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Future Journal of Social Science

Future Journal of Social Science

Future Journal of Social Science (FJSS)

Guideline for Authors

Introduction

As an international, interdisciplinary journal, FJSS provides a platform for the publication of research enriching the overall field of social science. With this status, FJSS welcomes original manuscripts, written in English, of both theoretical as well as empirical nature, that contribute to the interdisciplinary nature of FJSS. The contributions considered for publication can be in form of a policy paper or a research paper. They can (yet not limited to) tackle theoretical questions, methodological experimentations and results, as well as revisionist approaches to already existing concepts, trends of thought, as well as analysis of current affairs, all of which through their impact on the Egyptian, regional and/or the international/global levels of analysis.

Our Audience

Researchers, academics, policy makers, and analysts.

Key Words Describing FJSS

Interdisciplinary, social science, critical thinking

Which forms of research are encouraged?

Future Journal of Social Science encourages research focusing on delivering interdisciplinary research explaining a range of themes and phenomena, through the diversity of tools presented in social science, and other fields if seen useful for the chosen topic of the research. In that respect, we encourage the following forms of research:

  1. Experimental research
  2. Qualitative research
  3. Quantitative research
  4. Combined (quantitative and experimental)
  5. Policy Papers
  6. Reviews (events, books, and papers/research)

Guidelines for a Finalized Manuscript

The following are the steps required of every author to conclude, in order for their manuscript to be considered for publication. Any missing element of the below, might lead to either the rejection of the paper before going through the peer-reviewing process, or in delaying the publication process by asking the authors to conduct the changes before resubmitting. The editors of the journal are not responsible to conduct the below mentioned steps for the authors.

