Information For Authors

Interested in submitting to this journal? We recommend that you review the About the Journal page to familiarize yourself with the journal's objectives, positioning, and topic areas that are potentially suitable for publication.

Please note the Author Guidelines below in regard to article structure and format.  

Authors need to register on the ThaiJo platform with the journal prior to submitting a manuscript or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step submission process. Submission Preparation Checklist.

 

Author Guidelines  EditEdit Author Guidelines

Human Behavior, Development and Society (HBDS) Author Guidelines

Here are some general guidelines for preparing and submitting articles to HBDS journal; please follow the instructions below carefully.

 

Submission and Review Processes

Manuscripts submitted to the journal should not have been previously published elsewhere and should not be under review for publication in other journals. They will be checked for originality and prescreened by the editorial staff to see if their structure, content, and formatting comply with journal standards. If they pass prescreening, manuscripts then undergo double-blind review process conducted by at least 2 qualified independent peer reviewers who are external to an author’s institution, and knowledgeable in a relevant academic field. This process usually takes from 4–6 weeks, depending on peer reviewer response time.

Responsibility for opinions expressed and the accuracy of facts published in articles published in HBDS rests solely with the individual authors. Views and opinions expressed in these articles are the sole responsibility of authors, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the journal’s editorial staff, or of Asia-Pacific International University.

  1. Human Behavior, Development and Society (HBDS) Publishing Guidelines
    • Manuscripts should be no less than 8 and no more than 12 pages in length.
    • Manuscripts should be written in correct and standard academic English.
    • Manuscripts should be single-spaced.
    • Manuscripts should use Calibri font size 11.
    • Manuscripts should contain minimal formatting (bold and italics commands are acceptable).
    • Manuscripts should not contain editorial controls of any kind.
    • Manuscripts should also contain a 150-200 word abstract of the article. Please provide at least three keywords, but do not exceed seven.
  2. Referencing Format
    • In order to maintain a consistent look for Human Behavior, Development and Society, American Psychological Association (APA) publication guidelines have been slightly modified and adapted to provide a harmonious format and style for the journal.
    • HBDS follows the APA 7th edition guidelines for in-text citations, references, and endnotes.
    • Referencing Samples: Please refer to http://www.apastyle.org/ for questions about referencing and serialization in the APA format.
  3. Submissions Procedure
    • Manuscripts submitted to HBDS must not have been previously published elsewhere nor be under review for publication in other journals.
    • Manuscripts must adhere to the journal’s Publishing Guidelines; failure to comply with these guidelines may result in the rejection of a submission.
    • Manuscripts must be submitted through the ThaiJo online journal submission system at https://tci-thaijo.org/index.php/hbds
    • Manuscripts should be submitted by no later than December 31 for the April issue, April 30 for the August issue, and August 31 for the December issue. Nonetheless, even if a submission is received before the stated dates and is accepted, the HBDS Administrative Board reserves the right to decide on the date of publication.

 

  1. Review Process
    • Manuscripts will be checked for originality and prescreened by the editorial staff to see if their structure, content, and formatting complies with journal standards.
    • Manuscripts will undergo a double-blind review process conducted by at least 2 qualified independent peer reviewers who are external to authors’ institutions, and knowledgeable in a relevant academic field. This process takes from 4–6 weeks, depending on peer reviewer response times.
    • Authors will be informed of reviewers’ comments as soon as they are available.
    • Authors will be given about 1 month to revise their papers (should that be necessary) and should return the revised version by the 1st of March/July/November or earlier.
  2. Numbers in APA Style
    • In general round decimals to two places with the exception of p-values (three decimal places is the limit—p < .01 or .001). Percentages are expressed as whole numbers or to one decimal place.
    • Rounding rules: If the final number is 5 or more, add one to the last decimal place to be kept (1.565 becomes 1.57). If the number is less than 5, write the number with the required decimal places (2.344 becomes 2.34).
    • When a statistical expression cannot exceed the value of 1, then the number reported is NOT preceded by a zero (e.g., with p-values—p < .01, also applies to correlations, and Cronbach’s alpha).
    • Large numbers—use commas between groups of three digits in most figures of 1,000 or more.
    • Further information can be gained by consulting. James Cook University, Singapore. (n.d.). Numbers in APA. https://www.jcu.edu.sg/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/680085/Numbers-in-APA.pdf; Guadagno, R. (2010). Writing up your results – Guidelines based on APA style. http://ich.vscht.cz/~svozil/lectures/vscht/2015_2016/sad/APA_style2.pdf

 

  1. Recommended Verb Tenses in APA Style Papers (p. 118)

 

Original Research Article Structure

For clarity, the article should be subdivided generally into the following sections.

 

Title: This should concisely describe the nature of the study; words of four or more letters are capitalized.

 

Author Name(s): The names of all individuals who have made a significant contribution to the paper are listed. Normally, names appear in order of the contribution effort. Give the primary affiliation of the authors immediately after their names appear by using superscript numbers.

