Policy

Salale University is one of the Universities in Ethiopia, which is categorized under the fourth generation. It was founded in 2015. The University is located/ situated in Central Ethiopia –Oromiaya regional state, North Shawa Zone, at Fiche town. It is 115 km. far from Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. Though the University is too young it has been constructed with good staff composition, highly experienced and energetic young scholars, it is growing fast, more than its age.

2. Background

For any university to exist as a real academic institution, there is a great need for researching and publishing the research output. For these purpose nice peer reviewed academic journal play vital role. Hence Salale University is striving to start various journals based on different discipline.

The Salale- Journal of Social and Indigenous Studies (SJSIS), which is hosted by the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, at Salale University, is going to establish its academic journal soon. The journal will be established for three main reasons: The first reason is the existence of a number of disciplines; diversified research based postgraduate programs, and large number of instructors who have been involved in research. Second, for the college, having its own journal encourages more instructors (from other universities) in the area of social sciences, language linguistics and other indigenous studies to involve in research and publications. Third, the college now has enough experienced researchers, assistant professors, and instructors who have terminal degrees. In addition to addressing the three aforementioned reasons, the Journal will be launched with the vision of being one of the most preferable journals in Africa and with the mission of disseminating quality scholarly publication to the wider readership. To make realizable these vision and mission, basic requirements such as well-equipped journal office, editorial board and international advisory board members were assigned, and constitution was ratified tentatively. The Journal at its inception had 9 editorial board members all from College of Social Sciences and Humanities at Salale University

3. Scope and Focus of the Journal

The vision of Salale -Journal of Social and Indigenous Studies (SJSIS) is to publish and disseminate (both online and in print) high quality research work output from the diverse fields of social sciences and indigenous studies and allied disciplines by providing free access to research information online without financial, legal or technical barriers, to Ethiopian academician and to the global community at large.

SJSIS encourages you to

share your professional expertise with the research community
increase your paper publication habit and strength profession
publish for academic excellence and
be among the one to publish in SJSIS journal

The vision of SJSIS is to publish and disseminate (both online and in print) high quality research work from various discipline in social sciences and indigenous Studies.

SJSIS is impartial

Decisions on manuscripts are not affected by the author's origin, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, race or political beliefs. No government policies or agencies away from the journal will determine the decision. Decisions taken are strictly based on the articles validity and importance to the scientific readers.

Salale Journal of Social and Indigenous Studies is an open access peer-reviewed journal published in both printed and online versions. The online version is free to access and download. For the first three consecutive volumes the journal will be published once per year in June. After that the journal will be published two times in a year (August and February). It aims to provide a platform for the research community to share their findings, insights and views about all aspects of social sciences, humanities, linguistics, language learning and teaching issues (education at large) Journalism. The journal accepts the research papers from the diverse fields of social sciences, indigenous studies (languages, humanities) and allied disciplines. The quality research in the areas of applied linguistics, communication, public relations, media studies, environmental studies, cultural studies, education, Psychology and related fields, is also invited for its publication in the journal. Papers can be submitted in the form of full-length original research, review articles, book reviews, pilot studies, commentaries, and editorials - Policies, news and comment or letters to editor.

The journal published in three languages (trilingual journal in, English, Amharic and Afaan Oroomo). The number of articles per issue is five to seven. The articles will shared equally from one issue for the three languages, if the issue is going to contain 6 articles the share for English is two, and the other four are shared equally for Amharic and Afaan Oromoo. Based on the number of articles submitted for the issue, the allotted number might be varied in a certain condition. At least one article from the three languages (i.e. English, Amharic and Afaan Oromoo) will published per an issue. The language editor assigned for all the three languages (i.e. English, Amharic and Afaan Oroomo) based on the standard usage of each language.

4. Name, color and appearance of The Journal

The name of the journal shall be Salale Journal of Social and Indigenous Studies (herein after referred as “the journal”).

The journal will published in B5 format (medium size) contains from 130 to 150 Pages. The back ground cover color of the journal will be at first stage dark olive green and crossed by light blue, these colors emerged from the back ground of salale University logo and it represents all the area weather condition of Salale (Dega, woyinadega and Kola) the bright future of the University. In the front page there is the university logo at the right corner of the upper side. The cover page looks like the following.

The SlU Logo

6. Editorial policies of the journal

Editorial policies are intended to protect and strengthen the journal’s integrity and quality aiming reader's interest. All the articles are produced with respect to the scope of the journal based on their significance, novelty and usefulness to the Journals readership, academic arena at large. Decisions on manuscripts are not affected by the author's origin, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, race or political beliefs. No government policies or agencies away from the journal will determine the decision. Decisions taken are strictly based on the articles validity and importance to the scientific readers, the academic communities from various disciplines in the intended fields, based in the scope of the journal.

The primary audience of this publication would be academicians, research scholars, graduate students, practitioners, policy makers and anyone interested in research.

Rigor and Quality Control Procedure

7. 1. Author Guidelines

Author: An “author” is generally considered to be someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a published study. S/he must take responsibility for at least one component of the work, and should be able to identify who is responsible for each other component.

