Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

1. General Requirements

Authors who submit manuscripts to the Journal of Social Governance and Public Administration (SOGPA) must ensure that the manuscript is original, has not been previously published, and is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

Manuscripts must be prepared according to the SOGPA Article Template and submitted through the journal's Open Journal Systems (OJS).

SOGPA accepts original research articles, conceptual and theoretical studies, policy analyses, and interdisciplinary scholarly contributions relevant to the journal's focus and scope.

Manuscripts should present a clear research problem, appropriate theoretical or conceptual foundation, sound methodology, evidence-based findings, and a meaningful contribution to the field.

2. Article Title

The title should clearly reflect the primary topic and focus of the research.

Authors should ensure that the title is:

• Clear, precise, and informative
• Directly related to the research topic
• Concise and specific
• Free from unnecessary or unusual acronyms

The title should contain approximately 15–20 words and should accurately represent the main subject of the study.

3. Author and Affiliation

Authors should provide their full names without academic or professional titles.

Each author's affiliation should include:

• Department or Study Program
• Faculty or School
• University or Institution
• City
• Country

Each author should provide an ORCID iD, where available.

The Corresponding Author must be clearly identified and provide a valid email address.

Author names and affiliations must accurately reflect the authorship and institutional affiliation at the time the research was conducted.

4. Abstract

The abstract should provide a concise and self-contained overview of the study.

The abstract should contain approximately 200–250 words and should be presented as one coherent narrative.

The abstract should include:

• Background/Problem — briefly establish the research context and specific problem or gap.
• Objective — clearly state what the study seeks to examine, explain, or understand.
• Method — identify the research design, data sources or sample, and principal analytical approach.
• Main Findings — report the most significant findings directly related to the research objective.
• Novelty/Contribution — explain what the study adds to existing knowledge, theory, or practice.
• Conclusion/Implication — present the central conclusion and its most relevant theoretical, practical, or policy implication.

The abstract should not contain citations, tables, figures, or references.

5. Keywords

Authors should provide a maximum of five keywords.

Keywords should:

• Represent the main concepts of the article
• Be relevant to the research topic
• Facilitate indexing and discoverability
• Avoid simply repeating the complete article title

Keywords should be separated consistently using semicolons.

6. Introduction

The Introduction should establish a clear and logically connected argument leading from the broader research context to the specific research problem and contribution.

The Introduction should include:

Research Context

Explain the broader phenomenon and why the topic is important in the relevant field, supported by recent and authoritative literature.

Problem Statement

Identify the specific empirical, theoretical, or practical problem that motivates the study.

Previous Research

Briefly synthesize relevant previous research, emphasizing important findings, patterns, debates, and unresolved issues rather than simply listing studies.

Research Gap

Clearly identify what remains insufficiently understood, particularly in theoretical, empirical, methodological, or contextual terms.

Research Questions/Objectives

Clearly state the research questions or objectives that the study seeks to address.

Novelty and Contribution

Explain what the study contributes to existing knowledge, theory, methodology, or practice and why the contribution is important.

The Introduction should generally be 1,000–1,200 words. Recent references, particularly from the last 5–10 years, should be prioritized where appropriate.

7. Literature Review

The Literature Review should provide a critical synthesis of relevant literature rather than a descriptive list of previous studies.

The section should include:

Conceptual Foundation

Define and position the key concepts based on relevant scholarly literature and current academic discussions.

Theoretical Framework

Explain the theory used in the study, including its core dimensions and relevance to the research problem. The theoretical framework should clearly guide the analysis.

Research Gap

Identify theoretical, empirical, methodological, or contextual issues that remain insufficiently explored in previous research.

Analytical/Conceptual Framework

Integrate the main concepts and explain the relationships or analytical dimensions examined in the study.

The Literature Review should generally be no more than 1,000 words and should prioritize recent and relevant literature, particularly publications from the last 5–10 years, while allowing seminal or foundational works when essential to the theoretical foundation.

8. Research Methods

The Research Methods section should provide a transparent and sufficiently detailed account of how the study was conducted.

Depending on the research design, authors should describe the following components where applicable:

Research Design

Identify the methodological approach and explain why it is appropriate for the research objectives.

Research Setting/Context

Describe the research location, institutional or social context, and relevant research period.

Population/Sample or Data Sources

Specify the participants, documents, datasets, or other sources examined.

Sampling/Data Selection

Explain the sampling strategy, selection criteria, and sample size or volume of data.

