Author Instructions/Guidelines

• All papers must be scholarly, originally well researched and referenced. References should be cited using the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing format (seventh edition).
• The papers must not have been submitted or accepted in any other journal for publication.
• All tables, diagrams and results should be numbered sequentially, and in the order in which they are referred to in the text.
• All papers should be typed, double-spaced and not exceeding 25 pages using 12 points, Times New Roman and electronically via user's dashboard

The title should be a brief phrase properly describing contents of the paper. This page should also include the authors' full names and institutional affiliations, name of the corresponding author with phone and e-mail information.

The abstract should be informative and completely self-explanatory, briefly present the research focus and scope of the paper, indicate the methodology through which data for the paper emerged, state major findings/results and conclusions. The abstract should not exceed 250 words in length. Authors should list about four to six key words after the abstract. These are key words or concepts related to the paper that will provide indexing references for the paper.

The introduction section of the paper should be brief and limited to the definition of the research problem, the aims and objectives of the research and its relation with other studies in the field. In this introduction section, authors must clearly state the working hypothesis or assumption that directs discussions and analyses in the paper.

This section should include relevant details on various scientific procedures and techniques adopted in the research which ensure that the research can be repeated.

Results/findings should be presented with clarity and precision. When describing results/findings in the author’s research, these should be written in the past tense. When describing previously published results/findings, these should be written in the present tense. Results should be presented largely based on the research objectives or aims.

Detailed interpretation of data should not be included in the results but should be in the discussion section. The discussions should interpret the results/findings in view of basic assumptions of the hypothesis or theory that guided the research; and in what has been obtained in past studies on the research issue. The results and discussion sections can include subheadings, and when appropriate, both sections can be combined.

State the Conclusions in a few sentences at the end of the paper. The Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, should be brief.

Tables should be kept to a minimum and be designed to be as simple as possible. Each table should be on a separate page, numbered consecutively in numerals and supplied with a heading. Tables should be self-explanatory.

Both in-text and full list References should be cited using the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing format (seventh edition).

IJMLPD’s peer review process shall be double-anonymous and editors shall mediate all interactions between reviewers and authors. All manuscripts shall be reviewed by an editor and members of the editorial board or qualified outside reviewers. Decisions will be made as quickly as possible, and the journal strives to return reviewers’ comments to authors within the shortest possible time. The editorial board will re-review manuscripts that are accepted pending revision. IJMLPD shall ensure that peer reviewers declare all potential competing, or conflicting interests. Competing interests shall include personal, financial, intellectual, professional, political or religious interest that the reviewer may share in common with the author(s). No reviewer would be allowed to review a paper of an author if the reviewer is currently employed at the same institution as any of the authors or have, within the past 3 years, been a mentor, mentee, close collaborator or joint grant holders with any of the authors.

Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication, the author(s) agree to automatically transfer the copyright of the work to the publishers, IJMLPD.