline
after invitation from the editors of a journal. Reviews are often
widely read (for example, by researchers looking for a full
introduction to a field) and highly cited. Reviews commonly cite
approximately 100 primary research articles.

• TIP: If you would like to write a Review but have not been invited by
a journal, be sure to check the journal website as some journals not
consider unsolicited Reviews. If the website does not mention
whether Reviews are commissioned it is wise to send a pre-
submission enquiry letter to the journal editor to propose your
Review manuscript before you spend time writing it.
 SHORT COMMUNICATIONS, REPORTS OR LETTERS

• These papers communicate brief reports of data from

original research that editors believe will be interesting to
many researchers, and that will likely stimulate further
research in the field. As they are relatively short the format
is useful for scientists with results that are time sensitive (for
example, those in highly competitive or quickly-changing
disciplines). This format often has strict length limits, so
some experimental details may not be published until the
authors write a full Original Research manuscript. These
papers are also sometimes called Brief communications.
 PEER-REVIEW PROCESS

• Scholarly sources are considered peer-

reviewed if they have undergone what is
referred to as the peer-review process.
Typically you will encounter this label in
reference to journal articles. Peer-reviewed
journal articles have been evaluated by
experts in the research field prior to being
published.

• All peer-reviewed sources are scholarly, but

not all scholarly sources have been peer-
reviewed, so it is important to be aware of
which type you require before you begin.
 PREPARING TO WRITE
• Realize that journal editors and peer reviewers reading your
work want you to do well. The purpose of their constructive
criticism is to help you succeed
• Select a journal for publication
• Use published items as models
• Read journal’s instructions to authors
• Consult a style manual — for example, manuals made by:
 American Medical Association
 American Psychological Association
 Modern Language Association
 University of Chicago
• Remember that you are writing to communicate, not to
impress
 SOURCES TO IDENTIFY A TOPIC

• From advisors, students, collaborators

• Brainstorming with colleagues
• Review papers, listen to research talks
• Teach a course/Give a talk: forced to understand
the details and think hard to prepare for tough
questions
• Hot emerging fields that could lead to many
publications or easier funding
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TOPIC

• Interesting to you
• Enhancement of previous research
• Areas of weakness in current research
• Current trends
• Not too broad or too narrow
• Workable
• Acceptable to the journal editor
 STRUCTURE OF A JOURNAL ARTICLE
• IMRaD Format
• Introduction: What was the question?
• Methods: How did you try to answer it?
• Results and : What did you find?
• Discussion: What does it mean?
 STRUCTURE OF A JOURNAL ARTICLE
• Title
• Authors
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Introduction
• Literature review
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
• Acknowledgements
 Title
• Title is probably the most important part of the
paper as readers will decide whether to proceed
to read your article or not pending on it. It should
describe the research and is short, informative
and concise. Avoid using a title starting with “ A
study of….” as this is obviously a study.
Interesting title attracts readers. It is analogous to
marketing a product to reach out to your readers.
• Title should be within 10 words, and novelty
 AUTHORS.
• Each author should have made significant
contribution to the design, analysis, and writing up
of the paper to take public responsibility for its
content.
• The first author is one who has major input into the
study and prepares most part of the manuscript.
Generally he will be the corresponding author.
• Order of name shows the significance of the
contribution. Last author is the team leader /
Advisor / main investigator.
• After the name affiliation. No position or rank.
 ABSTRACT
• An abstract is a shortened version of the paper and should contain all information necessary
for the reader to determine: 
• (1) what the objectives of the study were;
• (2) how the study was done;
• (3) what results were obtained;
• (4) and the significance of the results. 

• Frequently, readers of a scientific journal will only read the abstract, choosing to read at
length those papers that are most interesting to them. For this reason, and because abstracts
are frequently made available to scientists by various computer abstracting services, this
section should be written carefully and succinctly to have the greatest impact in as few words
as possible. 

• Although it appears as the first section in a paper, most scientists write the abstract section
last. An abstract is to have 250 words.

• Different journal may specify different abstract format. Follow the instructions for authors.
The abstract normally consists of background, objective, methods, settings, will follow…”
because abstract are more likely to be accessible to readers than the full text article.
 KEYWORDS

• Following abstract, usually 3-10 key words are required

that are usually MeSH headings so that it will ease the
process of indexing and cross-referencing.
• Key words are complimentary and not mentioned in the
tittle. The words usually convey the research studied or
important concepts, methods, population or setting of the
study. Keywords are words that capture the essence of
your paper. Keywords make your paper searchable and
ensure that you get more citations. Therefore, it is
important to include the most relevant keywords that will
help other authors find your paper
 INTRODUCTION.