Submission of a paper implies that all authors have seen and approved the manuscript and its contents, and that they are aware of the responsibilities connected to authorship. Signatures from all the authors are not required; it is the corresponding author’s responsibility to obtain agreement from all authors supporting the submission. All authors will be notified upon receipt of a new manuscript and upon acceptance of a manuscript, but the editorial board corresponds only with the corresponding author, whose responsibility is to communicate with all other authors.

7.2. Declaration

Submission of a manuscript implies that it reports unpublished work and that neither itself nor parts of it, have been published or are under consideration for publication elsewhere. By submitting a manuscript to the journal, the authors guarantee that they have the appropriate authority from their employers and/or funding agencies to publish the work. Any related work under consideration, review, revision or accepted for publication elsewhere must accompany the submission if they are relevant to its scientific assessment. When submitting the manuscript, the authors should declare that the manuscripts have not been published or are under consideration for publication elsewhere.

7.3. Conflicts of Interest

In the interests of transparency and to help editors and reviewers assess any potential bias, the Journal requires authors of original research papers to declare their specific contribution to the work and any competing commercial interests in relation to the submitted work. It is difficult to specify a threshold at which a financial interest becomes significant, but as a practical guideline, we would suggest this to be any undeclared interest that could embarrass you were it to become publicly known. Referees and editors are also subject to conflict of interest regulations.

7.4. Originality and Plagiarism

The editors require that any information published in the journal represents a substantially novel contribution to the scientific record. Any manuscript submitted to the Journal should therefore not contain content that has been formally published in a peer reviewed journal or another citable form, whether in print or electronic. This includes websites, blogs and the news media. Any text, data, material, images, ideas or quotes should be attributed to the original source, even if it is by the same authors.

The publisher and journal (SJSIS) have a policy of “Zero tolerance on the plagiarism”. The plagiarism issue is checked through two methods: plagiarism prevention tool and reviewer check. All submissions will be checked by managing editors in any ways before being sent to reviewers.

7.5. Citation

Comprehensive and accurate citation of the relevant literature is essential. We require citation of the primary literature wherever appropriate. See General Guidelines for Manuscript Submission.

Part II. Journal Administration

8. Submission and Peer Review Process

To facilitate the rapid publication and reduce administrative costs, SJSIS accepts only electronic submissions both in word and PDF. For some reasons it is possible to summit in hard copy. SJSIS follows double-blind system for peer-reviewing in the intended field of study/ discipline.

8. 1. Paper Selection and Publication Process

After receiving a manuscript, the Editor gives code or identity number to the manuscript. The author and reviewers may use this in further correspondence for enquiries.
After receiving a manuscript, the Editor sends an E-mail of confirmation to the corresponding author within 1-5 working days. If the author does not receive this confirmation in this given time, s/he has to contact without delay the contact person/editor.
3.   Initial decisions are held by Editors-in-Chief/ Managing editor, and submitted manuscripts will undergo unbiased preliminary assessment for the suitability to the scope of the journals.
4. As an extension to the process, the assessed manuscripts are returned to the author for revision if they are not relevant and consistent to the guidelines of the journal. This saves the precious time of the reviewers and speeds up the review process.
5.   If/when the assessed manuscripts are found relevant and consistent to the policy or guide of the journal, they will be forwarded to at-least two expert reviewers in the field.
6.    Both reviewers and authors’ identities remain anonymous. Reviewers are given 2-3 weeks to send their fair and constructive reviews to Editor, and Editors-in-Chief are aimed to take the final decision within 6 weeks from the manuscript submission.
7. The editorial board members decide accepting or rejecting a manuscript based on reports from at least the two reviewers.
The result of review is notified by E-mail and signed the copy right transfer form.
The authors revise paper provided that his manuscript is accepted.
After publication, the corresponding author will receive two copies of printed journals, free of charge.
E-journal in PDF can be downloaded freely from the journal’s webpage.

8.2. Basic principles to which peer reviewers should adhere

Peer reviewers should:

only agree to review manuscripts for which they have the subject expertise required to carry out a proper assessment and which they can assess in a timely manner
Finish the review within short period (at most 3 weeks). If you do not think you can complete the review within this time frame, please let the editor know and/or if possible, suggest an alternate reviewer.
Respect the confidentiality of peer review & not reveal any details of a manuscript or its review, during or after the peer-review process, beyond those that are released by the journal. In short, the article you have been asked to review should not be disclosed to a third party. If you would like to discuss the article with a colleague, please ask the editor first.
not use information obtained during the peer-review process for their own or any other person’s or organization’s advantage, or to disadvantage or discredit others
declare all potential conflicting of interests, seeking advice from the journal if they are unsure whether something constitutes a relevant interest
not allow their reviews to be influenced by the origins of a manuscript, by the nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender or other characteristics of the authors, or by commercial considerations
Review the manuscript fairly and objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. If the research reported in the manuscript is flawed, criticize the science, not the scientist. Refrain from being hostile or inflammatory and from making libellous or derogatory personal comments.
acknowledge that peer review is largely a reciprocal endeavour and undertake to carry out their fair share of reviewing and in a timely manner
provide journals with personal and professional information that is accurate and a true representation of their expertise
recognize that impersonation of another individual during the review process is considered serious misconduct The Journal Review process

9. Journal Management Structure

The overall structure of the Journal consists of the following different bodies

The Advisory board, The Editorial board, Assistant Editors, Managing Editor, Technical supporting stuff i.e. Language editor, Internet website manager and Secretaries

9.1 International Advisory board

International advisory board members are intellectuals who help the progress of the journal by sharing their reach experiences. They are extremely helpful in helping and promoting the journal by sharing their enormous research and publishing experiences. Hence, they will be contribute their great academic expertise for the betterment of the journal (i.e. Salale Journal of Social and Indigenous Studies (SJSIS).) and the University i.e. Salale University at large. The number of International Advisory board members shall be seven to nine from various academic expertise and experiences.

