Instructions to Author

AUTHORS DETAIL AND AUTHORSHIP GOVERNANCE

  1. Introduction

The Insights – Journal of Advanced Research and Practice (IJARP) upholds the highest standards of scientific rigor and ethical authorship. The credibility of published research depends significantly on the integrity, transparency, and accountability of authors and contributors. IJARP follows the authorship guidelines set forth by:

  • ICMJE: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
  • COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics
  • WAME: World Association of Medical Editors
  • CSE: Council of Science Editors
  • UNESCO Research Integrity Standards

This section describes:

  1. Author eligibility and responsibilities
  2. Author agreement forms
  3. Publication fee and waiver policies
  4. Sources of funding
  5. Contribution and consent of authors
  6. Detailed submission guidelines
  7. Workflow timelines (submission → review → acceptance → publication)
  8. Complete step-by-step process from receipt to publication

The goal is to promote transparency, ensure ethical compliance, and protect the integrity of the scientific record.

AUTHOR AGREEMENT FORM

  1. Purpose of the Author Agreement Form

The Author Agreement Form formalizes the authors' consent, ensures adherence to ethical standards, and confirms the originality and legal validity of the submission. It is designed to:

  • Affirm originality of the manuscript
  • Ensure compliance with ethical approvals
  • Prevent duplicate or concurrent submission
  • Ensure authorship transparency and accountability
  • Confirm transfer of non-exclusive publishing rights
  • Clarify conflict of interest and funding disclosures

All authors must sign the Agreement Form prior to publication.

  1. Components of the Author Agreement Form

2.1 Originality and Exclusivity Statement

Authors must declare that:

  • The manuscript is original
  • It has not been published previously
  • It is not under review elsewhere
  • No part of the manuscript infringes copyright

2.2 Ethical Approval

Authors must confirm:

  • Human or animal studies received institutional ethics approval
  • Informed consent was obtained when applicable
  • Data confidentiality standards were respected

2.3 Authorship Confirmation

Every author must certify:

  • They meet the ICMJE authorship criteria
  • They approve the final manuscript
  • They consent to publication

2.4 Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Authors must:

  • Declare all financial and non-financial conflicts
  • Provide grant numbers and funding details

2.5 Copyright and Licensing Terms

Authors agree to:

  • Grant IJARP non-exclusive publishing rights
  • Retain copyright under Creative Commons license
  • Allow open access dissemination

2.6 Accountability Statement

Authors confirm:

  • Responsibility for all parts of the work
  • Accuracy and integrity of data
  • Agreement to resolve questions arising from peer review

ARTICLE PROCESSING/PUBLICATION FEE (APC) (No Submission Fee)

IJARP is committed to maintaining high-quality open access publishing. To support editorial management, DOIs, technical hosting, archiving, and journal sustainability, an Article Publication Charge (APC) is applied.

  1. APC Structure
  • Standard APC: 10000 PKR
  • Discounts: Offered to authors from low- and middle-income countries
  • Waivers: Up to 30%, based on:
    • Author request
    • Financial need
    • Institutional limitations
    • Corresponding author’s country classification
  1. Services Covered by APC
  • Manuscript processing and editorial management
  • Peer-review coordination
  • Layout, typesetting, proofreading
  • DOI registration
  • Long-term archiving
  • Website hosting and indexing support
  1. APC Waiver Policy

Authors may request partial waivers. IJARP evaluates requests based on:

  • Academic merit
  • Research significance
  • Author’s economic constraints
  • Funding availability

Waivers do not influence editorial decisions.

 

SOURCES OF FUNDING AND SUBMISSION PROCESS

IJARP requires full transparency regarding funding sources to ensure scientific integrity.

  1. Funding Disclosure Requirements

Authors must disclose:

  • Granting agencies
  • Grant numbers
  • Institutional support
  • Commercial sponsorship
  • In-kind assistance (equipment, materials, software)

Funding statements must appear at:

  • Manuscript submission
  • Final published article
  1. Funding Influence

Authors must clarify:

  • The role of the funder in study design
  • Data analysis
  • Interpretation of results
  • Manuscript preparation
  • Publication decisions

If no influence:

“The funder had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, or publication.”