• This section discusses the results and conclusions of previously published studies, to
help explain why the current study is of scientific interest. 

• The Introduction is organized to move from general information to specific

information. The background must be summarized succinctly, but it should not be
itemized. Limit the introduction to studies that relate directly to the present study.
Emphasize your specific contribution to the topic. 

• The last sentences of the introduction should be a statement of objectives and a

statement of hypotheses.  This will be a good transition to the next section,
Methods, in which you will explain how you proceeded to meet your objectives and
test your hypotheses

• In this section, describe in brief the background of the research topics with relevant
up to date review of key articles in literature. Explain the reasons for your study as
well as its relevance. State the research question, objectives and rationale of the
study.
 METHODS
• This section provides all the methodological details necessary for
another scientist to duplicate your work.  
• It should be a narrative of the steps you took in your experiment or
study, not a list of instructions such as you might find in a
cookbook.
• An important part of writing a scientific paper is deciding what bits
of information needs to be given in detail. Do not quote or cite your
laboratory manual! 
• Sometimes, experimental details are given as supplementary part.
Describe in detail your methodology that includes research design,
settings, population studied, inclusion and exclusion criteria, the time
that study was done, the instruments used to measure outcome. State
the statistical software used where applicable as well as the statistical
tests employed.
Methodology is to be written in past tense
 RESULTS.
• This section presents the results of the experiment but does not attempt to
interpret their meaning. As with the Methods section, the trick to writing a good
Results section is knowing what information to include or exclude. You will not
present the raw data that you collected, but rather you will summarize the data
with text, tables and/or figures. Use the text of the paper to state the results of
your study, then refer the reader to a table or figure where they can see the data
for themselves. Results are data presentation.
• Note: In most papers nowadays:
• 1 section “Results and Discussion”
• Results. Provide all relevant results for readers to assess the validity of the
conclusions. Present the results that answer the research question early follow by
secondary results. For quantitative studies, provide details of response rates.
Describe the sample characteristics. Use text, tables or graphs to present data in a
clear and organised manner so that it is easier for the readers to comprehend.
Different results may present better in different forms. Tables are useful in
summarising findings. Do not use written in a few sentences in running text. Data
also should not be repeated in different format, as it does not provide any added
information. Label all tables and figures or illustrations.
 RESULTS Cont…
• When report on statistical analyses, state the statistical tests used,
such as chi-square test, t-test, or others. State the test statistic,
degree of freedom, and use confidence intervals whenever
possible instead of just p values to indicate precision.
• For qualitative study, illustrative quotes and themes are described
in this section. It is best to present the data in a table unless there
is visual information that can be gained by using a figure. For
example, a figure is useful for reporting a regression analysis (line
graph). Each table and figure has several lines of text in the caption
that explain the information that is being presented; this is, they
are made to stand alone. A table's legend appears above it, while
the legend for a figure appears below the figure. If your table
includes the results of a statistical analysis, be sure to provide the
information necessary for the reader to properly evaluate the
analysis (sample size etc.).
 ADDITIONAL TIPS ON THE RESULTS SECTION
• :

• Number tables and figures separately beginning with 1.

• Do not attempt to evaluate the results in this section. Report only what you found; hold
all discussion of the significance of the results for the Discussion section.
• It is not necessary to describe every step of your statistical analyses. Likewise, cite
tables and figures without describing in detail how the data were manipulated.
Explanations of this sort should appear in a legend or caption written on the same page
as the figure or table.

• You must refer in the text to each figure or table in your paper.

• Tables generally should report summary-level data, such as means ± standard

deviations, rather than all your raw data. 

