Author Guidelines

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to confirm their submission's compliance with all of the following items. Submissions that do not adhere to these requirements will be returned to the author prior to entering the review process.

1. The submission has not been previously published, and is not under consideration by another journal (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
2. The submission file is in Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) format only.
3. The manuscript has been prepared using the official JOCRISE manuscript template.
4. Where available, DOIs or stable URLs have been provided for all references.
5. The text is double-spaced, uses 12-point Times New Roman font, employs italics rather than underlining (except for URLs), and all tables/figures are embedded within the text at the appropriate points rather than collected at the end.
6. The text adheres to the stylistic, structural, and bibliographic (APA 7th edition) requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines below.
7. A separate title page has been prepared containing full author details, affiliations, ORCID iDs, and the corresponding author's contact information, kept separate from the anonymized manuscript file.
8. All authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript prior to submission.
9. Any use of Generative AI tools in the preparation of the manuscript has been disclosed in accordance with the JOCRISE Generative AI Policy.

Author Guidelines

Please read and follow these guidelines carefully before submitting your manuscript to the Journal of Critical Realism in Socio-Economics (JOCRISE) through the Open Journal System (OJS).

1. Scope Compatibility

Before submission, authors should confirm that the manuscript falls within the JOCRISE Aims and Scope: critical realism theory, unity of knowledge epistemology, social ontology, Islamic socio-economic thought, sustainability and wellbeing, and related interdisciplinary inquiry. Manuscripts substantially outside this scope will be desk-rejected without review.

2. Core Manuscript Requirements

3. Title Page (submitted as a separate file from the anonymized manuscript)

To support the journal's single-blind peer review process, author-identifying information must NOT appear in the main manuscript file. Instead, submit a separate title page file containing:

• Full article title
• Full name(s) of all author(s), in the order they are to appear in publication
• ORCID iD for the corresponding author (required) and, where available, for all co-authors
• Institutional affiliation(s) and country for each author, corresponding to where the research was conducted
• Institutional email address for each author
• Clear designation of the corresponding author, including postal address, phone number, and email
• A brief statement of each author's contribution (see Section 4)

4. Authorship, Contribution, and Ethics Declarations

4.1 Authorship criteria

Only individuals who have made a substantive intellectual contribution to the conception, design, data analysis, or drafting/critical revision of the manuscript, and who approve the final submitted version, may be listed as authors. Contributors who provided limited technical, administrative, or financial assistance should instead be named in the Acknowledgements, with their consent.

4.2 CRediT author contribution statement

Authors are requested to provide a brief CRediT-style statement identifying each author's role (e.g., Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal Analysis, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing, Supervision).

4.3 Author change requests

Any addition, removal, or reordering of authors after submission requires written consent from all listed authors, including any author being removed, submitted to the Editor-in-Chief before an editorial decision is issued.

4.4 Conflict of interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationship that could be perceived to influence the reported work. Where none exists, authors should state: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."

4.5 Research funding

All external funding sources must be disclosed in the Acknowledgements, including the funder's role, if any, in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or the decision to publish.

4.6 Ethical clearance and informed consent

For studies involving human participants (surveys, interviews, focus groups, Delphi panels, etc.), authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from participants and, where applicable, cite the approving institutional ethics committee/review board and approval reference number.

4.7 Data availability statement

Authors are required to include a brief statement on the availability of underlying research data (e.g., available on request from the corresponding author; deposited in a named repository; or not applicable due to confidentiality).

4.8 Use of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies

Any use of Generative AI tools (e.g., for language editing, literature search assistance, or code generation) in the preparation of the manuscript must be disclosed in the Methods or Acknowledgements section, in accordance with the JOCRISE Generative AI Policy. Generative AI tools may not be listed as an author and do not bear responsibility for the content or integrity of the work.