CONTRIBUTION AND CONSENTS OF EACH AUTHOR

  1. ICMJE Authorship Criteria

Authors must meet all four criteria:

  1. Substantial contributions to conception, design, data acquisition, or analysis
  2. Drafting or critically revising the manuscript
  3. Final approval of the version for publication
  4. Accountability for the accuracy and integrity of the work
  1. CRediT Taxonomy (Contributor Roles)

IJARP uses the CRediT Contributor Roles Taxonomy, including:

  • Conceptualization
  • Methodology
  • Software development
  • Validation
  • Formal analysis
  • Investigation
  • Resources
  • Data curation
  • Writing – original draft
  • Writing – review & editing
  • Visualization
  • Supervision
  • Project administration
  • Funding acquisition

Each author’s role must be documented at submission.

  1. Author Consent

Each author must:

  • Verify their contribution
  • Approve final manuscript
  • Consent to publication
  • Agree to share responsibility

Ghost, honorary, or gift authorship is strictly prohibited.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINE & PROCESS

  1. Manuscript Preparation

Authors must follow:

  • IJARP formatting guidelines
  • Standardized reporting guidelines:
    • CONSORT (clinical trials)
    • PRISMA (systematic reviews)
    • STROBE (observational studies)
    • CARE (case reports)
    • COREQ (qualitative research)
  1. Required Sections in Manuscript
  • Title
  • Abstract (structured)
  • Keywords
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Ethical approval
  • Conflict of interest
  • Funding
  • Author contributions
  • References
  • Figures and tables
  1. Submission Checklist
  • Author Agreement Form
  • Manuscript file
  • Figures/tables separated
  • COI Statement
  • Funding statement
  • Ethical approval letter
  • Data availability statement
  • Cover letter

DEADLINES OF ALL PROCESSES

IJARP follows strict timelines to ensure a predictable and transparent publishing workflow.

  1. Submission to Editorial Screening

48–72 hours

Editors assess:

  • Scope alignment
  • Ethical compliance
  • Similarity check
  • Completeness of files
  1. Assignment to Associate Editor

2–5 days

  1. Peer Review Duration

2–4 weeks
IJARP uses a double-blind peer review system.

  1. First Decision

3–6 weeks from submission.

Possible decisions:

  • Accept
  • Minor revision
  • Major revision
  • Reject
  • Resubmit as new
  1. Revision Cycle
  • Minor revision: 1 week
  • Major revision: 2–4 weeks
  • Additional reviews (if needed): 1–2 weeks
  1. Acceptance to Proofreading

7–10 days

  1. Final Publication
  • For monthly issues → end of each month
  • For biannual issues → July & December

Total time from submission to publication:
6–12 weeks, depending on revisions.

STEPS INVOLVED FROM SUBMISSION TO PUBLICATION

Step 1: Manuscript Submission

Authors submit through the journal’s online system or email.

Submitted files:

  • Manuscript
  • Supplementary data
  • Author agreement form
  • Ethical approval
  • Figures & tables
  • COI and funding disclosures

Step 2: Initial Screening

Editor checks:

  • Plagiarism (Turnitin or similar)
  • Formatting compliance
  • Ethical approval
  • COI and funding transparency
  • Scope relevance

Step 3: Assignment to Editor

Editor-in-Chief assigns manuscript to:

  • Associate Editor
  • Section Editor (if applicable)

Step 4: Reviewer Selection

Editor selects 2–3 expert reviewers based on:

  • Expertise
  • No conflicts of interest
  • Peer-review experience

Step 5: Peer Review

Reviewers evaluate:

  • Scientific rigor
  • Methodological quality
  • Ethical compliance
  • Originality
  • Contribution to the field

Reviewers provide:

  • Detailed comments
  • Recommendation (accept/revise/reject)

Step 6: First Editorial Decision

Editor synthesizes reviewer comments and issues a decision.

Step 7: Author Revision

Authors respond to each reviewer comment in a point-by-point rebuttal.

Revised manuscript submitted.

Step 8: Second Review (if needed)

Major revisions may undergo:

  • Re-review by original reviewers
  • Additional reviewers

Step 9: Acceptance

Editor issues formal acceptance.

Step 10: Copyediting

Professional editing ensures:

  • Grammar clarity
  • Consistency
  • Formatting compliance
  • Reference accuracy

Step 11: Typesetting and Proofs

Author receives galley proofs for final corrections.

Step 12: Final Approval

Authors approve formatted version.

Step 13: Online Publication

Article is published with:

  • DOI
  • HTML/PDF versions
  • Metadata indexing

Step 14: Archiving

The article is archived for long-term preservation.