Author Guidelines

Submission of manuscripts and criteria for authorship

1. All submissions must be original research work and should not have been published or be under consideration for publication by any other journal.
2. Manuscripts that address topical problems and advance theory or methodology are strongly encouraged.
3. All submissions must be legible and well-organized.
4. This Journal does not invite resubmission of rejected manuscripts. If a submitted manuscript is based on a manuscript previously rejected by this Journal, it is the responsibility of the author(s) to reveal this.
5. Authors must indicate if their papers are posted on a working paper/research in progress website, other than their own. Authors may post their working papers on websites after acceptance and prior to publication, as long as the sites are not copyrighted and do not serve as formal depositories.
6. The frequency and dates for submission of manuscripts will be communicated from time to time through the Journal website and other media channels.

 Manuscript Specifications

1. Length and layout of the article: A manuscript should be within the range of about 3,500 to 6000 words excluding references.
2. A manuscript should include a relevant and suitable summary (abstract) of 250-300words.
3. Six key words should be provided at the bottom of the abstract.
4. Footnotes and endnotes are note accepted.
5. Notes or book reviews should be shorter than this, i.e. 1500 to 3000 words.
6. The title of a manuscript should be brief, attractive and accurate in describing what the study is about.
7. Headings and sub-headings within the text should be short and clear. Only three levels of sub-headings per section will be acceptable.
8. The manuscript should contain a relevant and suitable summary (abstract) in English of 150-200words
9. The manuscript should be submitted after careful proof reading and ready for press-edit and. Readability, fluency of clarity of exposition and style are essential.
10. Submissions with tables, figures, appendices, should contain a shorter text. These are often taken into consideration when determining the length of the manuscript. Notes and sources should be placed under each table /figure.
11. Tables, figures (or similar items) should be numbered consistently.

Composition of the Manuscript

Under this section the author should state the context in which the study is conducted, what is already known about the phenomenon under study, the gap to be filled by the study and how the study fills the knowledge gap. This section should specify the rationale for the study and provide the reader with the flow of the paper detailing key sections of the paper and how they follow after each other.

Methodology: provide detailed description of the research process.

Findings:-surprises and non-surprises either from secondary or primary data sources.

Discussion: engage existing literature to relate findings to current knowledge, indicate emerging debates, and explain the differences or similarities if any

Conclusion: – key message of the study in line with the purpose of the study and research questions.

Recommendations/Implications: indicate likely implications for policy and/or management practice. These should be informed by the discussion section of the paper.

References: American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style, Sixth Edition

Writing Style:

1. For the main text, use Times New Roman, 12 point, 1.5 line spacing.
2. Use double quotation marks for all text quoted verbatim.
3. Use single quotation marks within double quotation marks for content that was earlier quoted with double quotation marks. For example: Miele (1993, p. 276.) found that “the 'placebo effect,' which had been verified in previous studies, disappeared when [only the first group's] behaviors were studied in this manner" ‘Placebo effect’ was earlier in double quotation marks.
4. Indent quotations of 40 or more words, cite without quotation marks.
5. Provide page number (s) for direct/verbatim quotations from other publications, however short. Do not provide page numbers for paraphrased quotations.
6. When using an abbreviation or acronym for the first time, the full name should be provided (with the acronym or abbreviation in parentheses). The abbreviation or acronym is used thereafter instead of the full name. The acronym should not be used to begin a sentence.
7. In the text, spell out numbers from one to nine. Use numerals for 10 and over (but when they appear in one phrase, use all numerals, e.g. 'between 8 and 11 …'. Numerals should not be used to begin a sentence.
8. Spell out 'per cent' (not 'percent') in the text. The symbol % is acceptable in tables.
9. Authors are required to submit their manuscripts online in Microsoft word to; ojs.umi.ac.ug or umijournal@gmail.com accompanied by a declaration of originality of the study.