9.2. The Editorial board

The number of members the editorial board shall be nine. The board shall compromise: one Editors- in- Chief, two senior editors and five associate editors.
2.    The Editorial Board shall be directly accountable to the Collage AC.
3.    The term of office for the editor – in – chief shall be four years and for other editors three years.
4.    The editor – in –chief shall hire a web site manager and a secretary.
5.    The editorial board shall, from time to time, contact and convince individuals with an outstanding contribution to the academic world or to the society to be members of the advisory board.

9.2.1. General Eligibility Criteria for Appointment to the Editorial Board

The eligibility criteria for appointment as an editor in the editorial board shall include the following:
•   Demonstrated scholarly expertise and ethical leadership.
•    Publications, and Demonstration of excellence in the review process,
•    Stated commitment to attend meetings and carry out responsibilities.
•    Academically fit   for the purpose of the journal issue

9.2.2. Nomination and Election Process

Editorial Board members shall be nominated and elected as follows:
The Social sciences and Humanities Collage Academic Commission (AC) members must nominate from the academic staff fulfilling the eligibility criteria and elect from the nominated ones through a vote and candidates who get ¾ of the vote of the attending AC members shall be appointed as member of the editorial board. In composing the editorial board, the AC shall ensure the members’ expertise is on various fields and disciplines if possible.
If a candidate is appointed by the AC Members, she/he shall serve for a specified term of three years except the editor-in-chief whose term of office shall be 2 years. Continued membership of the Editorial Board will be reviewed every four years for the editor- in chief and three years for other members by the AC. The AC can remove an editor including the editor in chief before his/her term expires when and if the editor is not in a position to discharge his/her responsibilities mentioned in this document and other relevant documents for any reason (e.g. Recklessness, absence, sickness, etc.).

9.2.3. General Responsibility of the Editorial Board and Its Members

Develop its own working procedures and revise, improve, or change authors’, editors’ and reviewers guide which are appended to this document and issue other guides of similar nature.
2. Editors should hold the responsibility for the whole Journal content.
3. Contribute to Journal development and management through generous relationship with other board members.
Update reviewers and authors with new policies and guidelines.
5. Assure the integrity in the published work.
Encourage authors for submission of sound articles that falls within the scope of the journal.
7.    Editors should ensure the protection of individual data and maintain confidentiality.
8.    Every Editorial Board member should ensure submission of at least one manuscript in a year.
9.    Ensure constructive, fair and timely feedback to the authors for their contribution.
10.    Elevate Journal's reputation among their affiliated academic community.
11.    Represent and promote the journal at academic meetings and conferences.
12.    If or when appropriate, encourage authors whose primary language is not English to seek mentorship or assistance from a colleague prior to submitting a manuscript for review.

9.3. Editor-in-Chief‘s Responsibility

The Editor-in-Chief must have two publications in a peer reviewed journals and an academic rank of an assistant professor or above.
The Chair of the Editorial Board is the Editor(s)-in-Chief.
3.    The Editor-in-Chief has a vital role in the success of a Journal. He should guarantee the quality and integrity of the content found in the Journal. It is their primary responsibility to educate and communicate the vision to the authors, readers, editorial board members and publisher. The Editor-in-Chief should put consistent efforts to enhance quality and elevate the significance of published articles to the corresponding community.
4.    Editor-in-Chief should take the whole responsibility of the Journal and she/he should be familiar with the subject literature, research design, statistics, publication ethics and standards. Should also possess extensive Editorial and interpersonal skills.
5.    Should strive for the development of the Journal and suggest the publisher for further improvisations with additional policies.
6.    Should encourage submission of quality articles by writing Editorials on the Journal's performance.
7.    Should be responsible in selection and rotation of Editorial Board members, maintenance and development of Journal, participation in review process and look for appropriateness.
8.    Should conduct annual meetings and educate the Editorial Board members with updated information and new policies of the Journal.
9.    Set annual objectives and assign responsibilities to the Board members for peer review process and ensure their timely completion.
10.    Set annual objectives on peer review process and timely publication, evaluate the performance of Board members and encourage promotions appropriately.
11.    Should act accordingly in taking action to improve the objectives that are not achieved timely.
12.    Generally, after the peer review process and initial editing, the manuscript comes to the Editor-in-Chief for the final approval. The final decision to accept or reject of an article will be held with Editor-in-Chief. She/he should cross check the content quality, writing style and construction, grammar, spellings, data presentation and organization prior to take the final decision.
13.    Should ensure that the manuscript is neither plagiarized nor published elsewhere. If the paper found plagiarized or infringed, the Editor-in-Chief has the right to reject the article straight away.
14.    Should supervise and support the publisher in handling complaints and appeals, responding genuinely to ethical problems regarding publication of any duplicate or fraudulent work.

