NJMRA - Manuscript Submission Guidelines for the Authors

There is no charge for submitting a paper to the journal. As NSHM Business School (Kolkata) sponsors the journal by covering the Article Processing Charge (APC), so there is no APC payable by authors.

(i) Correspondence Details
  • Manuscripts must be submitted online to editornjmra@nshm.com
  • Each submission must adhere to the style guidelines. Those that do not follow the guidelines will be returned to the author for correction.
  • For any queries related to manuscript submission, please contact editornjmra@nshm.com Submissions through other e-mails will not be processed for review.
  • In case the paper has already been uploaded to any pre-print server, it is the responsibility of the author(s) to ensure the confidentiality of the paper. In such cases, authors are instructed to please alert the Editorial Office when submitting and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system.
  • While the paper is being peer-reviewed for possible publication in the NJMRA, authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server. If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.
(ii) Review Process

To ensure fairness, objectivity, and confidentiality, the NJMRA review process accepts for publication only high-quality research articles that contribute significantly to the field of social science and management. The NJMRA engages an expert reviewer team that maintains its commitment to upholding thorough academic standards and endorsing the progression of knowledge in the subject.

  • Once a paper is submitted, each paper is assigned to a Co-editor, or Associate Editor who does the initial review and decides if the paper will go through the double-blind peer review process. If the manuscript passes the initial guideline check process, the Associate Editor selects the reviewers based on the scholarly expertise and availability of potential reviewers.
  • Each article submitted to the NJMRA goes through two rounds of review. The NJMRA reviews each article following a double-blind review process. The review at each round takes about 12-14 weeks. Reviewers thoroughly evaluate the manuscript, assessing factors such as the research methodology, theoretical framework, data analysis, conclusions, and overall contribution to the field. When assessing a manuscript, external peer reviewers should notify editors of any conflicts of interest that might affect their assessment of the work. Reviewers shouldn’t exploit their insider information to advance their agendas before the work’s release.
  • They will recommend Acceptance/ Revision and Review (minor/major), or Rejection along with constructive feedback, and suggestions for improvement.
  • Authors are given a specified timeframe to revise and resubmit their manuscripts.
  • After receiving the revised manuscript, the Editorial Board evaluates whether the revisions adequately address the reviewers’ concerns. Based on this evaluation, a final decision is made regarding acceptance for publication.
  • Once a manuscript is accepted, it moves to the publication procedure (comprising copyediting, typesetting, and formatting). NJMRA reserves the right to make editorial amendments to the final draft of the manuscript to suit the journal’s requirements.
(iii) Checklist Guidelines for Authors

There are a few guidelines outlining key points for preparing primary research manuscripts for submission to the NJMRA. Authors are required to adhere to the below-stated rules and check off their submission’s compliance before submission, failing which submissions may be returned 

  • Read the journal’s guidelines for authors, and adhere to the directions for format, data sets, ethics approval, or statements.
  • Ensure the names of all authors are mentioned on the paper.
  • Reference all material in the text.
  • Thoroughly check data and include all relevant data needed by the journal.
  • Declare any relevant competing interests, if any, to the journal.
  • Obtain (written) permission to reuse any figures, tables, and data sets.
  • Submit the paper to only one journal at a time. Authors may not submit a manuscript for consideration by NJMRA under review at another journal.
  • Authors will be required to provide access to the editor and reviewers, if requested, to both data and programs during the review process for replication purposes.
  • Notify all the co-authors once you have submitted the paper.
(iv) Format Guidelines

The format guidelines to be followed include

We recommend to limit your paper size to 30 pages, which includes figures and tables. Please use single-spacing for references to save manuscript space. The language used in the journal is American English. Ensure that your paper is single-spaced, uses a 12-point readable Times New Roman font, and has one-inch margins on all sides. Your text should be left-justified. For short research articles, the length should not exceed 20 pages, including the title page, abstract, text, figures, tables, and references. Employ italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses). The NJMRA generally follows the APA style (https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format#maincontent).

(v) Manuscript Format

The manuscript should be accompanied by an abstract (of 150-200 words), along with five to six keywords, a brief profile (60–80 words) of the author/s describing current designation and affiliation, and a plagiarism report.

  • Title Page – Ensure that you create a separate file for the title page, containing the following information:
    Author(s)’ Full Name(s):
    Title of the Paper:
    Each Author(s)’ affiliation, employer, and job title, along with complete addresses:
    Each Author(s)’ email addresses, and contact details (Mobile number):
    Authors’ ORCID affiliation:

    If the author(s) have received any research sponsorship or would like to thank anyone for their contribution to your work, include an acknowledgments section on the title page. Please note that when submitting the paper, acknowledgments should only be included on the title page and not in the main text.
  • Abstract – It is crucial that the abstract precisely, concisely, and effectively summarizes the content of the paper. The NJMRA mandates the submission of two sections: one academic/theoretical and one managerial/practical abstract, for any paper submitted. The academic portion abridging the entire paper, must be limited to not more than 150 words. It must be able to stand independently, separate from the rest of the paper. The managerial section (of up to 150 words), is for business practitioners to understand focusing on the practical implication of the study. It should be devoid of academic jargon and other technicalities. Citations to other works should not be included in either abstract. To aid indexing, it is important to include five (5) keywords in your abstracts that accurately describe your paper. The keywords should be separated by (;). As keywords aid readers and indexing systems in categorizing and searching for work, enhance the discoverability of your article, and ensure that it can be easily found by interested readers and researchers.

 

  • Main document – The body text must be single-spaced (font size 12) and use one-inch margins. There should be no mention of author names, author affiliations, or acknowledgments anywhere within the main document. There should be no edits (such as Track Changes and comment bubbles) appearing in the text. Organize the paper into sections and use three levels of headings. Headings are not numbered. The first level should be capitalized, bold, and center-aligned (e.g., FINDINGS). The second level should have the main words starting with a capital letter (e.g., Findings and Interpretations) and left aligned. The third level should be in lowercase and italicized (e.g., Unconstrained variables).

    A generic format of the manuscript structure can include- Introduction, Literature Review, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Author Contributions, Implications, and Limitations. Details regarding Institutional Review Board Statement (if applicable), Funding/ financial support received for the research, Acknowledgments of individual’s / organizations contributions (which do not meet the criteria for authorship), Informed Consent Statement from participants in the study (if needed), Data Availability Statement, Conflicts of Interest that may influence the interpretation of the research are also needed. Please ensure that the file size of your manuscript is kept small for easy handling and transmission. By organizing your manuscript according to these sections, you can present your research in a structured and comprehensive manner.
  • Figures and Tables – The manuscript should contain editable figures and tables that are numbered and have legends. These items should appear at the end of the manuscript after the references section, following the order they appear in the text. To indicate where these items should be placed, there must be placement instructions within the body text (such as “Insert Table 1 Here”). Caption describing the content of the table concisely and clearly, must be at the top of the table. Detailed explanations or additional information, if any, can be provided below the table. To ensure consistency, please use the same lettering and sizing in the original artwork. For printing purposes, please ensure that the figure files are in high resolution (at least 300dpi) and saved in “.tiff and .png” format. Please note that the figures may appear in black and white in print.
(vi) File formats

At the submission stage, the NJMRA will accept files in both Word and PDF. If the paper is not readable after the system converts it to PDF, we will send it back to you for formatting revisions. Once your paper is accepted, we will request that files be provided in Word (.doc, .docx, .rtf).

(vii) Citations and References

NJMRA uses APA style (7th edition)
(https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references).
All references must have a corresponding citation in the text and vice versa.