• Only use a figure (graph) when the data lend themselves to a good visual
representation.  Avoid using figures that show too many variables or trends at once.
 DISCUSSION
• In this section, you are free to explain what the results mean or why they differ
from what other workers have found. Discussions are data interpretation.
• You should interpret your results in light of other published results, by adding
additional information from sources you cited in the Introduction section as well
as by introducing new sources. Make sure you provide accurate citations. 
• Relate your discussion back to the objectives and questions you raised in the
Introduction section. However, do not simply re-state the objectives. Make
statements that synthesize all the evidence (including previous work and the
current work). 
• Limit your conclusions to those that your data can actually support. You can
then proceed to speculate on why this occurred and whether you expected this
to occur, based on other workers' findings. 
• Suggest future directions for research, new methods, explanations for
deviations from previously published results, etc. 
• This usually begins with a summary of the main findings, followed by the
meaning and implications. Comparison is made with existing literature. Explain
exceptions and clarify unsettled points. State the strengths and limitations of
the study and implications for future research.
 CONCLUSION.
• State your conclusions with a summary of
evidence for each one. Keep it concise generally
limiting to 800 words.
• Conclusion as addressing three things:
• 1) summarizing what you did in the paper,
including its main findings,
• 2) acknowledging the limitations of your work
and
• 3) proposing steps for future research that builds
on what you’ve done in the paper.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

• Acknowledgement. This normally includes all

those who have helped with and contributed
to the study apart from the authors of the
paper. Funding body , giving approval should
be acknowledged.
 REFERENCES
• A reference list contains details only of those works cited in the text of the document.
(e.g. book, journal article, pamphlet, internet site, cassette tape or film). These
details must include sufficient detail so that others may locate and consult your
references.
• A reference list should appear at the end of your article with the entries listed
numerically and in the same order that they have been cited in the text.
• Most journals would ask for references to be presented in Vancouver style. Again
follow the “instructions to author” that will detail how the references should be
written for each journal you are submitting. Vancouver is a numbered referencing
style commonly used in medicine and science. References are listed in numerical
order, and in the same order in which they are cited in text. The reference list appears
at the end of the paper. Begin your reference list on a new page and title it
'References'. The reference list should include all and only those references you have
cited in the text. (However, do not include unpublished items such as
correspondence.)
• Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
• Example:
• 1. O'Campo P, Dunn JR, editors. Rethinking social epidemiology: towards a science of
change. Dordrecht: Springer; 2012. 348 p.
 HIGH IMPACT JOURNALS IN EARTH SCIENCES
• The following list of journals are those with the highest journal impact factor* in the
earth science category in the most recent edition (2018) of Journal Citation Reports (JCR).
Over 100 titles are listed in this category in JCR and the top 10 of these are listed below.
• Nature geoscience
• Earth system science data
• Earth-science reviews
• Annual review of earth and planetary science​s
• ISPRS journal of photogrammetry and remote sensing
• Gondwana research
• Earths future
• Global biogeochemical cycles
• International journal of coal geology
• Geoscientific model development

• *The Journal Impact Factor is the average number of times articles from the journal
published in the past two years have been cited in the JCR year. Please note that these
results are based on data from Thomson Scientific databases only.
 GUIDELINE FOR AUTHORS EJSSD

• GENERAL INFORMATION: In order to ensure the quality and

efficient publication on EJSSD, the journal demands the author to
strictly follow this submission guideline. Submission of a
manuscript implies that the author(s) have/has seen and
approved the manuscript and its contents and that they are aware
of the responsibilities concerning the authorship. All authors will
be notified up on receiving of a new manuscript and up on
acceptance of the manuscript, yet the editorial board makes
frequent communication only with the Corresponding Author.
• FOCUS and SCOPE: Ethiopian Journal of Science and Sustainable
Development (EJSSD) is a double-blind reviewed biannual journal
published by Adama Science and Technology University (ASTU).
EJSSD is cross-disciplinary in nature and publishes original
research articles, review articles, and short communications. The
journal serves as a platform for the exchange of information and
research results that describe significant advances in the field of
Engineering, Science, Technology, Business, Education,
Humanities, and Social Sciences. Papers from researchers working
in different public and private sector, academic institutions,
industries, companies, etc., having national/international interest
are accepted for publication.
 CONTENTS OF EJSSD
• Original Research Articles: Include reports of original research undertakings which
present well- founded studies reporting innovative advances that further
knowledge primarily in the areas of science and technology and other topics
within the scope of the journal. The Original Research Articles are required to
include conclusions/implications which emanate from the empirical data and
results of the study. The articles shall be submitted to EJSSD as a full length article
(not more than 25 pages in double line spacing) and abstract of 250 words.
• Review Articles: Review articles are documents which are based on critical survey
and examination of a particular subject of research within the scope of the
journal. Review articles can take the form of a mini-review (not greater than 2,000
words) or a long review which extends up to 4000 words. Review articles shall
include critical evaluation of the works cited, synthesis and explanation of
communalities and differences in the literature and conclusion. The conclusion
should clearly depict the limitations in the existing literature, future directions to
be pursued in research. Review articles need to include the following sections:
Abstract, Introduction, Body (with sub-headings), and Conclusion.
 SHORT COMMUNICATION