9.4. Managing Editor’s Responsibility

The Managing Editor must have publications in peer reviewed journals. An academic rank of assistant professor and above if possible.
She/he assists the Editor-in-Chief in judging a manuscript to be accepted or rejected, supports in taking decisions and communicating with other Board members. Managing Editor fills the role of both serving as an editorial board member in review process as well as ensuring the publication of high quality papers in the Journal.
Managing Editor should assist the Editor-in-Chief and also involve in the peer review process.
4. Is responsible for the quality of Journal content and the published articles.
5. Encourage submission of high quality papers in different ways of communication.

6   Provide fair and constructive feedback to the contributors, Editors and Reviewers.
7.    Provide Editorials on the Journal performance and promoting new policies when introduced.
8.    Assist Editor-in-Chief in conducting annual meetings and educate the Editorial Board members with updated information and new policies of the Journal.

Assist Editor-in-Chief in setting annual objectives and assign responsibilities to the Board members for peer review process and ensure their timely completion.
10.   Should ensure that the manuscript is neither plagiarized nor published elsewhere.
11.   Should support Editor-in-Chief in handling ethical issues, complaints and appeals regarding the publication processes so that it could help the journal in making and brining to the standard level.
12.    Suggest publisher with new policies and for the development of the Journal.
13.    Need to take up the role of Editor-in-chief when not available.

9.5. Associate Editors’ Responsibilities

The Associate Editor must have publications in peer reviewed journals and an academic rank of assistant professor or above.
The Associate Editor has to assist both the Senior Editor and the Editor-in-Chief in guaranteeing the quality of content found in Journal and communicating its vision for the journal to authors, Editorial Board members, readers, and publisher. Associate Editor should be mindful with the policies of the Journal and publisher, Author guidelines, Editor Guidelines and Reviewer guidelines.
Associate Editor should guide the Authors, Editors and Reviewers with the guidelines.
4. Encourage submission of high quality articles in the Journal and assist Senior Editor in monitoring the content quality.
Participate in conducting annual meetings and other meetings.
6. Monitor the manuscripts for writing style, language, presentation according to the Journal's policy and instructions.
Should ensure effective peer review process and timely publication.
8.    Should ensure the integrity of the Journal content and quality in the published articles.
9.    Should ensure that the manuscript is neither plagiarized nor published elsewhere.
10.   Suggest publisher with new policies and for the development of the Journal.
11.   Should suggest eminent reviewers during the peer review process.
12.    Should carry out any task assigned to him by the Managing editor or the editor in chief

9.6. Assistant editors

These are the journal editor members assigned by the journal editorial body in order to assist the reviewing process of the journal. They should have the ability of researching and publication

The Assistant Editor must have publications in peer reviewed journals and an academic rank of assistant professor or above.

Assistant reviewers should:

only agree to review manuscripts for which they have the subject expertise required to carry out a proper assessment and which they can assess in a timely manner
Finish the review within short period (at most 3 weeks). If you do not think you can complete the review within this time frame, please let the editor know and/or if possible, suggest an alternate reviewer.
Respect the confidentiality of peer review & not reveal any details of a manuscript or its review, during or after the peer-review process, beyond those that are released by the journal. In short, the article you have been asked to review should not be disclosed to a third party. If you would like to discuss the article with a colleague, please ask the editor first.
not use information obtained during the peer-review process for their own or any other person’s or organization’s advantage, or to disadvantage or discredit others
declare all potential conflicting of interests, seeking advice from the journal if they are unsure whether something constitutes a relevant interest
not allow their reviews to be influenced by the origins of a manuscript, by the nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender or other characteristics of the authors, or by commercial considerations
Review the manuscript fairly and objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. If the research reported in the manuscript is flawed, criticize the science, not the scientist. Refrain from being hostile or inflammatory and from making libellous or derogatory personal comments.
acknowledge that peer review is largely a reciprocal endeavour and undertake to carry out their fair share of reviewing and in a timely manner
provide journals with personal and professional information that is accurate and a true representation of their expertise
recognize that impersonation of another individual during the review process is considered serious misconduct.

Fig 2. Journal Management Structure

10. Copyrights

According to SJSIS, the authors are the copyright holders for all online and print articles in the journal. They are granted to reuse, reproduce or disseminate the article, with first publication rights granted to the journal. The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. Bringing an intrusion action is the author's responsibility if so desired by the author. Authors should submit complete unpublished and original works, which are not under review in any other journals.

11. Amendments

This constitution may be amended only in accordance with the following procedure: A proposed amendment shall be introduced at a meeting of the Collage AC by at least 3 members of the AC or the Board of Editors. If the proposed amendment is approved by ¾ of the total number of AC members, the amendment shall come in to force.

Note: The editorial board should supplement this general guide and can change it when it finds it appropriate.

Acknowledgments: I would like to thank Dr. Tesfaye Gebeyehu (Jimma University) who supplied me with the materials that are very helpful in preparing this guide.

Part III. Guidelines

12.1. General Guidelines for Manuscript Submission

Salale -Journal of Social and Indigenous Studies (SJSIS) welcomes the submission of your manuscript. The journal emphasizes the importance of following these instructions carefully. Failure to do so will reject or delay the processing of your manuscript.

