Submissions

Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to submit manuscripts to the Educational Inquiry and Practice. All submissions undergo an initial editorial screening to assess their relevance to the journal’s aims and scope and their compliance with basic scholarly standards. Manuscripts that meet these criteria are sent for double-blind peer review. Editorial decisions are based on originality, academic quality, methodological soundness, and relevance to the journal.

Detailed requirements regarding article types, manuscript structure, word limits, referencing style (APA 7th edition), file preparation, and anonymisation are provided in the Manuscript Preparation section. Authors are expected to consult and follow those instructions carefully prior to submission.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted work is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration elsewhere. All authors listed on a submission must have made a substantial scholarly contribution and must consent to submission and publication.

Where applicable, authors must obtain permission to reproduce any copyrighted material, including figures, tables, images, datasets, or other supplementary content. Research involving human participants, sensitive data, or institutional access should have received appropriate ethical approval in accordance with the legal and institutional requirements of the country where the research was conducted.

Manuscripts that do not meet minimum academic or presentation standards, or that fail to comply with the journal’s submission requirements, may be desk-rejected without external review.

1.    Preparing Your Paper

Authors should prepare manuscripts in accordance with the guidelines below. Submissions that do not meet these requirements may be returned for revision prior to peer review.

Structure: Manuscripts should be organised in the following order:

• Title page
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Main text (Introduction; Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion)
• Acknowledgements
• Declaration of Interest statement
• References
• Appendices (if applicable)

Length: Research Articles should not exceed 10,000 words, inclusive of tables, figure or table captions, and endnotes.

Abstract and keywords: A structured abstract of up to 200 words is required. Where appropriate, authors should use subheadings such as Background, Methods/Materials, Results, and Conclusions. Authors must provide 2–5 keywords.

Referencing Style: All manuscripts must follow the APA 7th edition referencing style. In-text citations and reference lists must be accurate and consistent, with all cited works included in the reference list. The inclusion of DOIs is recommended where available.

Manuscript Files and Peer Review: To facilitate double-blind peer review, authors must submit two separate files:

File 1: Anonymous Manuscript

This file must not contain any identifying information and should include the title, abstract, keywords, main text, tables, figures, references, and appendices (if applicable). Authors must remove names, affiliations, acknowledgements, funding details, and any identifying file metadata.

File 2: Title Page and Author Details

This file should include the manuscript title, author names and affiliations, corresponding author contact details, ORCID iDs (where available), acknowledgements, funding information, and a Declaration of Interest statement.

Language: Manuscripts should be written in clear academic English.

Submission Preparation Checklist: Before submitting a manuscript, authors must confirm that the following conditions are satisfied:

• The submission complies with the journal’s Author Guidelines and Preparing Your Paper requirements.
• The manuscript is original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal.
• The submission follows the two-file system required for double-blind peer review (anonymous manuscript and separate title page).
• References are complete, accurate, and formatted consistently in APA 7th edition style.
• All tables and figures are correctly numbered and labelled.
• Necessary permissions have been obtained for any copyrighted material included in the submission.

Submissions that do not meet these requirements may be returned for correction prior to peer review.

2.    Peer Review Policy

Educational Inquiry and Practice follows a rigorous double-blind peer review process to ensure the quality, originality, and scholarly integrity of published manuscripts.

Initial Editorial Screening: All submissions undergo an initial screening by the editorial team to assess their suitability to the journal's aims and scope, adherence to author guidelines, and compliance with ethical standards.

Double-Blind Review: Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are sent to at least two independent reviewers with expertise in the relevant subject area. The identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other throughout the review process.

Review Criteria: Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on:

1.    Originality and significance

2.    Methodological rigour

3.    Clarity of presentation

4.    Theoretical and practical contribution

5.    Ethical compliance

6.    Quality of references and scholarship

Editorial Decision: Based on reviewer recommendations, the editor may make one of the following decisions:

1.    Accept

2.    Minor Revision

3.    Major Revision

4.    Reject

Final Decision: The final publication decision rests with the Editor, who considers the reviewers' comments and the author's revisions.

Confidentiality: All manuscripts and review reports are treated as confidential documents throughout the review process.

3.    Copyright Notice

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the Educational Inquiry and Practice the right of first publication. By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that the work is original, that all authors consent to publication, and that no third-party rights have been infringed.

Published articles may be shared and reused with appropriate attribution to both the author(s) and the journal, in accordance with the journal’s access and licensing policies.

4.    Privacy Statement

The names, affiliations, and email addresses entered on this journal website will be used exclusively for editorial and publishing purposes related to the Educational Inquiry and Practice. This information will not be disclosed to third parties or used for any other purpose.

5.    Open Access Policy

Educational Inquiry and Practice provide immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles without seeking prior permission from the publisher or author, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of the original work is given. No subscription is required to access the journal content. The journal supports the free dissemination of scholarly knowledge for educational and research purposes.

6.    Publication Fees

Educational Inquiry and Practice charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) of ₹2,000 plus applicable GST for accepted manuscripts. No fee is charged at the time of submission. The APC becomes payable only after a manuscript has successfully completed the peer-review process and has been formally accepted for publication. The APC covers editorial processing, peer-review management, copyediting, typesetting, online hosting, and long-term accessibility of published articles.

7.    Plagiarism Policy

Educational Inquiry and Practice is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity. All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism before peer review. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, or other forms of academic misconduct may be rejected immediately. Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their work and for properly acknowledging all sources used.

8.    Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Educational Inquiry and Practice permit the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support language editing, grammar checking, and research assistance. Authors must disclose any significant use of AI tools in the preparation of their manuscripts. AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of all submitted content.