Guideline for Author

Preparing Your Paper

Please refer to these quick style guidelines when preparing your paper, rather than any published articles or a sample copy.

1. Article title

• Bold font. Only the first word in the article title is capitalized with size 16 left-align unless the word usually is capitalized; article title should be no longer than 20 words (exception condition).
• The Journal welcomes the article submissions which attract the interest of a wide scholarly readership, convey clear and accurate information, and highlight novel issues or perspectives in academic research.
• Refrain from the use of abbreviations and question words in the article title.

Example:

• Problematising “student choice” in classrooms
• Students’ historical contextualization and the cold war

2. Author names

• Author names begin with “by” (italic), followed by the author’s name (italic - bold), and the author’s agency name enclosed in parentheses (italic).
• Given name appears first, family and middle name appears last.
• Articles with multiple authors must be in order showing their contributions (not based on academic title, degree, or position). The name of major contributors is placed first, followed by the name of less prominant contributors. A comma is placed to separate author names.

Example:

by Nguyễn Văn Hiệp (Thu Dau Mot University)

by Bùi Thế Cường (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences), Vũ Mạnh Lợi (Vietnam National University- Ho Chi Minh), Huỳnh Ngọc Thu (Ton Duc Thang University)

3. Abstract

• There is an “ABSTRACT” heading (italic, note it is capitalized).
• Abstract should be 150-250 words for both structured and unstructured forms.
• A structured or unstructured abstract should be in order: background, methods, results, and conclusion.
• The author must not use abbreviations in the article title.

4. Keywords

• Note “Keywords:” as a heading (left-align note there is a terminal colon).
• Keywords are in alphabetical order and separated by commas.
• Up to 5 keywords are allowed.
• There is no period after the last keyword.
• Keywords are in lower case only (unless it is a proper noun, species name).

5. Main text

1) Section headings

• Articles generally use these Level I headings in bold (exception condition) (Introduction, Literature Reviews, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, and References).
• Depending on the article, there may be Level II headings (italic).
• Depending on the articles, there may be Level III headings (italic) whereas Level II (bold italic).

Example:

Introduction
Literature

Reviews
Methods
Participants
Results
Discussion
Acknowledgements

References

• Level I headings: bold font, with 1 line of space before it.
• Level II headings and Level III headings: there is 0 line of space before them.

2) Paragraphs

• First paragraph under any level of section heading is indented 1cm.
• Subsequent paragraphs in the articles are indented 1cm.

3) Abbreviations

• If a term/definition is continually mentioned, it is written in full when it first appears, followed by the subsequent abbreviation in parentheses (even if it was previously defined in the abstract); after that, the abbreviation is used.
• Make sure that an abbreviation so defined does actually appear later in the text (excluding in tables/figures).
• Please refer to the abbreviated conventions relating to the major in the article.

4) Terminology

• Terminology of the paper should be used, except for some commercial terms, the common name of the issue directly related to the discussion.
• The international scientific terminology should be adhered to.

5) Numbers

• Numbers beginning a sentence or those < 10 (i.e one to nine) are shown in words.
• Laboratory parameters, time, temperature, length, area, mass, and volume are represented in digits.
• Centuries and decades are written out using digits, e.g. the 1990s or 20^th century
• Numbers within parentheses are expressed in digits even if < 10
• A dot is used as a thousand separator, e.g. 1.980, or 6.470.880.

6) Statistics

• Statistic APA style is used.
• Use readable spacing, placing a space after commas, variables and mathematical symbols. For example:
  • r(55) = .49, p < .001 (correct)
  • r(55)=.49,p<.001. (incorrect)
• Don’t state formulas for common statistics (e.g. variance, z-score).
• Don’t use references for statistics unless they are uncommon or the focus of your study.
• Don’t use a zero before a decimal point when the statistic cannot be greater than 1 (e.g. p = .015)
• Place a zero before the decimal point if the statistic can be greater than 1 (e.g. 0.29 1b)
• Symbols should be italicized: t, F, z (exception condition)
• Place percentages in parentheses, e.g. Most of my students (90.5%) passed the final exam