General Formatting Guidelines

Text. The Editorial Office will only accept text files in RTF or MS Word format. The final character count must be clearly indicated on the title page of the manuscript. Manuscripts that do not comply with the formatting guidelines, or exceed the length restrictions, may be returned to the authors for amendment.

Please submit the full text (including figure legends, tables, and references) as a single MS Word or RTF file.

Manuscript Elements

Submitted manuscripts might include the following main sections:

Title page

The total length of the running head should not exceed 50 characters (including spaces). The title should be concise, short and informative. It should not exceed 100 characters (including spaces). Serial titles are not accepted. Up to six keywords, which may or may not appear in the title, should be given in alphabetical order, below the abstract, each separated by a slash (/). The major words should be capitalized, but not minor ones. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible. However, commonly used acronyms are acceptable.

Author names and affiliations: The full name of each author should be given. It is preferred to write an author's first name, middle initial(s), and last name to reduce the likelihood of mistaken identity. Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Omit initials and all titles (e.g., Dr., Professor) and degrees (e.g., PhD, PsyD, EdD). Otherwise refer them to the foot note using number (s) in superscript. Multiple first-authorships are acceptable and should be indicated. Numbers in superscript should be used to indicate the department, institution, email, city with postal code and country, for each author. Any changes of address may also be given in numbered footnotes. The journal will by default address all correspondence to the single author listed as Corresponding Author upon submission.

Abstract

A concise and factual abstract is required. This should be a single paragraph standing alone in italic, and not exceeding 300 words. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, instruments used to collect data, methods of analysis, the principal results and major conclusions as well as possible recommendation/implication. References should be avoided as much as possible. Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.

Introduction

It is important to state the objectives of the work, to provide an adequate background, and to avoid a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results. Citation of the primary literature is required where appropriate (see section on Citations). The introduction should also justify why the study is important and that the content is original. The summary of results should be dealt with in the abstract, not here.

Literature review, Conceptual Framework, Hypotheses

This section should extend (but not repeat) the background to the article already dealt with in the Introduction and lay the foundation for the work being reported. It should identify the most relevant previous especially recent literature on the topic (but not in excessive detail) in order to position the paper and demonstrate how it will make a significant contribution. It (or a separate section) should set out (and justify) the theoretical or conceptual framework adopted in the paper. It may identify a number of hypotheses to be tested or research questions to be explored. In short, this section (or sections) should explain what the motivation for the paper is and why its contribution is original and significant.

Methods

This section should contain sufficient detail so that all (experimental) procedures can be repeated by others, in conjunction with cited references. The reader needs to know that the empirical data and/or other material are relevant, reliable and able to support robust conclusions, and that the methodology is appropriate, systematic and rigorous.

Identify subsections. In APA Manual Seven Edition the following sub sections are indicated, in this order: Research participants characteristics; Sample size, power, and precision; Measures and covariates (e.g., written questionnaires, interviews, observations) as well as methods used to enhance the quality of the measurements (e.g., the training and reliability of assessors or the use of multiple observations), and research design.

In cases where detailed methods cannot be described within the length limits of the article, additional Materials and Methods can be included as Supplementary Information. This additional information should, however, not be of immediate importance for the understanding of the manuscript, and it is not permissible to move the entire “Materials and methods” section into the online supplement.

Results/Analysis

Results should be clear and conscience. Since analysis of data (be it quantitative or qualitative) and the reporting of the results of those analyses are essential aspects of the conduct of research, the report of the analysis must be accurate, unbiased, complete, and insightful. The result section should stand alone (should not be mixed with discussion) so that the researcher’s finding can be seen clearly. The Results section, and associated figures, tables and supplementary information, must accurately describe the findings of the study. Figure order should follow the text. Detailed methodological descriptions should be restricted to the Materials and Methods section. ‘Data not shown’ is not permitted: significant data should be displayed in the main figures or supplementary information.

Discussion

The discussion should explore the significance of the results of the work. It should accurately interpret the results, but not be repetitive with the results section. Authors are encouraged to discuss their work in the broader context. Related published data must be appropriately discussed and cited. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature. Speculation is allowed but should be clearly labeled as such. A separated Results and Discussion section is often appropriate.

Conclusion

The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Recommendation section. This section should also may make clear what is the original contribution of the paper, discuss the policy or other implications of the findings, provide a critical assessment of the limitations of study, and outline possible fruitful lines for further research.

Recommendation

This part also may be presented in Recommendation section that may stand alone or form a sub section of the Conclusion section. But SJSIS prefers the former.

Acknowledgements

These should be placed at the end of the text and not in footnotes. Personal acknowledgements should precede those of institutions or agencies. Grant numbers are permissible. Dedications are discouraged.

Figure Legends

Figure legends should contain sufficient information to allow the reader to follow the data presented without referring back to the text, but should not be redundant with the Results section. Each figure must contain a heading, and each panel a subheading. All symbols and abbreviations used in the figure must be defined, unless they are common abbreviations or have already been defined in the text. Experimental details should, where possible, be given in the Materials and Methods section, and not repeated in the figure legends. Legends should be limited to 300 words in length.

Tables

You should use only Arabic numerals in all tables. Always cite the tables in the text in consecutive numerical order. For each table, please supply a table caption (title) explaining the components of the table. If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge that source fully. Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

Appendices

If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as appendix A, Appendix B, etc., for example. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) , Eq. (B.2) , Eq. (C.1), Eq. (C.2) and so on. Similarly for tables and figures: Table A.1, Table A.2; Fig. A.1, Fig. A.2 etc.

