Submissions

Author Guidelines

FOR STEPS BY STEPS MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION, PLEASE FOLLOW UMRAN'S GUIDELINES.

DETAILS FOR AUTHOR GUIDELINES ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1.0 GENERAL

We aim for excellence, sustained by a responsible and professional approach to journal publishing. We value and support our authors in the research community. Please read the guidelines and follow these instructions carefully; doing so will ensure that the publication of your manuscript is as rapid and efficient as possible. The Editorial Board reserves the right to return manuscripts that are not prepared in accordance with these guidelines. 

UMRAN policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications. It prohibits the publication of any manuscript that has already been published either in whole or substantial part elsewhere. It also does not permit publication of a manuscript that has been published in full. Please refer to UMRAN’s Code of Ethics for complete details.

2.0 SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

The Journal publishes articles in the Malay and English languages. Only original manuscripts which have not been published elsewhere, or under consideration by any other journals, need to be submitted for our consideration. The Journal accepts papers for publication on the understanding that they are original and the contents have not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere. 

Please use the UMRAN TEMPLATE provided in this SUBMISSION PACKAGE. Kindly refer to the Template Checklist for Guidance. Each submission must include :

3.0 EDITORIAL PROCESS

Authors are notified on receipt of a manuscript and upon the editorial decision regarding publication.

Manuscript review: Manuscripts deemed suitable for publication are sent to the Editorial Board members and/or other reviewers. We encourage authors to suggest the names of possible reviewers. Notification of the editorial decision is usually provided within to eight (8) to ten (10) weeks from the receipt of the manuscript. Publication of solicited manuscripts is not guaranteed. In most cases, manuscripts are accepted conditionally, pending an author's revision of the material.

Author approval: Authors are responsible for all statements in their articles, including changes made by editors. The liaison author must be available for consultation with an editor of The Journal to answer questions during the editorial process and to approve the edited copy. Authors will receive the edited typescript (not galley proofs) for final approval. Changes cannot be made to the copy after the edited version has been approved.

3.1 Lag Time

A decision on acceptance or rejection of a manuscript is reached in 3 to 4 months (average 14 weeks). The elapsed time from submission to publication for the articles averages in between 5-6 months

4.0 TYPE OF PAPERS 

4.1 Regular article

Definition: Full-length original empirical investigations, consisting of introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, conclusions. Original work must provide references and an explanation of research findings that contain new and significant findings.

Size: Should not exceed 7000 words or 10-15 pages (excluding the abstract, references, tables and/or figures). One printed page is roughly equivalent to 3 type-written pages.

4.2. Short communications

Definition: Significant new information to readers of the Journal in a short but complete form. 

Size: Should not exceed 2000 words or four (4) pages, since the intention is rapid publication. They are not intended to publish preliminary results or to be a reduced version of Regular Papers or Rapid Papers.

4.3 Review article

Definition: Critical evaluation of materials about current research that had already been published by organising, integrating, and evaluating previously published materials. Re-analyses as meta-analysis and systemic reviews are encouraged. Review articles should aim to provide systemic overviews, evaluations and interpretations of research in a given field.

Size: Should not exceed 4000 words or 7-8 pages.

4.4 Special issues

Definition: Papers that are usually presented at a conference, seminar, congress or a symposium. We accept a minimum of seven (7) articles for a special issue.

Size: Should not exceed 5000 words or 8-10 pages.

4.5 Others

Definition: Brief reports, case studies, comments, Letters to the Editor, and replies on previously published articles may be considered.

Size: Should not exceed 2000 words or up to four (4) pages. With few exceptions, original manuscripts should not exceed the recommended length of six (6) pages (about 18 typed pages, double spaced and in 12-point font, tables and figures included). 

5.0 MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Manuscripts, in general, should be organised in the following order:

• Page 1: Running title. (Not exceeding 60 characters, counting letters and spaces). This page should only contain the running title of your paper. The running title is an abbreviated title used as the running head on every page of the manuscript. In addition, the Subject areas most relevant to the study must be indicated on this page. Select the appropriate subject areas from the Scope of the Journal provided in the Manuscript Submission Guide.
• Page 2: Author(s) and Corresponding author information. This page should contain the full title of your paper with the name(s) of all the authors, institutions and corresponding author's name, institution and complete address (Street address, telephone number (including extension), handphone number, fax number and email address) for editorial correspondence. 
• Page 3 and above. Manuscript content. It must include the following: Title, Abstract, Keywords, Text, Acknowledgement (compulsary), Reference.

*A manuscript template can be found here (UMRAN TEMPLATE FOR PUBLICATION): 

5.1 Abstract

All manuscripts should be accompanied by two abstracts, of not more than 200 words each, written in English and Bahasa Melayu. Manuscripts in the English Language need only an English abstract. The abstract should not only indicate the subject and scope of the paper but also summarise the author's conclusion, along with at least five (5) keywords that could be useful for information-retrieval purposes.

A good abstract should consist of an introduction, problem statement, quantitative results & discussion and quantitative conclusion. Do not use references in abstract.  

