General Guidelines

Instructions for preparing and submitting manuscripts to CALEL Journal

Manuscript Submission

Submission Process

CALEL accepts all year-round manuscript submission either via the journal designated email address: calelunical@gmail.com or through our online portal. Authors are to submit one soft copy of completed manuscript with a separate cover page that contains the author(s) details which include name(s), institutional affiliation and contact email address(es).

Note: Where the work is co-authored with multiple authors, asterisk (*) should be used before the name of the corresponding author.

Abstract Requirements

CALEL accepts abstract of not below 150 words and not more than 200 words. It must contain very clear information on:

  • The scope of the paper
  • Methods of data collection
  • The relevant theoretical framework
  • Major findings
  • Concluding remarks
  • Salient recommendations (where necessary)

The key words placed under the abstract must be between five to six single words or short phrases that are relevant to the work.

Manuscript Specifications

The manuscript from its abstract to References or Works Cited must not exceed 7000 words and must be written in standard academic English. The line spacing should be 1.5 with one-inch margins on both sides in MS Word, font size 12 using Arial Narrow. The English language should be British; and authors are to maintain consistency in its usage throughout the manuscript.

Manuscript Structure

Required Structure

The manuscript to be submitted to CALEL should follow this format:

  • Title page
  • Abstract with key words
  • Introduction
  • Conceptualisation of the discourse
  • Methodology (Materials and methods)
  • Results
  • Discussions
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements (where applicable)
  • References or Works Cited

Authors may follow any familiar structure that commits to the logical flow of the idea and content of the work.

Headings Format

All headings (e.g. 4., 5.), sub headings (e.g. 4.1, 5.1) and sub-sub headings (e.g. 4.1.1, 5.1.1) should be clearly numbered and formatted consistently throughout the manuscript. Follow these guidelines for headings:

  • Main headings: Bold, Title Case, left-aligned
  • Sub-headings: Bold, Sentence case, left-aligned
  • Sub-sub headings: Italic, Sentence case, left-aligned

Citations and References

CALEL Journal uses the APA (American Psychological Association) 7th edition referencing style. All citations in the text must correspond to the full references listed at the end of the manuscript.

Important: Ensure all references cited in the text are included in the reference list and vice versa. Check that all references are formatted correctly before submission.

Examples of reference formatting:

  • Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work. Publisher.
  • Journal Article: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, volume(issue), page range. DOI
  • Website: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Date). Title of webpage. Site Name. URL

Review Process

Peer Review Policy

CALEL employs a double-blind peer review process where both the reviewers and authors are anonymous. All submissions are initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal.

Manuscripts deemed suitable are then sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the quality and originality of the work.

Review Timeline

The review process typically takes 4-8 weeks. Authors will be notified of the decision along with reviewers' comments (if applicable). Possible decisions include:

  • Acceptance without revisions
  • Acceptance with minor revisions
  • Acceptance with major revisions
  • Rejection

Revision Process

If revisions are requested, authors should:

  • Submit the revised manuscript within 30 days for minor revisions or 60 days for major revisions
  • Include a detailed response to reviewers' comments
  • Highlight all changes made to the manuscript
  • Submit both a clean copy and a marked-up copy showing revisions

Publication Ethics

CALEL Journal adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics. We follow the guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and maintain rigorous standards to ensure the integrity of our publication process.

Our editorial board is committed to:

  • Maintaining the highest standards of peer review
  • Ensuring originality and preventing plagiarism
  • Protecting author confidentiality
  • Disclosing conflicts of interest
  • Correcting errors when identified

Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to follow these ethical guidelines to maintain the integrity of the academic record.

Ethical Guidelines

Authorship

All listed authors must have made significant contributions to the research and manuscript preparation. CALEL follows the ICMJE criteria for authorship:

  • Substantial contributions to conception and design, or data acquisition, or analysis and interpretation
  • Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content
  • Final approval of the version to be published
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Plagiarism Policy

CALEL uses plagiarism detection software to screen all submissions. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarized content will be immediately rejected. Authors should ensure:

  • All verbatim text from other sources is properly quoted and cited
  • All ideas and concepts from other works are properly attributed
  • The manuscript represents original work not published elsewhere

Note: The similarity index should not exceed 15% (excluding references and quoted material).

Conflict of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence the research. This includes:

  • Funding sources
  • Employment or affiliations
  • Personal relationships
  • Financial interests

If there are no conflicts of interest, authors should state: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."