Citation in Text, References, and Footnotes

As a matter of policy, The Journal requires the citation of primary literature (over review articles) wherever appropriate. Authors are responsible for ensuring that the related literature is accurately and comprehensively discussed and cited. Review articles should only be cited for general background information, the proposal of certain concepts or similar purposes, whereas primary research articles should preferentially be referenced to introduce the question being addressed or to support the conclusions and interpretations of the results. Articles in press can be cited with the explicit permission corresponding author of the study; the journal name has to be included and, where available, the Digital Object Identifier. Citation style shall follow APA 7^th Ed. 2020.

SJSIS follows the APA (author/date) referencing style (or a slight variation of it in which space lines are single, for example). In this author/date referencing style, the author should indicate a reference in the text by giving his or her last name followed by date of publication (in parentheses, include initials if the paper refers to work by two different authors with the same family name; for Ethiopians name use the author’s name and not his/her father’s name ). If the author cites two or more publications at the same time, s/he has to separate these with a semicolon and list them in the order of alphabet and year of publication, at ascending order. For every in-text citation in the paper, there must be a corresponding entry in the reference list. Below are given examples of citations in text, references, and footnotes.

14.1 In Text Citation

If the name of the author occurs in the text, put the year of publication in parentheses.

Example: Getachew (2014) reported that...

Derib (2011) found that…

If the name of the author is not in the text, insert last name, comma, and year in parenthesis.

Example: In a study of Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia (Cohen, 1995)…

3. If author's name and the date of publication have been indicated in the text, they should not be repeated within parentheses.

Example: In 2014, Dejene investigated Riddles among the Walisoo Liiban Oromo...

If the same author has published more than one article in a given year you can cite as

Lundval ( 1992a & 1992b) has suggested …

When referring to material on a web page, whenever possible, give page numbers (preceded by p. or pp.) for books

Examples: Hunt (1974, pp. 25-69) confirms the hypothesis...

When referring to material on a web page, whenever possible, give paragraph numbers (preceded by or para).

E.g. (Myers, 2000 5)

For websites with neither page numbers nor paragraph numbers, cite the heading and the number of the paragraph following it.

Example: (Conclusion section, para. 1)

If a work has two authors, always cite both names every time the reference occurs in the text. Connect both names by using the word/ conjunction "and."

Examples: Abrahams and Dundes (1972)... Finberg and Skipp (1973, pp. 37-52) discuss...

If a work has two authors and they are not included in the text, insert within parentheses, the last names of the authors joined by an ampersand (&), and the year separated from the authors with comma

E.g. (Piaget & Smith, 1973)

… (Piaget & Smith, 1973, p. 410)

If a work has more than two authors (but fewer than six)
Cite all authors the first time the reference occurs; include the last name followed by "et al."
     and the year in subsequent citations of the same reference.

    Example: First occurrence:    Williams, French and Joseph (1962) found...
    Subsequent citations:    Williams et al. (1962) recommended...
Quotations:
Cite the source of direct quotations by enclosing it in parentheses, if it is less than forty words or four lines. Include author, year, and page number.

Example: Fifty percent "of spontaneous speech is estimated to be non-speech"
(Shaughnessy, 1977, p. 24).

If the quotation is longer than forty words, use indented block (single spaced), without quotation marks. The source is cited in parentheses after the final period.

Example: This is further explained by Záhořík (2014) following statements:
Federal composition of the country in its current shape and ethnic identity being the number one principle of this version of federalism also generate or at least transform various local, regional or trans-border conflicts along identity lines. The most significant examples is the Silte-Gurage identity dispute which resulted in recognition of Silte separate ethnic identity although they were traditionally considered part of the Gurage ethnic group. (p. 99)

If citing a work discussed in a secondary source, name the original work and give a citation for the secondary source. The reference list should contain the secondary source, not the unread primary source.
Example: Janis’s study (as cited in Tesema, 2014)

12.2. The Reference List

When compiling a reference list, pay particular attention to the following:

1) Capitalization, 2) Italics, 3) Sequence and 4) Spacing.

1) Capitalization:

For all sources other than periodicals (that is, newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals), capitalize the first word of the title and subtitle and proper nouns only. Do not capitalize the rest.
All first letters of major words in periodical titles should be capitalized (for example, Psychology Today, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.)

2) Italics: Titles are italicized for the following items:

Books, E-Books, Periodicals, Web sites, Dissertations/theses, Reports/technical papers, Works of art

3) Sequence

Arrange entries in alphabetical order by surname of the first author.

• Single-author entries precede multiple-author entries beginning with the same surname:
Kaufman, J. R. (1981). Kaufman, J. R.& Cochran, D. C. (1978).
References with the same first author and different second or third authors are arranged alphabetically by the surname of the second author, and so on:
Kaufman, J. R., Jones, K., & Cochran, D. F. (1982).
Kaufman, J. R., & Wong, D. F. (1978) .
References with the same authors in the same order are arranged by year of publication, the earliest first:

Kaufman, J. R., Jones, K. (1977).

Kaufman, J. R., Jones, K. (1980).

The order of several works by different authors with the same surname is arranged alphabetically by the first initial:

Eliot, A. L. (1983).