  1. Authors Information and Title
    1. In case of multiple authors for the same research, one single author should be the corresponding author with FJSS to eliminate confusion.
    2. Your corresponding email must be a valid email you are using, either through your institution (preferable) or a private email address that is active.
    3. Your title, first and last names must be the ones you wish to be addressed by, as this will be appear in our system and the published paper
  2. Files to be Uploaded: The Manuscript
    1. A clear heading for the research
    2. An abstract
    3. Keywords (between 4-8)
    4. All the visual materials, figures, tables, etc. you wish to include in your manuscript (since this is an online publication, there is no need for the use of black and white images, unless this serves the purpose of your research or is more suitable for the authors).
  3. Spell-Check and Citation/ Plagiarism
    1. The authors are responsible to conduct a spelling and grammar check before submitting their manuscript to FJSS, as this will not be conducted by the editors. Paper may be rejected due to the improper spelling and grammar, if intensive work is needed by the author to alter the manus[cript before submission.
    2. All the work cited inside the text (in-text citation) must be referenced in the end of the research in the reference list. This also includes all the images, videos, interviews, tables, books, articles, etc. used in the in-text citation, all of which are included in one single file (the one you intend on submitting for peer-review and publication).
    3. Proper citation inside the text must be conducted in order to eliminate the manuscript from being rejected for plagiarism. You are encouraged to run a plagiarism check to your own manuscript before submitting it to FJSS.
    4. The reference and citation styles are preferred to follow either APA or Chicago University Style. Either way, one single style has to be followed throughout the entire manuscript for consistency.
  4. Formatting
    1. Use the manuscript formatting template for the division of the columns, found as a downloadable document on the homepage – right panel under "Manuscript Template".
    2. Document margins (left, right, top and bottom) should be 1.5 inches or 3.8 cm. This is to be applicable all throughout the document, including pages with tables, diagrams, and other images.
    3. Use single spacing throughout the entire document
    4. If you wish to use footnotes: note that footnotes are not used for the purpose of citation, only for clarifications and further information you wish to share and find relevant to the context of your manuscript. Font and size of footnote text are: times new roman/ arial (adopt the same font style used throughout the document), and 10pt. All text in the footnote must be justified.
    5. Use of images: use high-resolution figures in colors where possible.
    6. Pages should not be left with more than a quarter of empty spacing.
    7. Always copy-edit and spell-check your document prior to submission.
    8. Indenting:
      1. Indenting should be at least 2 em-spaces
      2. All paragraphs must be indented, except the first one following the heading (section and sub-section headings are treated the same)
      3. Long quotations, if used, must be indented more than 2 em-spacing, while italicized. The paragraph following the long indented quotation must be followed regularly without indents, unless it is a new paragraph.
      4. Do not insert extra spacing between paragraphs.
      5. Avoid "widows" and "orphans": avoid leading one single sentence or line hanging at the end of the page and continued on the next. Instead tab space between paragraphs once and then start the new paragraph on the next page.
      6. We prefer to have all text justified as "justify medium", except longer quotations used as indicated in point "iii".
      7. Do not use any indents in footnotes if used.
    9. Terms of Language and Grammar
      1. FJSS only published manuscripts in English.
      2. Both British and American English are accepted, as long as only one of them is chosen throughout the entire manuscript.
      3. Manuscripts requiring the use of transliteration, must clearly indicate the use of such at the beginning of the research, preferably in the introduction and/or further explained in the methodological part of the manuscript. Authors must clarify when and why they wish to transliterate, and which school or approach of transliteration they wish to adopt, with references where possible.
      4. Authors are responsible to use proper, standard English grammar and sentence structure. You are encouraged to check your document for spelling and structure prior to submission, as this will not be conducted by the editors.
      5. For further reference on this you are encouraged to use guides for the use of standard English writing such as the Chicago Manual of Style, as an example only (you are welcome to use other styles, too).
      6. Manuscript length: we are published electronically, in which case limitations are not as strict as in printed journals. However, we do encourage authors to restrict their paper to approximately 10000 words, for the purpose of facilitating the peer-reviewing and feedback process.
      7. Use of colours: you are advised to not use colours in the written text, both in the body of your paper as well as in the footnotes and referencing sections. Only black will be accepted. Otherwise, the use of high-resolution images used for the paper is encouraged. Please, also make sure that the manuscript submitted does not include any comments and tracked changes.
      8. Emphasized text: use italics when using abbreviations, foreign words or names of references texts for the first time (unless it serves the purpose to be italicized later on in the text again). Also, use italics when using quotations inside the paragraphs, and longer quotations indented between paragraphs. Do not used underlined text.
      9. Part of emphasized text is also mathematical calculations. In case of using formulas, they all must be italic. You may use display math in case of special formulas and equations.
    10. Headings and Fonts
      1. For an APA paper, use a 1" margin (normal)
      2. The paper title: 18 pts times new roman/ arial
      3. Affiliation and author names: 16 or 14 pts
      4. Titles (like Abstract, Introduction, etc.): 14 pts and bold
      5. Sub-titles: 12 pts, shifted further inward than the title it falls under, bold
      6. Footnotes: 10 pts, italics can be used for emphasis if needed.
      7. Font chosen: times new roman or arial, either choice must be used consistently throughout the entire manuscript.
    11. Numbering and Formulas
      1. All tables, figures, and pictures must be numbered below or above the image, and this numbering must match the numbering used inside the text.
      2. If necessary, large images can be placed on separate pages, to enhance the resolution and explanation.
      3. Throughout the manuscript, the headings and subheadings of the text should all follow the roman numerical order. This means:

    5. I.

    I.I.

    I.II.

    I.II.I

    I.II.II

  5. Citation and Referencing

    6. Authors of the manuscripts are completely responsible for the referencing and citating of their work. This is not carried out by the editors of FJSS. Manuscripts seen as inadequately citing their manuscripts will be asked to either edit this part or it could alone serve as a reason for manuscript retraction, depending on the editors and reviewer's opinion. FJSS adopts mainly APA citation style in both reference lists and in-text citation. Authors wishing to use Chicago style are also welcome, as long as it is consistent throughout the entire paper. In-text citation must all be written in English, even if the reference cited is in a different language.

    1. Citations:

      2. FJSS adopts the in-text citation style, which mainly follows the rule of the "open bracket, last name, year, close bracket" rule.

      Ex.: (Smith, 2016)

      1. In case of one author:
        1. Use the last name and the year
        2. Ex. ... (Smith, 2019)
        3. Ex. " As Smith (2019) explained, ..."
      2. In case of two authors:
        1. Use the last name of each and the year of common publication referenced
        2. Order of names cited is preferably by ordering last names alphabetically
        3. Ex. ... (Hard and Negri, 2011)
        4. Ex. "Both Hard and Negri (2011) argue that ..."
      3. In case of more than two authors:
        1. Use the last name of each and the year of common publication referenced;
        2. Order of names cited is preferably by ordering last names alphabetically;
        3. Typically mention the first two names, followed by et al.
        4. Ex. "Smith, Baker et al (2005) discussed this element through ...."
      4. In case of the same authors share different publications make sure you number them with a, b and c. in the reference list as well as the in-text citation. Example (Hard and Negri 2005 a).
      5. When citations appear within parentheses, use commas—rather than parentheses or brackets—to separate the date from the surrounding text.