5. Article Structure

5.1 Abstract

A single, narrative paragraph of 150–250 words summarizing the research problem, method or approach, key findings, and scholarly contribution. JOCRISE does not use a labelled/structured abstract format (e.g., Purpose/Design/Findings sub-headings); the abstract should read as continuous prose.

5.2 Keywords

4–6 keywords, listed alphabetically and separated by semicolons, placed immediately below the abstract.

5.3 JEL Classification (recommended for empirical economics articles)

Authors of empirical economics manuscripts are encouraged to include 2–4 relevant JEL Classification codes below the keywords.

5.4 Main text

For empirical research articles, the following structure is recommended (IMRaD): Introduction; Literature Review/Theoretical Framework; Method; Results and Discussion; Conclusion. For conceptual, philosophical, or historical-institutional papers (including those grounded in Critical Realism or classical Islamic sources), a flexible thematic structure is accepted, provided the argument proceeds logically from problem statement to conclusion.

5.5 Conclusion

Should restate the manuscript's core contribution, note limitations of the study, and suggest directions for future research, not merely repeat the abstract.

5.6 Acknowledgements

Placed after the Conclusion and before the References. Used to credit funding sources, non-author contributors, and institutional support.

6. Formatting, Headings, and Notes

7. Citation and Reference Style — APA 7th Edition

JOCRISE follows APA 7th edition for both in-text citations and the reference list. All works cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and vice versa. DOIs must be included wherever available, formatted as a full URL (https://doi.org/...). Below are worked examples covering source types common to JOCRISE's scope, including classical Islamic primary sources:

Journal article

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), page range. https://doi.org/xx.xxxx/xxxxx

Book

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (Edition). Publisher.

Chapter in an edited book

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

Classical Islamic primary source (recommended treatment)

Author (transliterated). (Original composition year/H, trans. Year). Title of work (Translator, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published Year)

Website or institutional report

Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of page or report. Site Name. URL

Authors are strongly discouraged from citing non-peer-reviewed web sources (e.g., Wikipedia, personal blogs) as primary evidentiary support for empirical claims.

8. Tables and Figures

9. Originality, Plagiarism Screening, and Peer Review

• All submissions are screened using Turnitin prior to review. Manuscripts with a similarity index above 20% (excluding references, quotations, and the bibliography) will be returned to the author for revision before proceeding to review.
• JOCRISE applies single-blind peer review by at least two independent reviewers with expertise relevant to the manuscript's subject matter, in accordance with the JOCRISE Statement on Ethics and Publication Malpractice.
• Editorial decisions (accept, minor revision, major revision, reject) are communicated to the corresponding author together with reviewer comments; reviewer identities remain confidential throughout the process.

10. Supplementary Files

Additional material not essential to understanding the article's core findings (e.g., raw datasets, extended appendices, survey instruments) may be submitted as separate files and referenced in the main text. Supplementary files are published as submitted and are not copyedited by the journal; authors are responsible for ensuring they are clearly labelled, self-explanatory, and correctly formatted.

11. Proofs and Post-Publication Corrections

Corresponding authors will receive galley proofs prior to publication and are expected to return corrections within 5 working days. Requests for corrections after publication are handled in accordance with the correction and retraction procedures set out in the JOCRISE Statement on Ethics, consistent with COPE guidelines.

12. Article Processing Charge (APC)

Publication fees apply upon acceptance and vary by article category, as detailed in the JOCRISE Statement on Open Access and APC. No fee is charged at the submission or review stage.

13. Getting Help

Authors experiencing difficulty with the online submission system may contact the JOCRISE editorial office directly. Email submission is available only as a temporary alternative when technical issues prevent access to OJS.

Privacy Statement

The names, email addresses, institutional affiliations, and ORCID iDs collected through this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated editorial and publishing purposes of JOCRISE, including manuscript processing, peer review coordination, and indexing metadata (e.g., for CrossRef, Garuda, and Scopus, where applicable) and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party without the individual's explicit consent, except where required by law or scholarly indexing obligations.