Eliot, G. E. (1980).

4) Spacing

Items in a reference list should be single-spaced. Also, use hanging indents: entries should begin flush left with subsequent lines indented (see examples below). Besides, use double space after a period, and single after comma, semi-colon, and colon.

Books:
a) One author:

Castle, E. B. (1970). The teacher. London: Oxford University Press.

b) Two authors:

Mc Candless, B. R., & Evans, E. D. (1973). Children and youth: Psychosocial development. Hinsdale, IL: Dryden Press.

c) Three or more authors: (list each author)

Smith, V., Barr, R., & Burke, D. (1976). Alternatives in education: Freedom to choose. Bloomington, IN: Phi Delta Kappa, Educational Foundation. Society, association, or institution as author and publisher: American Psychiatric Association. (1980).

d) Chapter, essay, or article by one author in a book or encyclopedia edited by another:

Medley, D. M. (1983). Teacher effectiveness. In H. E. Mitzel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational research. New York: The Free Press.

Journal Articles:
One author:

Herrington, A. J. (1985). Classrooms as forums for reasoning and writing. College Composition and Communication, New York: The Free Press. 36(4), 404-413.

Tesema Ta’a (2014). Pan-Africanism: A historiographical analysis. EJSSLS, 1 (1), 63-77.

Two authors:

Horowitz, L. M., & Post, D. L. (1981). The prototype as a construct in abnormal psychology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 90(6), 575-585.

Society, association, or institution as author:

Institute on Rehabilitation Issues. (1975). Critical issues in rehabilitating the severely handicapped. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 18 (4), 205-213.

12.3 Footnotes

Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article, using superscript Arabic numbers, for example when you refer to titles and affiliation of authors. Besides, indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves separately at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.

C. Article Language, Length, Structure

Language

Manuscripts must be written in clear and concise English, Amharic and Afan Oromo, and it should be intelligible to a broad readership including readers out of the disciplines. SJSIS will not edit submitted manuscripts for style or language; reviewers may advise rejection of a manuscript if it is compromised by grammatical errors and intelligibility. Authors are advised to write admissible and to be checked by co-authors (if any) or by a copyediting service before submission. Pay attention to your usage of voices and tenses. When your focus is on the actor, use active voice (the journal suggests active voice):

Preferred: The researcher conducted the survey in a controlled setting,
None preferred: The survey was conducted in a controlled setting,
When your focus is on the object or recipient of the action rather than on the actor/doer of the action, you may use passive voice: For example "The Prime minister was shot" emphasizes the importance of the person shot.

Use the past tense when you discuss another researcher’s work, report results, and express an action or a condition that occurred at a specific, definite time in the past,
Correct: Getachew (2014) presented similar results.
Incorrect: Getachew (2014) presents similar results.

Use the present perfect tense to describe an action that began in the past and continued to the present,
Correct: Since that time, several investigators have used this method.
Incorrect: Since that time, several investigators used this method.

Article Length

Original research article. Manuscripts for primary research articles should not exceed 8000 words and/or 20 pages. This includes title page, abstract and figure legends, but excludes references, tables and supplementary material. Articles can include some important one and limited number up to 5 figures. Should your manuscript exceed this length, some material can be moved into the Supplementary Information section. In exceptional circumstances, however, the editor-in-chief with consultancy with a reviewer handling the paper may be willing to agree some latitude here with the author. Authors are encouraged to be concise for the interest of readers. Book reviews should not exceed 3500 words.

Article Review. These can be longer comprehensive reviews or short perspective-type reviews generally not exceeding 8,000 words. The text of the review should be organized appropriately for the topic and include a short perspectives or future directions section at the end.
Book Review. It should not exceed 5000 words. The text of this review should be organized appropriately.
Editorial. These typically consist of no more than 2,500 to 3,500 words and usually do not have subheadings.

Structure–– Format and Style
Formatting Text
a) Headings: Subdivision numbered sections

Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2 ...), 1.2 (then 1.2.1, 1.2.2, etc. (the abstract, acknowledgment, and references are not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text'. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line. However, it is preferable not to use more than three levels of displayed headings, for an article. The following headings’ style have been taken from APA 7th Edition.

For level 3, 4, and 5 APA suggests to begin body text after the period. However, SJSIS suggests any level of heading to appear on its own separate line.
b) Abbreviations

Abbreviations, unless it is widely known, should be spelled out in the text for the first time and used consistently thereafter.

c) Margins
For the sake of binding indent 1.5 –inch margins at the left and 1-inch margins at the top,

bottom, and left of every page.

d) Alignment
Justify the right margin (make the right margin even); for text use flush left, and divide words at the end of a line (use hyphenation).

e) Indentation
Indent five spaces for every first line of a paragraph. For reference section, also, use hanging indents: entries should begin flush left with subsequent lines indented.
f) Typeface (Font)

The font for English writer should be Times New Roman, 12-point, single spaced on one side of an A4 type white paper.

The font for Afan Oromo writer should be Times New Roman, 12-point, single spaced on one side of an A4 type white paper.

The font for Amharic writer should be Power Geez Unicode 1, 12-point, single spaced on one side of an A4 type white paper.

g) Space

Use double space after a period, and single after comma, semi colon, colon, and between lines.