Data Collection

Describe the procedures, instruments, and sources used to obtain the research evidence.

Data Analysis

Explain how the data were processed, coded, compared, interpreted, or statistically analyzed to answer the research questions.

Validity, Reliability, or Trustworthiness

Demonstrate methodological rigor using appropriate procedures such as triangulation, audit trails, reflexivity, credibility, dependability, or confirmability, depending on the research approach.

Research Ethics

Where applicable, explain informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, data protection, ethical approval, or other relevant ethical requirements.

The Research Methods section should generally be no more than 800 words. The description should be sufficiently clear for readers to understand and assess the credibility and reproducibility of the research process.

9. Results and Discussion

The Results and Discussion section should present and interpret the main findings of the study in a clear and systematic manner.

Results

Results should:

• Present the main findings objectively
• Directly address the research questions or objectives
• Use tables and figures where they improve clarity
• Avoid unnecessary repetition of information
• Clearly distinguish findings supported by the research evidence from interpretation

Discussion

The Discussion should interpret what the findings mean rather than merely repeat the Results.

Authors should:

• Relate major findings to previous research
• Explain areas of convergence and divergence with previous studies
• Identify new insights arising from the findings
• Explain the theoretical significance of the findings
• Discuss relevant practical or policy implications

Theoretical Contribution

Authors should explain how the findings confirm, extend, refine, or challenge the theoretical framework used in the study.

Practical/Policy Implications

Authors should translate the findings into relevant implications for organizations, policymakers, practitioners, or other stakeholders.

The Results and Discussion should generally be 1,500–2,000 words and should develop a coherent argument from findings → interpretation → comparison with literature → theoretical meaning → practical or policy implications.

10. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be included only when they contribute to the clarity of the research findings or analysis.

Authors should:

• Number tables and figures consecutively
• Provide clear and informative titles
• Provide sources where applicable
• Refer to each table or figure in the manuscript
• Ensure that all data presented are accurate and consistent with the text

Tables and figures should support the argument rather than simply reproduce information already presented in the text. The template example uses numbered tables and figures with descriptive titles and source information.

11. Conclusion

The Conclusion should provide a concise and integrated closure to the study without introducing new evidence or arguments.

The Conclusion should address:

• Research Objectives/Questions — clearly state what the study has established.
• Main Findings — synthesize the most important findings rather than repeat the Results.
• Novelty and Contribution — emphasize what the study adds to existing knowledge.
• Theoretical Contribution — briefly explain how the findings extend, refine, or challenge the theoretical framework.
• Practical/Policy Implications — identify the most relevant consequences for practice or policy.

The Conclusion should generally be no more than 300 words and should not introduce new data, references, or claims beyond the evidence presented in the article.

12. References

All references must follow the APA 7th Edition citation style.

The reference list should:

• Prioritize recent, peer-reviewed scholarly literature, preferably published within the last 10 years
• Include seminal or primary sources when essential to the theoretical foundation
• Contain a minimum of 15–25 scholarly references
• Include at least 70% peer-reviewed journal articles
• Include only references directly relevant to the arguments and evidence presented
• Include DOI information whenever available

Authors should use Mendeley or Zotero for reference management and ensure consistent APA 7th Edition formatting.

For references with an available DOI, authors should provide the DOI in a traceable format:

https://doi.org/xxxxx

Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy of bibliographic information and DOI links.

The reference list should use single spacing (1.0) and maintain consistent formatting throughout.

13. Originality and Plagiarism

All manuscripts must be original and must not have been published previously or be under consideration by another journal.

Authors are required to check their manuscripts using Turnitin or equivalent plagiarism detection software before submission.

Based on the SOGPA template, the overall similarity index should be no more than 10%, excluding the reference list and other legitimate matches where applicable. Authors should ensure that similarity results reflect genuine scholarly writing rather than excessive quotation or text recycling.

14. Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted through the SOGPA OJS platform and prepared using the official journal template.

Before submission, authors should ensure that:

• The manuscript follows the SOGPA structure and formatting requirements.
• The manuscript is written in clear academic language.
• All required sections are complete.
• Citations and references are consistent with APA 7th Edition.
• Tables and figures are properly numbered and cited.
• The manuscript has undergone plagiarism/similarity checking.
• Author information and affiliations are complete and accurate.
• The corresponding author's email address is provided.

Submission of a manuscript indicates that the authors agree to comply with the journal's Publication Ethics, Peer Review Process, Copyright and Licence, Plagiarism & Retraction Policy, and other applicable journal policies.