        6. For instance," ...(see Smith, 1776, for an early discussion of this)."

        Generally, when including pages in the intext citation, separate the author name(s), date and pages by commas within the closed brackets.

      6. References

        7. Authors are expected to include all the references cited throughout the entire manuscript. This is to facilitate for the readers and reviewers to retrieve the source of information used by the author (authors).

        All entries included in the reference list should follow the following elements as per the typical American Psychological Association Guideline (APA Guideline):

        1. Order: all references entered must be ordered alphabetically based on the last name of the authors referenced. If authors are not found, then references should be ordered based on the first letter of the article or reference title.
        2. Titles: nouns and other necessary words in the title of the reference must start with a capitalized letter.
        3. Pages: the page numbers used within the reference (chapter or an entire article) must be included in the form of, for instance, "p.1-7".
        4. Indents: all references in the reference list must be indented. The first line of each reference entry must be flushed with the left margin, while the rest of the text of the same reference must be a hanging indent (approximately 7 entries – better to use a ruler in the document you are working on to unify the indents of all your reference entries in your document).
        5. Underlining and italics: do not use underlining in reference lists, instead use italics for book titles and journal names.
        6. URL and accessed date: whenever possible, enter the URL of the document referenced at the end of the reference entry, followed by the accessed date.

        Journal Articles

        Author's last name, author's first name ordered alphabetically if more than one author (year). Article Title. Journal Name, issue (volume), pages – pages. Doi: ... (or URL followed by accessed date between brackets if DOI is not available)

        The same format, including flushing and indents, apply in case of more then one author, while following the ordering of the last name rule as indicated previously. Authors here are separated by a comma.

        In case of using an internet-based journal, the entire date or the article must be entered between brackets after the author name. Ex. (25/03/2020).

        Printed Magazines and Newspapers

        Last name, first name (year, month, day). Article Title. Magazine Name, Volume (issue). Page number – page number.

        The same rule is applicable in case of multiple authors, separated by a comma.

        Books (printed)

        Last Name, First Name (year). Book Name. City: Publishing House.

        In case of more then one author, names are separated by comma after the last name and first name of the first author.

        Edited Book

        Last name, First name (Eds). (Year). Book name. City: Publishing House.

        Reports by Organizations etc.

        Name of cooperate or organization. (year). Name of Report. Number and Volume if any. URL. (Accessed date).

        Chapter in Edited Book

        Last name, first name (year). Chapter title. In. Last name, first name of editors (Eds.). Name of Edited Book. (pp. 1-7, for instance). City: Publishing House.

        In case it is online then add the DOI or URL then accessed date as followed in references displayed previously.

        Audio and Visual Material (not interviews conducted in person)

        Last name, first name (speaker/producer/ etc. must be stated). (year). Title of the Material. [type of the material video, DVD, cd, TV program, etc]. City (if available): Channel or broadcast.

        Social Media Networks

        Pages and Groups

        Last name, first name. (date of post entry). Name of Group or Page. (Facebook group for example). URL. (Accessed date).

        Blogs

        Last name, first name (year, month, day). Blog Entry Title. Blog Name. (Blog). URL. (Accessed date).

        In case of Interviews/ Field Research

        For the sake of the privacy of individuals involved in the research process, FJSS prefers the use of first initials of the names only, while highlighting this in the methodology or introduction of the manuscript. The use of interviews will be cited and referenced like the rest of the abovementioned methods.

        In-Text Citation

        (C.A., personal interview, date)

        In some cases, minutes and seconds of the interviews can also be included, only when required for the sake of preserving the originality of the research and data collection process.

        Reference

        C.A., personal interview, location, approximate date/year.

        For more relevant information you may also like to check the following:

        1. American Psychological Association 7th Edition:

        https://apastyle.apa.org/

        1. Cornell University APA citation guideline:https://www.library.cornell.edu/sites/default/files/apa.pdf
        2. Citation Machine

        https://www.citationmachine.net/