Manuscript Preparation  

Manuscript Preparation Guidelines


Thank you for considering your work to the Integrative Journal of Physical Fitness and Health (IJPFH) Please carefully Go through the following guidelines before preparing and submitting your manuscript:

  1. General Formatting:
    • Font: Use a standard, readable font such as 12-pt Times New Roman.
    • Margins: Set all margins to 1 inch (2.54 cm) on all sides.
    • Line Spacing: Double-space all text, including the title page, abstract, main body, references, footnotes, and appendices.
    • Page Numbers: Include a page number on every page, starting with the title page. Position the page number in the upper right corner.
    • Paragraph Alignment and Indentation: Align text to the left and leave the right margin uneven (ragged right). Indent the first line of every paragraph by 0.5 inches.
  2. Title Page:
    • Title: Center the title of your paper in bold, using title case (capitalize major words). It should be concise and informative.
    • Author's Name: Below the title, include your full name (first name, middle initial, and last name).
    • Institutional Affiliation: Below your name, include the name of your academic or research institution.
    • Author Note: If required, include additional information such as acknowledgments, disclosures, or contact information in a footnote at the bottom of the title page.
    • Running Head: Include a shortened version of your title (50 characters or fewer, including spaces) as the running head. This appears flush left in the header of each page, preceded by "Running head:" on the title page only.
  3. Abstract:
    • Heading: Center the word "Abstract" in bold at the top of the page.
    • Content: Write a concise summary of the key points of your research, typically between 150-250 words. Include the research problem, methods, results, and conclusions.
    • Keywords: After the abstract, indent and include up to five keywords, which help readers find your work in databases.
  4. Main Body:
    • Introduction: Start the introduction on a new page, with the title of the paper centered at the top. Provide background information, a literature review, and state the research question or hypothesis.
    • Method: Describe the methodology used in your research in detail. This section typically includes participants, materials, procedure, and design.
    • Results: Present the findings of your research. Use tables and figures as necessary, and refer to them in the text.
    • Discussion: Interpret your results, discuss their implications, and relate them to previous research. Address any limitations and suggest future research directions.
    • Conclusion: Briefly summarize the main results of the study, focusing on the most significant outcomes and discuss the broader implications of the findings.
    • Acknowledgements: Recognize individuals or organizations that contributed but are not authors. The Acknowledgements section should be placed after the main body of the manuscript i.e. after conclusions.
    • Conflict of Interest: Disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could be perceived to influence the research outcomes.
    • References: Start the reference list on a new page. Center the heading "References" in bold. List all sources cited in your paper in alphabetical order by the author's last name, following APA style for each type of source.
  5. References:
    • Reference Style:
      • Use the APA (American Psychological Association) 7th edition format for all references.
      • In-text Citations: Ensure all in-text citations are included in the reference list and vice versa.
      • Alphabetical Order: List references in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author.
      • Multiple Works by the Same Author: When citing multiple works by the same author, arrange them by publication year, starting with the earliest. For multiple works in the same year, add a, b, c, etc., after the year.
    • Formatting References:
      • Journal Articles:
        • Format: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. DOI
        • Example: Brown, L. M., & Green, R. K. (2019). The impact of exercise on mental health. Journal of Sports Science, 12(3), 234-245. https://doi.org/10.1234/jss.v12i3.6789
      • Books:
        • Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher.
        • Example: Smith, J. A. (2020). Physical education and fitness: An integrated approach. Academic Press.
      • Book Chapter:
        • Format: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of chapter. In A. Editor & B. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. pages). Publisher.
        • Example: Davis, K. L., & Johnson, M. R. (2018). Nutrition and fitness. In P. T. Nguyen (Ed.), Handbook of health and wellness (pp. 45-67). Wellness Publishers.
      • Websites:
        • Format: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of online content. Website Name. URL
        • Example: National Institute of Health. (2021, March 15). Benefits of physical activity. NIH Health News.

          https://www.nih.gov/news/benefits-physical-activity

      • Conference Papers:
        • Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of paper. In B. B. Editor (Ed.), Title of Proceedings (pp. pages). Publisher. DOI/Publisher URL
        • Example: Lee, P. T. (2017). Advances in sports medicine. In R. K. Simpson (Ed.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Sports Science (pp. 123-130). Sports Science Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5678/icss.2017.34
      • Reports:
        • Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of report (Report No. xxx). Publisher.
        • Example: World Health Organization. (2022). Global status report on physical activity 2022 (Report No. WHO/NMH/PND/2022.1). WHO Press.
      • Additional Considerations
        • Authors: List up to 20 authors for a single work. For works with more than 20 authors, list the first 19, followed by an ellipsis (...), and then the final author's name.
        • Titles: Use sentence case for article and chapter titles. Use italics for book and journal titles.
        • DOIs and URLs: Include DOIs for all journal articles and online materials when available. If a DOI is not available, provide the direct URL.
  6. Tables and Figures

    • Tables: Label tables with Arabic numerals (e.g., Table 1) and provide a brief title. Place the label and title above the table, and any notes below.

    • Figures: Label figures with Arabic numerals (e.g., Figure 1) and provide a brief title and caption. Place the label and title below the figure.

  7. Appendices:

    • Heading: If you have multiple appendices, label them Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. Center the heading "Appendix" (or "Appendix A", etc.) in bold.

    • Content: Include detailed information that supplements the main text, such as raw data, detailed descriptions of the methodology, or additional tables and figures.

  8. In-Text Citations:

    • Paraphrasing: Include the author's last name and year of publication (Author, Year).

    • Direct Quotes: Include the author's last name, year of publication, and page number (Author, Year, p. X)

  9. Footnotes and Endnotes:

    • Use Sparingly: Footnotes and endnotes should be used sparingly and only for additional information that would otherwise disrupt the flow of the main text.

    • Format: Place a superscript number in the text and corresponding note at the bottom of the page (footnote) or at the end of the document (endnote).