Writing and Formatting (JSCLE, 2026)
2026-03-02
Writing and formatting
File format
We ask you to provide editable source files for your entire submission (including figures, tables and text graphics). Save files in an editable format, using the extension .doc/.docx for Word files and .tex for LaTeX files. A PDF is not an acceptable source file. Use spell-check and grammar-check functions to avoid errors.
Title page
You are required to include the following details in the title page information:
Article tile
- English version: Times New Roman, Size 2, Bold, Centered
- Chinese translation: Fangsong, Size 2, Bold, Centered
Article titles should be concise and informative. Please avoid abbreviations and formulae, where possible, unless they are established and widely understood, e.g. DNA.
Author names
Provide the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author. The order of authors should match the order in the submission system. Carefully check that all names are accurately spelled. If needed, you can add your name between parentheses in your own script after the English transliteration.
Affiliations
Add affiliation addresses below the author names, referring to where the work was carried out. Place the email address of the first author after the affiliation addresses. Ensure that author names and affiliations are formatted in Times New Roman, Size 5, Right-aligned.
Abstract
You are required to provide a concise and factual abstract which does not exceed 150 words, formatted in Times New Roman, Size 8.5. The abstract should briefly state the purpose of your research, principal results and major conclusions. Some guidelines:
- Abstracts must be able to stand alone as abstracts are often presented separately from the article.
- Avoid references. If any are essential to include, ensure that you cite the author(s) and year(s).
- Avoid non-standard or uncommon abbreviations. If any are essential to include, ensure they are defined within your abstract at first mention.
Keywords
You are required to provide 3 to 6 keywords for indexing purposes, formatted in Times New Roman, Size 8.5. Keywords should be written in English. Please try to avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using “and” or “of”). We recommend that you only use abbreviations in keywords if they are firmly established in the field.
Main body structure
For Empirical Articles, include:
- The research context/theoretical rationale
- The issue under investigation or research question(s)
- Methods (study design, participants, data sources)
- Findings
- Implications / Conclusions
For Literature Review Articles, include:
- Explanation of the theory/model or underlying principles
- Methods (e.g., type of the review, time period covered)
- Implications / Conclusions
All sections should be formatted in Times New Roman, Size 11 with subtitle Times New Roman, 14, bold.
References
References within text
Any references cited within your article should also be present in your reference list and vice versa. Some guidelines:
- Any unpublished results and personal communications included in your reference list must follow the standard reference style of the journal. In substitution of the publication date add “unpublished results” or “personal communication.”
- References cited as “in press” imply that the item has been accepted for publication.
- Before submission, check that all data provided in your reference list are correct, including any references which have been copied. Providing correct reference data allows us to link to abstracting and indexing services such as Scopus, Crossref and PubMed. Any incorrect surnames, journal or book titles, publication years or pagination within your references may prevent link creation.
- We encourage the use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) as reference links as they provide a permanent link to the electronic article referenced.
Reference style
Citations in the text should follow the referencing style used by the American Psychological Association. You are referred to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition (2020) ISBN 978-1-4338-3215-4.
The reference list should be arranged alphabetically and then chronologically. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters ‘a’,b’, ‘c’, etc., placed after the year of publication.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
Ambady, N., & Rosenthal, R. (1993). Half a minute: Predicting teacher evaluations from thin slices of nonverbal behavior and physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(3), 431–441. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.64.3.431
Reference to a book:
Bloom, B. S., Englehart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Addison-Wesley Longman Ltd.
Reference to a chapter in a book:
Cashin, W. E. (1990). Students do rate different academic fields differently. In M. Theall & J. L. Franklin (Eds.), Student ratings of instruction: Issues for improving practice (pp. 113–121).
Reference to a website:
Powertech Systems. (2022). Lithium-ion vs lead-acid cost analysis. Retrieved from http://www.powertechsystems.eu/home/tech-corner/lithium-ion-vs-lead-acid-cost-analysis/. Accessed January 6, 2022.
Reference to a dataset:
Oguro, M., Imahiro, S., Saito, S., & Nakashizuka, T. (2015). Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions [dataset]. Mendeley Data, v1. https://doi.org/10.17632/xwj98nb39r.1.
Reference to a conference paper or poster presentation:
Engle, E.K., Cash, T.F., & Jarry, J.L. (2019, November). The Body Image Behaviours Inventory-3: Development and validation of the Body Image Compulsive Actions and Body Image Avoidance Scales. Poster session presentation at the meeting of the Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies, New York, NY.
Web references:
When listing web references, as a minimum you should provide the full URL and the date when the reference was last accessed. Additional information (e.g. DOI, author names, dates or reference to a source publication) should also be provided, if known.