• This includes brief scientific notes such as

preliminary results, scientific observations,
experimental techniques, and recent technological
advances in science, technology and social
development. Information on indigenous
knowledge and practice will also be made known to
community through this column. The manuscript
for this column should not be more than 4 typed
pages. They should have abstract and do not
contain more than two figures or tables.
 SUBMISSION
• Submission of a manuscript implies that the manuscript is original
contributions, has not been published previously and is not considered
for publication elsewhere. All manuscripts should be submitted online
using the submission portal (https://ejssd.astu.edu.et) typed single
column, 12-point font (Times New Roman) on double spacing with
margins of at least 2.5 cm all around. The authors(s) should submit the
electronic copy of the word format manuscript by opening an account
under the link https://ejssd.astu.edu.et.

• Authors should adhere to the following while submitting the manuscript:

• Papers are accepted only in English.
• Manuscripts should be compiled in the following order:
(1) Cover page/title page, (2) Abstract and keywords, (3) Introduction, (4)
Materials and methods, (5) Result and discussion, (6) Conclusion, (7)
Acknowledgments, and (8) References.
 THE COVER PAGE
• The cover page of the manuscript should include the author’s full names, affiliations,
telephone and e-mail addresses. Author/s profile should be in a separate page. One author
should be identified as the corresponding author using asterisk.
• Abstracts of up to 250 words are required for all papers indicating the objectives/ purpose
of the research, methods used, major results, conclusions & implications.
• Each paper should have four to six keywords separated by a comma.
• Title and main text heading should be centered and typed in bold capitals. Section headings
should be concise and numbered sequentially, using a decimal system for subsections.
• All submissions must be limited to 15 - 25 A4 pages in length (including the cover page,
figures, and tables) typed on one side in 12 point font double spaced in Microsoft Word
format.
• Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be
numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2,...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section
numbering).
• All figures and tables must be numbered in the order in which they appear in the paper
(figure 1, figure 2, table 1, and table 2). In multi-part figures and tables, each part should be
labeled (figure 1(a), figure 1(b)). Figures & tables must be included in the text.
• All figures and tables must be cited in the text.
• All references mentioned in the Reference List must be cited in the text, and vice versa. The
citation should be in the name-year format.
 MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

• Cover Letter: A letter signed by all authors declaring that it has not been published or
submitted for publication elsewhere should accompany the manuscript. The cover letter
can be downloaded from the same websites (https://ejssd.astu.edu.et/linkedpdf/EJSSD
%20Covering_Letter.pdf).
• Title Page: Each paper should include the title of the paper and name(s) of the author(s),
full addresses and institutional affiliation. It should also indicate name and address
(including Email) of the author responsible for correspondence. The title of the
manuscript should be selected carefully. It should be concise (maximum of 10 words in 14
font size), specific and descriptive enough to contain keywords or phrases indicating the
contents of the manuscript. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
• Abstract: Each manuscript should have a structured abstract not exceeding 250 words.
The abstract should include the research objectives, methods (design), results, and
conclusions/implication. They should briefly describe, respectively, the problem being
addressed and objectives of the study, how the study was conducted, the salient results,
and what the authors conclude from the results. Abbreviations should be avoided in the
abstract. Below the abstract authors should provide a minimum of six (6) Keywords.
• Introduction: This part of the paper should provide background information on the
subject, justification or underlying hypothesis for conducting the study, and the major
objectives of the research. It should also provide a brief review of literature, limited to
information essential to orient the reader.
• Materials and Methods: This section should present details about the research design
and procedures to clearly prove that the research was done following systematic and
rigorous scientific approach. It should include the research design utilized including data
sources, sampling techniques and sample size, methods of data collection (including the
issue of instrument validation), and the scientific method of data analysis. method
• Result and Discussion: This section must include major findings, assessment of the
significance of the findings of the investigation and the possible practical implications.
The results of the study shall be discussed with the references to the problems
indicated in the introduction or stated as objectives. The results section can stand alone
or presented together with the discussion. If treated separately, the result section
should include the associated figures, tables, and supplementary information which
accurately describe the findings of the study.
• Conclusion and Recommendations: This section should briefly
present the conclusions which emanate from the results of
the study. It is expected that the original contributions of the
work and its policy or other implications be briefly described.
Recommendations are not mandatory for all fields, and hence
a separate treatment could be optional. Yet a critical
assessment of the limitation of the study is worth mentioning
here indicating possible directions for further research.
• Acknowledgment: It may be given immediately following the
results and discussion or conclusion section but preceding the
reference section.
 REFERENCES:
• References: The journal requires citation of primary sources wherever
appropriate. Authors are responsible for ensuring that the sources utilized
in the document are properly cited following APA (author date) referencing
style. References should be listed alphabetically by the author’s last name.
References should be selected on their relevance and as much as possible,
recent references should be cited and the number kept to a minimum.
• In case of Ethiopian names, the author’s given (first) name precedes that of
the father’s name and the author’s given name (Taye, 2017; Abas, 1995,
Asmarom, 1973) is used but in the reference section, the author’s full name
shall be cited:
• Example:
• Asmarom Legesse (1973). Gada: Three Approaches to the Study of African
Society. New York: The Free Press.
• Ethiopian name should not be abbreviated in the reference section (Taye
Alemu and not Alemu, T., 2017).). For three or more authors use et al.
which is not italics, (Gemechu , et al., 1987).
 OTHER REFERENCES

