Submissions

Author Guidelines

GENERAL AUTHOR GUIDELINES FOR STRUCTURING PUBLISHABLE RESEARCH ARTICLES

Style Sheet for GSU Higher Education Research Review

Authors should follow these guidelines when submitting or revising manuscripts. The editors reserve the right to make editorial and stylistic revisions necessary to maintain consistency, clarity, and publication quality.

1. Page Setup

• A4 paper size (210 × 297 mm)
• 1-inch margins on all sides
• Single-spaced text
• Tahoma, 10-point font
• Justified paragraphs
• Appropriate spacing before and after major headings and subheadings
• No unnecessary extra spacing between ordinary paragraphs
• References, tables, titles, and figure legends single-spaced
• Endnotes rather than footnotes when required by the discipline
• First line of each paragraph indented by 0.5 inch
• Arabic page numbers beginning on the title page and positioned at the top right

2. Manuscript Content

Manuscripts should generally contain the following sections:

• Title and Title Page
• Abstract and Keywords
• Introduction
• Materials and Methods for Experimental Studies or Methodology for Non-Experimental Studies
• Results and Discussion
• Conclusions
• Generative AI Disclosure Statement, when applicable
• Ethical Considerations, when applicable
• References

Manuscripts should generally contain 4,000–6,000 words, as appropriate to the nature, scope, and methodology of the study. The manuscript should be concise, coherent, scholarly, and sufficiently detailed to demonstrate the rigor and contribution of the research.

Acronyms and unfamiliar abbreviations should be spelled out at first mention. Scientific names should follow accepted disciplinary conventions. The International System of Units (SI) should be used where applicable. A zero should precede decimal values less than one (e.g., 0.25).

MANUSCRIPT SECTIONS

Title and Title Page

The title page should include the article title, running title, author name(s), institutional affiliation(s), ORCID iD(s), and complete contact details of the corresponding author. The title should accurately reflect the study, avoid unnecessary abbreviations, and be bold, centered, single-spaced, and written in sentence case. Scientific names should be italicized and include the appropriate taxonomic authority, where applicable.

Author(s) and Affiliation(s)

Provide each author’s complete name and institutional affiliation. Use superscript Arabic numerals to link authors to their respective affiliations when necessary. Clearly identify the corresponding author and provide the complete mailing address and active email address. Authorship must reflect substantial scholarly contributions to the work.

Abstract

Provide a self-contained abstract of not more than 250 words presenting the problem or purpose, methods, principal results, conclusions, and implications. Avoid citations and information not reported in the manuscript.

Keywords

Provide a maximum of six keywords, arranged alphabetically and written in lowercase except for proper nouns. Avoid words already used in the title.

Introduction

Present the study background, significance, relevant literature and current knowledge, research gap, and purpose or objectives. Write the section as a coherent narrative without subheadings, tables, or figures.

Materials and Methods / Methodology

Describe the research design, study site or setting, participants/respondents or data sources, sampling procedures, instruments, data-collection procedures, and methods of analysis. Include relevant statistical tests, parameters, and replications where applicable, and use appropriate subheadings for clarity. State applicable ethical safeguards and approvals.

Results and Discussion

Present and discuss the findings clearly and logically according to the research objectives, using appropriate subheadings. Tables and figures should supplement, not duplicate, the text. Interpret the findings by explaining their significance and relating them to relevant literature, theory, existing knowledge, and the study context. Highlight important similarities, differences, new insights, and implications supported by the findings.

Conclusions

Present concise, evidence-based conclusions that directly address the study objectives without repeating the Results and Discussion. State relevant implications for theory, policy, practice, or future research when supported by the findings.

Generative AI Statement

Disclose any use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies, including the tool used and its purpose. Authors must verify all AI-assisted content and remain fully responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the manuscript. AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

Ethical Considerations

State compliance with applicable research ethics requirements. Where relevant, provide the approving ethics committee or IRB and protocol number, informed-consent procedures, participant confidentiality and data-privacy safeguards, and appropriate human- or animal-research approvals.

References

Higher Education Research Review (HERR) adopts the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th edition as its prescribed citation and referencing style. Only works cited in the manuscript should appear in the reference list, arranged alphabetically and formatted consistently according to APA guidelines. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all citations and references.

In-Text Citations. In-text citations should follow the APA author–date system.

• One author: Cite the author's surname and year.
  Example: (Santos, 2021) or Santos (2021)
• Two authors: Cite both authors' surnames. Use an ampersand (&) in parenthetical citations and “and” in narrative citations.
  Example: (Reyes & Cruz, 2022) or Reyes and Cruz (2022)
• Three or more authors: Cite the first author's surname followed by et al. and the year.
  Example: (Navarro et al., 2023) or Navarro et al. (2023)

Multiple Citations. When citing several works within the same parentheses, arrange the citations alphabetically by the first author's surname and separate them with semicolons.
Example: (Garcia, 2018; Lim & Torres, 2020; Ramos et al., 2024)

For multiple works by the same author, arrange the years chronologically.
Example: (Mendoza, 2017, 2020, 2024)

For different works by the same author published in the same year, use lowercase letters after the year.
Example: (Aquino, 2022a, 2022b)

Reference List. The References section should contain only works cited in the manuscript, and every in-text citation must have a corresponding reference entry.

References should be arranged alphabetically by the surname of the first author and formatted consistently according to APA 7th edition. Authors are responsible for verifying author names, publication dates, titles, volume and issue numbers, page ranges, and DOIs or URLs, where applicable.

In APA 7th edition, list all authors in the reference entry for works with up to 20 authors. For works with 21 or more authors, list the first 19 authors, insert an ellipsis, and provide the final author's name.

Journal Articles
Use the following general format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), page–page. DOI

Example:
Ramos, P. L., & Villanueva, M. C. (2023). Digital learning engagement among university students. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 15(2), 85–97. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx

Journal titles and volume numbers should be italicized. Where available, DOIs should be presented as complete DOI links.

Books
Use the following general format:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book (Edition). Publisher.

Example:
Rivera, L. M. (2021). Foundations of environmental research (3rd ed.). Academic Learning Press.

APA 7th edition generally does not require the place of publication for books.

Chapters in Edited Books
Use the following general format:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In A. A. Editor & B. B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher. DOI

Example:
Castillo, A. B. (2022). Community-based approaches to sustainable resource management. In R. T. Mendoza & C. P. Flores (Eds.), Perspectives on environmental sustainability (pp. 115–132). Scholarly Press.

Online Sources

Online sources should contain sufficient information to identify and retrieve the material, including the author or responsible organization, date, title, website or publisher, and URL, as applicable.

Authors should prioritize scholarly, authoritative, current, traceable, and reliable sources. Provide a DOI as a complete link whenever available.

Reference-Management Software

Authors are encouraged to use Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, or equivalent reference-management software configured for APA 7th edition.