Manuscript Preparation

File Format and Anonymisation

File Format

  • Submit the manuscript in both DOCX and PDF formats.
  • Use Unicode-compatible fonts.
  • Ensure that diacritics, Indic scripts, tables, figures and special characters display correctly.
  • Avoid non-Unicode legacy fonts wherever possible.

Anonymisation

Manuscripts submitted for peer review should be prepared for double-anonymous review.

Authors should:

  • Remove names, affiliations, email addresses and other identifying information from the manuscript;
  • Provide author details separately through the submission system;
  • Remove identifying information from document properties where possible; and
  • Avoid unnecessary self-identification within the text.

Manuscript Structure

Authors should prepare manuscripts in a clear scholarly format appropriate to the type of submission.

A full manuscript should normally include:

  • Title
  • Abstract and Keywords
  • Main Manuscript
  • Research Question or Objective
  • Research Approach or Methodology
  • Thematic Domain
  • Meta-Knowledge Lens or Lenses
  • Lens Statement
  • Conclusion
  • References

Tables, figures, appendices or source material may be included where relevant.

Domain & Lens Statement

Each full manuscript should identify one Thematic Domain and at least one Meta-Knowledge Lens.

The Domain identifies the broad area of research, while the Lens identifies the question about knowledge that the article explores.

Authors should also provide a Lens Statement of 100–200 words explaining:

  • The Selected Thematic Domain;
  • The Relevant Meta-Knowledge Lens or Lenses;
  • How the Article Contributes to That Lens;
  • The Research Framework or Approach Being Used; and
  • The Standard Used for Any Evaluative Claims.

The purpose of the Lens Statement is to make clear how the article is positioned within the Journal’s intellectual framework. The framework itself is set out under Intellectual Framework.

Knowledge-System Profile

The Knowledge-System Profile helps authors present the knowledge system they are studying as a whole, rather than discussing only an isolated text, practice or idea.

The authors may use Knowledge-System Profile to show how the knowledge system they are studying works as a whole — what it accepts as knowledge, how that knowledge is produced and justified, who carries it, how it is transmitted, where it is applied, and what ethical limits shape its use. This will help readers understand the subject in its wider context rather than as an isolated text, idea or practice.

Depending on the research question, authors may consider the following nine aspects:

  • Ontology — What does the system understand to exist?
  • Epistemology — What counts as knowledge and how are claims justified?
  • Methods — What methods of inquiry, reasoning, observation or practice are used?
  • Sources — What texts, practices, data or testimony carry the knowledge?
  • Institutions — What institutions, schools or traditions sustain it?
  • Practitioners — Who is recognised as knowledgeable or competent?
  • Transmission — How is knowledge taught, preserved and passed on?
  • Applications — Where and how is the knowledge used?
  • Ethics — What duties, limits and rights govern its use?

Authors do not need to address every aspect equally. They should focus on those that are relevant to the argument of the article.

For comparative research, each knowledge system should first be described in its own terms before similarities or differences are examined.

Tables & Figures

  • Number all tables and figures clearly and consecutively.
  • Provide a concise caption for each.
  • Acknowledge the source of reproduced or adapted material.
  • Obtain permissions where required.
  • Ensure that all tables and figures are referred to in the main text.
  • Ensure that images, diagrams and tables are clear enough for editorial and publication use.