• Books: Reference to a book should contain the name(s) of the author(s), year
of publication, full title, name of editor(s) and edition, if applicable, chapter,
name and domicile of publishers, first and last page numbers.
• Examples:
• Collier, A. (2008). The world of tourism and travel. Rosedale, New Zealand:
Pearson Education New Zealand.
• Whitney, E., & Rolfes, S. (2011). Understanding nutrition (12th Eds.). Australia:
Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
• Journal articles: Include the DOI if available. Examples:
• Thompson, C. (2010). Facebook: Cautionary tales for nurses. Kai Tiaki: Nursing
New Zealand, 16(7), 26.
• Huy, C., Becker, S., Gomolinsky, U., Klein, T., & Thiel, A. (2008). Health, medical
risk factors and bicycle use in everyday life in the over-50 population. Journal
of Aging & Physical Activity, 16(4), 454-464.
• Unpublished Materials: Citations of unpublished and other source materials
not readily available in the libraries are not recommendable to include in the
references list
 BEFORE YOU START WRITING

• The key to writing a successful research article begins well before you even put
pen to paper.
• While you’re doing background reading about your research area, it can be useful
to save journal articles in a reference management system such as Mendeley,
Zotero, or Endnote. This will help you keep track of all the papers related to your
research, and make it a lot easier to create reference lists for future research
papers. Secondly, you want to ensure that the design of your research project
includes a well-defined research goal and series of objectives, as this forms the
foundation of your research paper. Thirdly, a good paper requires that you
maintain excellent notes of the materials you used and the methods you applied
to answer your research question, so that readers can replicate your experiment if
they so choose. Finally, many scientists suggest that you only start writing once
you’ve completed all of your analysis, and have created a series of key plots and
tables that best support your research goal and objectives. This will give you a
strong narrative to follow in outlining your results and developing your discussion.

• Once you have these aspects together, you should be ready to sit down and write.
 MANUSCRIPT PEER REVIEW PROCESSES
• The editor-in-chief will acknowledge receipt of manuscripts. All contributions will be initially
assessed by the editor-in-chief and then by associate editors for suitability for the journal (overall
soundness, EJSSD guidelines, and scope and evidence of plagiarism or duplicate publication).
Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to refuse any manuscript including desk rejection particularly if
the manuscript submitted is not as per the guideline, and to make suggestions and/or
modifications before sending it to associate editors and external reviewers. In case of rejection
before peer-review, the editor-in-chief writes an explanation for the authors why the manuscript
was not suitable for peer-review. Papers deemed suitable will be sent to two external reviewers
relevant to the manuscript content. Outcomes and decision of the peer reviewers will be
communicated to the authors. The process generally takes up to 60 days. The review process
considers the originality of the work, relationship to literature, appropriateness of the
methodology (i.e. built on an appropriate base of theory, concepts, or other ideas), results and
conclusions, the implications for the research, practice and/or society and quality of
communication. After completion of recommended revisions by the authors, the Editor-in-chief
sends the revised manuscript to the Associate Editors and external reviewers, who will
eventually check if the comments are incorporated or not. The final decision of external
reviewers and editors will be adopted. If the two reviewers recommend acceptance, the paper is
accepted directly. If only one reviewer accepts the manuscript, it will be sent to another
reviewer. The editorial board reserves the right to edit all accepted manuscripts for clarity or
structure, fit within the space available and decide on editorial matters.
• So, whenever you are in doubt about which journal suits you
better, don’t forget to browse its metrics; they will certainly help
you with the decision-making process. Start, for example, with
the Journal Impact Factor.