D. Manuscript Submission Checklist

Please, in addition to the forgoing requirements, consult the following details before sending your manuscript for review:

One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details: E-mail address, full postal address, and phone numbers.
All necessary files have been uploaded, and contain: Keywords, all figure captions, all tables (including title, description, footnotes).
Manuscript has been 'spell-checked', 'grammar-checked', ‘tense-checked’, voice –checked.’
References are in the APA format for this journal.
Double space used after a period.
Subsections have been numbered.
All references mentioned in the Reference list are consistently cited in the text, and vice versa.
Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Web).
Color figures are clearly marked as being intended for color reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print, or to be reproduced in color on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print.
If only color on the Web is required, black-and-white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes.

Acknowledgments: I would like to thank Dr. Tesfaye Gebeyehu (Jimma University) who supplied me with the materials that are very helpful in preparing this guide.

Getachew Anteneh (PhD)

Editor-in – Chief

Selale -Journal of Social and Indigenous Studies (SJSIS)

Appendix one: Guidelines for reviewing manuscripts

Paper Code:

By Article

Reviewer: Internal or external

TITLE:

REVIEWER’SNAME:____________________________________________

INSTITUTION:__________________________________________________

DATE RECEIVED:_______________________________________________

DATE REVIEWED: __________________________________________________

DATE RETURNED: __________________________________________________

I.
Introduction/Background (10%)

Does introduction/background situate the problem in the light of the existing state of knowledge in the area of study and highlight the motivation for the study? Are objectives/ questions/ hypothesis clearly delineate and adequately describe what the author seeks to bring about as a result of his writing?

Grade:

Comments:

Suggestions for improvement:

Literature Review (10%)

Does the literature provide clear support to key theoretical and methodological issues or questions being investigated? Is it relevant and recent?

Is the conceptual /theoretical framework clearly articulated and serves as a tool to scaffold research, analyse the data, clearly set the constructs of the study and help to make meaning of subsequent findings?

Point;

Research Methodology (25%)

Are data collections methods and procedures clearly justified and provided as well as linked to literature review? Is the source of data reliable and accurate?

Data analysis And Discussion (20%)

Are the methods of data analysis appropriate? Are data interpretations logically linked to results, discussions, conclusions and recommendations?

points:

Comments

Suggestions for improvement:

Research Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations (20%)

Are results clearly and sufficiently discussed and backed by only relevant issues in the review? Are conclusions drawn logically from results and discussions and backed by relevant issues in the review?

point:

Comments:

Acknowledgments, presentation and language (10%)

Are acknowledgements for sources used clearly shown in the text and in the references?
Are the languages used appropriate, clear and to the standard?

point:

Comments:

Suggestions for improvement

Ethical Consideration 5%

Is the research ethical and have the appropriate approvals/consent been obtained?
Is there any indication that the data has been fabricated or inappropriately manipulated?
Have the authors declared all relevant competing interests

Total Grade :

PART B: REVIEWER’S DECISION

General comments on whether the draft chapter is publishable or not? _____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Based on my assessment of the basic criteria in Part A, my recommendation for this manuscript (indicate your recommendation by putting an X on the lines provided next to each option):

	Accept The paper is accepted as it is (for publication).
	Needs minor revisions Author(s) will be asked to revise the paper and resubmit, addressing reviewers’ comments. A second round of review will NOT be necessary. (Provided below).The revised paper will NOT go through another round of review.
	Needs major revision (Revise and resubmit) Author(s)will be asked to revise the paper and resubmit ,addressing reviewers’ comments (Provided below). A second round of review will be necessary.
	Reject The paper is below the required standard or is not suitable for the Journal

PART C: REVIEWER’S COMMENTS

Based on my assessment of the basic criteria in the evaluation form (Part A, the following points should be addressed by the author(s) :

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

NB: Please fill all points and return it back with reviewed manuscript. Depending on the nature of the manuscript and/or the field of study some of points do not allow to give points, you may jump that point presented as evaluation criteria and calculate the rest points from 100.

Appendix Two: APA 7th Edition writing format, there is model Pdf. The attachment is at the end of this document.

Policy

Abbreviations

1. Introduction

2. Background

3. Scope and Focus of the Journal

4. Name, color and appearance of The Journal

6. Editorial policies of the journal

7. 1. Author Guidelines

7.2. Declaration

7.3. Conflicts of Interest

7.4. Originality and Plagiarism

7.5. Citation

8. Submission and Peer Review Process

8. 1. Paper Selection and Publication Process

8.2. Basic principles to which peer reviewers should adhere

9. Journal Management Structure

9.1 International Advisory board

9.2. The Editorial board

9.2.1. General Eligibility Criteria for Appointment to the Editorial Board

9.2.2. Nomination and Election Process

9.2.3. General Responsibility of the Editorial Board and Its Members

9.3. Editor-in-Chief‘s Responsibility

9.4. Managing Editor’s Responsibility

9.5. Associate Editors’ Responsibilities

9.6. Assistant editors

10. Copyrights

11. Amendments

12.1. General Guidelines for Manuscript Submission

12.2. The Reference List

12.3 Footnotes

Suggestions for improvement:

point:

Comments:

point:

Comments:

Suggestions for improvement

Appendix Two: APA 7th Edition writing format, there is model Pdf. The attachment is at the end of this document.

Information

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