Author Guidelines

 

The IJoT welcomes the submission of original manuscripts, and we appreciate your interest in contributing to the journal. Before submitting your manuscript, please carefully read and adhere to the following author guidelines.

 

Language and Document Preparation

  • The journal uses APA style
  • The official language of the journal is English (UK).
  • Manuscripts must be prepared in Microsoft Word using Times New Roman, 12-point font, double spacing, and formatted to A4 page size. The body of the document is left aligned.
  • Set margins to 1 inch on all sides. Indent every paragraph 0.5 inches. Do not insert an empty space between paragraphs.
  • Where applicable, SI unit should be used.
  • Maximum number of words should be between 6000 to 7000.
  • When submitting, disable all document security and remove all hyperlinks.
  • To ensure a uniform format, the paper should have a logical sequence.

Title and Author Information

  • The paper title should be centred and in title case, i.e., capitalize the first letter of nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs; do not capitalize articles, coordinate conjunctions or prepositions (unless the title begins with such a word).
  • After the main title leave one 12-point blank line.
  • Authors’ name(s), affiliation(s) and e-mail(s) address(s) to be centred beneath the title, non-boldfaced. Multiple authors should be shown in a two- or three-column format.

 

Abstract and Keywords

  • Following the author’s information, maximum 250-word abstract should be provided with a minimum of three and a maximum of five key words that can be identified with key issues in the paper. The abstract is to be in left aligned text below the author information. It should be informative and completely self-explanatory. Standard nomenclature should be used, and abbreviations avoided.
  • Use the word “Abstract” as the title, bold-face and centred relative to body of the paper. The abstract is to be unstructured and double spaced in a single-blocked paragraph.
  • Leave one blank line after the abstract then begin the main text.

Main Text and Headings

  • The text of your paper should be double spaced without inserting page numbers or header, as these are done within the context of the journal.
  • Allow one blank line between the main titles in the paper.
  • Main headings should be centred, bold and capitalized.
  • The second order headings should be boldfaced, with the first letters of each word capitalized and left aligned.
  • Third-order headings, if necessary, should be boldface, italicized, and left aligned.

Figures, Plates, and Tables

  • Titles of figures, plates and table should be in title case, bold and centred.
  • Figures, plates, and tables must be numbered separately and sequentially.
  • Figure and plate captions are to be centred below the figures.
  • Table titles are to be centred above the tables.

References

  • References should be at the end of the paper and should be listed alphabetically.
  • References and citations within the text should be in the APA 7th edition format.

 

Ethical Compliance

 Impact: Journal of Transformation (IJoT) is dedicated to maintaining ethical practices at every stage of publication and follows the guidelines set forth by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Authors are equally expected to observe these standards, taking responsibility for the integrity, originality, and ethical compliance of their manuscripts.

Authorship

  • Only individuals who have made substantial intellectual contribution to the research and the preparation of the manuscript should be listed as authors.
  • All listed authors must have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for its content and must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission. No deserving author (s) should be omitted.
  • The submitting/corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all eligible contributors are listed as authors. All authors must agree to the journal’s copyright and licensing terms.
  • The journal does not permit ghost authorship, guest authorship, or honorary authorship.
  • For co-authored manuscripts, clearly specify each author’s contributions to the work.
  • Authorship changes (addition, removal, or reordering) after submission require written consent from all authors and approval by the editorial office. Once published, no new authors can be added.
  • The journal communicates primarily with the corresponding author and does not mediate authorship disputes.
  • Submissions must be original, unpublished, and free from intellectual property and copyright violations, plagiarism, and breaches of confidentiality.

Article processing charges

This journal follows a Gold Open Access model, providing free access to all articles. To sustain this model, authors pay Article Processing Charges (APCs) only after their manuscript has been accepted for publication. There are no submission fees or subscription fees.

APC Rates

Category

Amount

Authors based in Kenya

Ksh 10,000

Lecturers and staff at AIU

Ksh. 8,000

Authors from other countries

Ksh. 15,000

Students of Africa International University (AIU)

Ksh 5,000

 

Funding disclosure

Sources of financial support, if any, must be clearly disclosed. If the research did not receive any funding, authors should state “The authors received no specific funding for this work.”

 

Persistent Digital Identifiers Requirement (ORCID and ROR)

The journal supports the use of persistent digital identifiers as part of its commitment to transparency, interoperability, and global research visibility. Persistent identifiers enhance the accuracy of scholarly attribution, improve metadata quality, and facilitate reliable indexing and discoverability across research systems. As part of this commitment, authors are encouraged to provide:

  1. Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

Authors are encouraged to provide their ORCID iD to ensure accurate identification, proper attribution of their work, and improved discoverability across research platforms. The inclusion of an ORCID iD helps to distinguish authors with similar names and ensures that their scholarly contributions are correctly linked to their professional record.

  1. Research Organization Registry (ROR)

Authors should provide the ROR identifier for their affiliated institution, where available. The use of ROR identifiers supports standardized institutional identification, enhances metadata consistency, and facilitates accurate indexing, reporting, and tracking of research outputs.

General criteria for manuscript acceptance

Manuscripts are considered for publication if they are original, fall within the scope of the journal, make a meaningful contribution to the field, demonstrate scientific rigor and soundness, adhere to ethical standards, and comply with the journal’s submission guidelines.

Disclaimer

The journal and its publisher disclaim liability for damages resulting from the use of information or methods presented in published articles, whether due to negligence or otherwise.