• Impact factor (IF) is a measure of the number of times an average

paper in a journal is cited, during a year. Clarivate Analytics
releases the Journal Impact Factors annually as part of the Web
of Science Journal Citation Reports®. Only journals listed in the
Science Citation Index Expanded® (SCIE) and Social Sciences
Citation Index® (SSCI) receive an Impact Factor.
• These tips will not guarantee you publication in a given
journal. Your paper’s research question, data and methods,
findings, and broader significance need to be original, clear
and well integrated in discussions in the field. In addition,
you also still have to do your due diligence about where to
send your paper, including which journal is a good fit, the
specific format of its articles and the types of conversations
that are within its pages. Nevertheless, the tips I’ve
provided can serve as a foundation from which to start to
understand and break down the sometimes-mystifying
format of a published journal article.
• For example: APA (American Psychological Association) is
used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences. MLA
(Modern Language Association) style is used by the
Humanities. Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by
Business, History, and the Fine.
• The main differences between MLA, APA, and Chicago
format are the way the title page, in-text citations, and
reference lists are created. MLA uses the author-page
number style for in-text citations, while APA uses the
author-date citation style. Chicago offers two citation
styles: notes-bibliography and author-date.
• In Harvard style, the author and year are cited in-text, and full
details of the source are given in a reference list. Referencing is
an essential academic skill (Pears and Shields, 2019).
• Books.
• Format Author surname, initial. (Year) Book title. City:
Publisher.
• Example Smith, Z. (2017) Swing time. London: Penguin.

• Journal article:
• Liveris, A. 2011. Ethics as a strategy. Leadership Excellence,
28(2): 17-18. Available from: ProQuest. [23 June 2011]
 What is Bibliography?
• A bibliography is a list of books, scholarly
articles, speeches, private records, diaries,
interviews, laws, letters, websites, and other
sources you use when researching a topic and
writing a paper. ... The main purpose of
a bibliography entry is to give credit to
authors whose work you've consulted in your
research.
 What is Referencing?
• Referencing allows you to acknowledge the
contribution of other writers and researcher in
your work. Any university assignments that
draw on the ideas, words or research of other
writers must contain
citations. ... Referencing is a way to provide
evidence to support the assertions and claims
in your own assignments.
 What is the difference between
references and bibliography in research?
• A bibliography will contain
all research materials, including books,
magazines, periodicals, websites and
scientific papers, which you have
referred. References contain source of
material like quotes or texts, which has
been actually used when writing an essay
or book. ... But bibliography comes after
the reference list.
 MONOGRAPH
• Monograph has some common characteristics with books and
review (survey) papers. A monograph is a special type of book
written on a single specialized topic, devoted mainly for
research works; could pose some unsolved problems and may
provide detained explanation of some research papers. So, it is
like a big survey paper, but it does not appear in journals; it
rather appears the way most books appear. A book is written
works on a broad range of topics belonging usually to the
same subject area.
• Unlike review papers, a research paper is a document
containing original results or findings.
• The word monograph is derived from the Greek "mono"
(single) and grapho (to write), meaning "writing on a single
subject".
 How To Submit a Journal Article
This is a list compiled by :
– Read the instructions for authors carefully
– Format manuscript in line with the journal style
– Send the manuscript to the journal editor and await for the acknowledgement
– Wait for reviewers comments
– Address all the comments of the reviewers
– Keep to deadline for submission of revised manuscript
– Return the revised manuscript to the editor with a point-by-point response to
the reviewers’ comments
– Read the proof sent by the editor and ensure that everything is okay
– Return the proof back to the editor before the deadline
– Complete and return copyright form to the editor (some journals need this
before publication)
– Wait to see the article in print or online
– If the manuscript is rejected at the peer review level, revise it using the
reviewers comments and send to another journal