5.2 Text 

Text is the central part of an article, and it should typically contain 1.0 Introduction, 2.0 Literature Review, 3.0 Methodology, 4.0 Results and Discussion 5.0 Conclusion but not restricted to, depending on the nature of the article. Each section and sub-section should be numbered using Arabic numerals.

5.2.1 Illustrations. Tables, figures and plates should not be inserted within the pages of the manuscript but should be submitted on separate sheets attached to the article.

• Tables should be prepared with the minimum use of horizontal rules (usually three are sufficient) and avoiding vertical rules.
• It is crucial to provide an exact copy of figures (not photocopies or faxes) which can be reproduced by the printer and do not require redrawing.
• Photographs should be in high-contrast black and white glossy prints.

The desired position for each table, figure and plate should be indicated in the manuscript.

5.2.2 Equations and Formula. These must be set up clearly and should be typed triple spaced. Numbers identifying equations should be in square brackets and placed on the right margin of the text. 

5.2.3 Quranic verses or Hadith from the Prophet (PBUH): If there is a usage of Quranic verses or Hadith, providing the translation will suffice.

5.3 Acknowledgements

A brief acknowledgment of not more than 50 words should be included at the end of the manuscripts, before the list of references. Acknowledgement could be made to funding body, institution/universities/organization or individual/person.

Example:

1. Acknowledgement to funding body (Grant number) : This work was supported by the Trust [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; the Natural Environment Research Council [grant number zzzz]; and the Economic and Social Research Council [grant number aaaa].

2. Acknowledgement to institution/universities/organization: We would like to thank XYZ University for their helpful feedback and support.

3. Acknowledgement to individual/person: We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our supervisor, Professor John Doe, for his valuable guidance and support throughout the research process. His expertise and insights were invaluable in shaping our research and helping us to overcome challenges.

5.4 Reference at the end of the article must follow the Journal's referencing style.

6.0 REFERENCE STYLE

In general, we use the author-date system (In-text referencing) for citation, and we  follow the APA system of referencing as a guideline.

Please use UMRAN's style of referencing as follow:

• The style for papers: Authors (last name, followed by first initial for the main author, and first initial followed by the last name for other authors). (year). "title", periodical (in italics), volume (issue), inclusive page numbers. 
• The style for books: [Reference number], Authors, title (in italics), year, location, publisher, chapter or page numbers.

For example:

Bogdonoff, S., & Rubin, J. (2007). “The regional greenhouse gas initiative: Taking action in Maine.” Environment, 49(2), 9-16.

Gore, A. (2006). An inconvenient truth: The planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it. Emmaus, PA: Rodale.

For further details, please download UMRAN's referencing style guideline.

List of references should appear in a separate Reference section at the end of the manuscripts, typed double-spaced in the order of item referred to in the next, using numerals in square brackets. 

Authors are asked to ensure that dates, spelling and titles are used in the References are consistent with those listed in the text.  

7.0  DECLARATION OF AI AND AI-ASSISTED TECHNOLOGIES IN THE WRITING PROCESS 

Authors must disclose the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding statement at the end of their manuscript in a new section entitled " Declaration of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process".
Statement: During the preparation of this work the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.
This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references etc. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement.

8.0 ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDITING

UMRAN emphasises on the linguistic accuracy of every manuscript published. Thus all authors are required to get their manuscripts edited by professional English language editors. Author(s) must provide a certificate confirming that their manuscripts have been adequately edited. Proof from a recognised editing service should be submitted together with the cover letter at the time of submitting a manuscript to UMRAN. All costs will be borne by the author(s). This step, taken by authors before submission, will greatly facilitate reviewing, and thus publication if the content is acceptable. Author material archive policy Authors who require the return of any submitted material that is rejected for publication in the Journal should indicate on the cover letter. If no indication is given, then the author's material should be returned, the Editorial Office will dispose of all hardcopy and electronic material.

9.0 COPYRIGHT OF THE ARTICLE SUBMITTED

Copyright of articles that appear in UMRAN belongs exclusively to Penerbit Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. This copyright covers the rights to reproduce the paper, including reprints, electronic reproductions or any other reproductions of similar nature.

10.0 CHARGE

• Publishing an article in UMRAN is free of charge except for the special issue.
• We charge Malaysian Ringgit 2000.00 as a processing fee for the special issue. 

• A special issue must have a minimum of seven (7) articles and does not exceed ten (10) articles per issue. Apart from the special article processing charge, there are no submission charges, page charges, or colour charges.
• The fee for the special issue is to be paid by the guest editor. Special issue processing charges will be used for operating expenses of the issue such as editorial editing, layout editors and language proofreaders.

HARDCOPIES OF THE JOURNALS AND OFF PRINTS

The Journal is open-access; contents are readily available to all readers. We do not provide a printed version of the Journal. All articles are published online.

Authors can choose to download free material (via PDF link) from any of the Journal issues from UMRAN's website. Under "Browse Journals", you will see a link entitled "Current Issues" or "Archives".