 

Abstract: A brief overview of the article in 150-200 words that includes the following elements:

  • Research objectives
  • Research methodology
  • Research findings/results
  • Research contribution or implications
  • Avoid including references or nonstandard/uncommon abbreviations

 

Keywords: Provide search words that will enable information retrieval systems to locate the paper. Provide at least three, but no more than seven keywords.

 

Introduction: This describes the background of the study and its aims.

 

Literature Review: Optional, but must be restricted to the topic under investigation.

 

Methodology: A brief description of the methods/techniques used in the study (not a general description of methods). Provide sufficient information to allow clear understanding and/or reproduction of the work. Clearly describe research instruments used, data collection strategies, context, and participants.

 

Findings/Results: Present findings/results in a clear, concise, and understandable manner.

 

Discussion and Implications: Explore the significance of the results of the study (do not repeat the results). Compare the data’s relevance in relation to previous studies, pointing out common features and any new findings. Elaborate how the findings/results of this study contribute to current knowledge.

 

Conclusion: Highlight major findings/results, with a brief explanation of their implications. Limitations of the research study may be mentioned, along with suggestions for similar future studies.

 

Acknowledgements: These give credit to individuals or organizations who have aided in the completion of the work. Funding support may be mentioned here.

 

References: These should be from accessible sources. Ensure that all works cited in the text are included in the reference list, and that details given in the text match those in the reference list. References must follow the APA referencing guidelines. The paper may not be accepted if there are too few (<10) or too many (>35) references, or if a disproportionate share of references are self-citations or from secondary sources (avoid “cited in” references as far as possible).

 

Appendix: Important, but detailed information which might interfere with free flowing thought may be presented in an appendix after the references. If more than one, label accordingly (Appendix A, B, etc.).

 

Endnotes: The use of endnotes is discouraged; information should be included in the text. Where endnotes are absolutely necessary, they are inserted after the references and are noted in the text by uppercase letters commencing with a.

Professional Article Structure

Similar to the research article structure, but may lack one or more sections (e.g. methodology) depending on the topic and approach that were used.

Formatting and Presentation Issues

Writing Style: The text should generally be written in the third person, past tense; avoid excessive use of “I” and “we”. Pronouns such as he, she, it, them or they might be used instead. All literature review, data collection, and results are presented as happening in the past, as–of course–is true.

 

Paper Presentation: A4 size, with normal margins of 1.00 inch. Typing is single spaced with no double spaces between sentences. Avoid automatic formatting, except where making lists or paragraph indentations. The typeface used throughout is Calibri.

 

Title: A title of not more than a hundred characters should be provided. Align to center, 14 point, bold.

 

Names of Authors: Align to the center, 11 point, bold, separated one space from the title. The first name is spelled out, other names are indicated by initials followed by a full stop, and then the family name is given. Multiple authors are separated by a comma, except for the last author’s name which is preceded by “and,” e.g., Brian T. Smith, Wanda R. Neville, & Tyrone P. Templeton.

 

Affiliation: The main affiliation of an author(s) should be provided. This information is separated by a comma from the author and differentiation among authors is indicated by using upper case numbers (e.g., Sandra Stevens1, University of Manchester, UK). The information is provided in 11 point, bold.

 

Abstract: Separate the abstract heading one space from the author entry. On the next line enter the text of the abstract (11 point; indent 0.25 inches), which should not exceed 200 words. Limit to one paragraph; citations must not be included in the abstract.

 

Keywords: Separate heading by one space from the abstract (indent 0.25 inches). List up to seven keywords (in alphabetical order). The first word in the list commences with a capital and is separated by a comma from following words. The keywords are italicized (11 point).

 

Main Text: The text (11 point) commences one space after the keywords under the heading Introduction. There is no space between the word “Introduction” and the line that follows with the text. There is no space between paragraphs; all paragraphs are indented 0.25 inches.

 

Headings

These can be used in various sections of the paper, but must be concise and follow a precise hierarchy.

Format for Headings:

  • First-level heading: Headings (Calibri; bold; 11 point). Major words commence with capitals.
  • Second-level headings: Subheadings (Calibri; bold & italics; 11 pt.). Major words are capitalized.
  • Third-level headings: Sub-Subheadings (Calibri; italics; 11 pt.). Major words are capitalized.

 

In a heading made up of several words, capitalize the first letter of every main content word (e.g., Instrumentation and Analysis of Data). No space is left between a heading and subheading if it immediately follows heading. Subheadings can also be integrated into a paragraph. When doing this, italicize/bold the subheading and capitalize the first letter of the first word. The subheading should be followed either by a full-stop or a dash (em dash; use ctrl, alt and the dash symbol), then the content. 

 

Block Quotation in Text

According to APA referencing format, block quotations (when copying extensive text from a source) comprising 40 or more words should be in a stand-alone paragraph. This stand-alone paragraph should:

  • Create a space (11 point) before/after the indented paragraph indicating separation from main text.
  • Do not use quotation marks (unless quotation marks appear in original source).
  • The stand-alone paragraph should be indented 0.25 inches.
  • Citation of source can occur in the main text, or at the end of block quotation. Citation should include surname(s) of author(s), year of publication, and page number of source if from a book.

