Instructions to Authors

The Federal University Dutse Journal welcomes original manuscripts from all fields of knowledge. Please read these guidelines carefully before submitting; manuscripts that do not follow them may be returned without review.

Editable source files

Submit your manuscript in an editable word-processing format (Microsoft Word .docx or .doc). Incomplete or non-editable source files will prevent your article from being reviewed.

Categories of articles

Original research articles — should report new findings and include a structured abstract of not more than 250 words, followed by three to five keywords. The body should be organised as:

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Materials and Methods (or Methodology)
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion and Recommendations
• References

The main text should be 3,000 – 6,000 words, with not more than six tables and four figures.

Review articles — critical syntheses of the literature on a topic of current interest, 3,000 – 6,000 words excluding tables, figures and references.

Short communications and case studies — concise reports of novel observations, limited to 2,000 words with a 150-word abstract and not more than four tables or figures.

Letters to the Editor — comments on articles published in the journal within six months of publication, limited to 800 words and ten references, without an abstract. The letter may be forwarded to the original authors for a reply, and both may be published together.

Manuscript preparation

Title page. Include a concise, informative title; the names of all authors (surname first, then initials); each author’s affiliation (Department, Institution, City, State, Country); a running head; and the name and valid email address of the corresponding author.

Abstract and keywords. The abstract should not exceed 250 words and must not contain undefined abbreviations or references. Provide three to five keywords.

Text formatting.

• Microsoft Word format, A4 page, double line spacing, fully justified paragraphs.
• 12-point Times New Roman for the main text; italics (not underlining) for emphasis.
• Define every abbreviation at first use and use it consistently thereafter.
• Use internationally recognised (SI) units of measurement.

References

• The journal uses the APA (7th edition) referencing style unless a section editor specifies otherwise for the discipline.
• The reference list should contain only published works cited in the text, arranged alphabetically by the first author’s surname.
• Include the DOI as a full link wherever available.

Tables and figures

• Number tables and figures consecutively with Arabic numerals and cite them in the text in that order.
• Every table and figure must have a clear, self-explanatory caption; place captions in the manuscript file, not inside the image.
• Use footnotes to explain abbreviations or symbols, and cite the original source of any previously published material.
• Label figure parts with capital letters (A, B, C) and keep lettering consistently sized.

Publication Ethics

Authors are expected to uphold the highest standards of research integrity. In particular:

• The manuscript must be original, not previously published, and not under consideration by another journal.
• A single study must not be split into several submissions (“salami publication”).
• Data must be reported honestly, without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate manipulation, including of images.
• All sources must be properly acknowledged; verbatim text requires quotation marks, and copyrighted material requires permission. The journal may screen submissions with plagiarism-detection software.
• Excessive self-citation, or coordinated citation among authors, is strongly discouraged.
• The author list and author order must be confirmed before submission; changes after acceptance are not permitted except with the approval of the Editor-in-Chief.

Where misconduct is suspected during consideration, the manuscript will be rejected and returned. Errors discovered after publication will be handled through a correction or retraction, depending on their severity.

Disclosures and declarations

• Funding: name every funding body and grant number.
• Competing interests: declare any financial or non-financial interests related to the work. Editors and reviewers must also declare conflicts and withdraw where necessary.
• Ethics approval: research involving human participants, their data or biological material, or animals, must state the approving ethics committee and confirm compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki or equivalent standards.
• Informed consent: confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants (or from a parent or guardian for participants under eighteen). Identifying personal information must not be published without explicit written consent.
• Clinical trials: prospective clinical trials must be registered in a public registry, with the registration number stated at the end of the abstract.

Corresponding author

The corresponding author acts on behalf of all co-authors and is responsible for communication with the journal throughout the review and publication process, and for providing supporting documentation on request.

Copyright

On acceptance, authors will be required to complete and sign the journal’s copyright form, which can be downloaded from the Journal Management System.