If a direct quotation is fewer than 40 words, then it should be integrated with the main text, and separated from main text with quotation marks (e.g., Main text should be separate from “direct quotation” with quotation marks and the reference given (Surname(s), Year, p. XX).

The placement of quotation marks in relation to punctuation can be a little confusing as there are two systems in use world-wide. The American system is used by APA; it is easier to use and to remember than the British system. Do not use the British system. The APA system details are provided at https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2011/08/punctuating-around-quotation-marks.html

 

Format for Lists in Text

If a list is incorporated into main text, authors may indicate so by using numbers or letters (alphabet). The number/letter should be followed by a parenthesis. For example: There are three major findings: (a) ABC, (b) DEF, and (c) GHI. Numbered lists are used when attached writing represents complete sentences.   

 

Tables

When creating tables, use the Microsoft Word table function; do not manually build tables using lines and spaces. The title appears above the table. It should contain the table number, followed by a brief description (e.g., Table 2 Respondent’s Personality Traits). The Table number is in Bold (not followed by a full stop). The Table title is in italics font (11 point), with main words capitalized, and is not followed by a full-stop. The Table contents and legend are in 10 point. If a code is necessary, include it at the end/bottom of the table (use the word Code or another appropriate word).

Asterisks (*) can be used to indicate notation for content; the description accompanying an asterisk can be placed at the end of a table; do not leave a space between the asterisk and the description (e.g., *description). Notations relating to statistical significance should conform to recognized convention (https://www.graphpad.com/support/faq/what-is-the-meaning-of--or--or--in-reports-of-statistical-significance-from-prism-or-instat/).

In order to maintain a clean look, use horizontal lines only at the top, bottom, and between different sections in a table, as per the example (weight of lines: 1/2 point).

 

Table 1 Table Description

Note. Some notation about numbers in table

Leave one space before and after the main text; avoid spreading the table over two or more pages, but if this is unavoidable, repeat table headings in its continuation on following pages. Furthermore, avoid copying tables from other software, such as Excel, SPSS, etc.

Avoid repeating the contents of a Table in words in the text. The trend shown by the contents can be mentioned, but the writer must decide whether to use a table or a detailed description in words.

Figures

Figures need to be created by the author(s); avoid copying figures from other sources. When building figures using shapes or lines, please save the completed figure as a whole object (use the “group” function). Figures should be high quality (1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for grayscale and 300 dpi for colour, at the correct size).

The Figure number and title appear above the figure in 11 point font, as for Tables. The figure number is in Bold (not followed by a full-stop). The title is in italics, with the main words capitalized (e.g., Figure 2 Respondent Personality Trait Trends). The figure contents, and code should be formatted in 10 point. Give the figure a center alignment.

One space is left before and after main text; avoid spreading figure over multiple pages.

 

Equations and Numbers

If submitting a manuscript as a Word document, please ensure that equations are editable. When numbers are given in the running text, those under ten are spelled out, while those over ten can be represented in figures. If percentage figures are given then they are represented as follows: 2% or 10%. Never commence a sentence with a number. Please consult the following source for more difficult issues, such as presentation of statistical data.

(https://people.stfx.ca/smackenz/courses/hk396/Handouts/Writing%20Numbers%20and%20Statistics.pdf; https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/italics-quotations/italics).

 

Acknowledgements

The section commences one space after the concluding statements and is in 11 point. An acknowledgement is the place to convey thanks to pertinent personnel who helped with the research. This is also where research funding support can be mentioned.

 

About the Author(s)

This brief section is placed one space (11 point) after the concluding paragraph or acknowledgement section. The section may be written in one, short paragraph. If more than one author, one short paragraph per author may be used. Information to be provided includes: Full name of author, academic title, current affiliation (workplace), research interest and email address.

 

References

Great care is needed to ensure that all the references cited are properly mentioned in this section. References should be formatted per the APA 7th ed. Style and formatted in 10 point. The approved manner in which to cite references in the text and in this section is detailed in the following reference from Griffith University: https://www.griffith.edu.au/library/study/referencing/apa-7

If a reference title appears in a language other than English, provide the English equivalent in square brackets in the reference line.

Appendices and Endnotes

Endnotes are not favoured (if they are used, they appear as the last item after the references and are indicated in the text by upper case letters). These categories are placed one space (11 point) after the references. Authors may provide appendices under the heading “Appendices” or “Appendix.” The heading is in bold, 10 point and the contents all use this font size.

 

Abbreviations and Units of Measurement

The International System of Units (SI) should be used exclusively when referring to units of measurement and the appropriate abbreviations are inserted:

https://www.ewh.ieee.org/soc/ias/pub-dept/abbreviation.pdf

 

For statistical abbreviations consult the following internet reference. Abbreviations are commonly represented in italics.

http://users.sussex.ac.uk/~grahamh/RM1web/APA%20format%20for%20statistical%20notation%20and%20other%20things.pdf

Abbreviations of any kind should contain the appropriate punctuations.

cf.

e.g.,

etc.

i.e.,

viz.,

vs.

et al.

 

For more information, refer to: http://blog.apastyle.org/files/apa-latin-abbreviations-table-2.pdf