7) Units

• SI units should be used throughout unless it is common practice in the field to use other units.
• Metric system is used for the expression of length, area, mass, and volume.
• Take care to use the correct case for the units, e.g. write 20 km and not 20 Km
• The journal uses “l” rather than “L” as the symbol for liters, e.g. 100ml
• Temperatures are given in degree Celsius, e.g. 15⁰C (no space between number and degree symbol).
• Virgule (/) is used, e.g. 3 times/per day

8) Miscellaneous style points

• There are two ways using “vs”: When within parentheses, use “vs.” (italic with end period), e.g. (boys vs. girls); when not in parentheses, spell it out (not italic), e.g. boy versus girls
• When within parentheses, use “%”, e.g. (100% and 20%); when not within parentheses, spell it out, e.g. 100 percent, 20 percent
• Italicize all foreign-language term, e.g. ad nauseam, bon voyage, bona fide, en masse, pro bono, ect.
• Italicize species names, e.g. You would find spice mixes like gram masala, chole masala, rajma masala, nihari masala, 5-spice panch phoran spice mix etc.
• “st”, “nd”, “rd”, “th” are not superscripted after numbers, e.g. 21st, 22nd, 23 rd (not 23^rd, 1^st )
• Use en dashes (–) without space for number ranging, e.g. 2(1),12–24
• Contraction do not have end period, e.g. Prof Châu, Ms Hoa (not Prof. or Ms.)
• Quotes: double quotes are used; single quotes used for quotes within a quote
• For equipment, software, chemical reagents, etc. should be provided in details, e.g. APA 6th edition, MLA 8th edition
• Or if name of products is within parentheses: (APA 6th edition, MLA 8th edition)

9) Tables

• Be consistent in the formatting and vocabulary of all tables when writing a paper
• Note “TABLE” (italic, note it is capitalized) followed by table number. There is a period after word “TABLE”. Only the first word in the table title is capitalized (except the word is always capitalized).
• Tables should be presented in portrait format with 15cm high (exceptions using landscape format with 20cm wide).
• The words in the table are size 8-10
• Tables do not need any vertical lines to separate columns and horizontal lines should be used sparingly.

Example:

Table 1. Universities and students in 1961–1969

10) Figures

• Ensure that figures are simple, clear and consistent in presentation and vocabulary
• Figures should be presented in portrait format with size 15cm wide
• The “Figure” caption (italic) should only appear below the figure, followed by figure number. There is a period after word “Figure 1.”. Only the first word in the figure title is capitalized (except the word is always capitalized)
• The figures should appear in the appropriate place within the text

Example:

Figure 1. The opening scene in the geriatric case, the nurse and doctor talking to the patient and his daughter in the patient room

11) Acknowledgements

• Acknowledgements are positioned after main body of text, before the references.
• Acknowledgements include sources of financial support, materials, concepts, correction, and encouragement.
• Acknowledgements should not contain abbreviations.

12) References

• APA style reference
• Note “References” as a heading (left-align)
• References are alphabetically ordered.
• In text, figure legends, tables, each reference including author’s name and year is put in parentheses, e.g. (Cường, 2017). Multiple references are separated by semi-colon (;), e.g. (Cường, 2017; Hiệp, 2007).
• Abstract should not be cited unless it is the only available reference to an important concept.
• Uncompleted and unpublished work should not be cited as references.
• If reference cited only has 2 authors, both surnames are listed, e.g. Bùi Thế Cường and Vũ Mạnh Lợi (2017) stated that…If reference has more than 3 authors, please see APA style reference.
• In the reference list, provide the citation for the work in its original language. Also provide an English translation of the title of the work in square brackets after the original language title, without italics.
• Reference list entry:

Tạ Ngọc Tân (Editor, 2013). Xu hướng biến đổi cơ cấu xã hội Việt Nam [ Trends in Change of Vietnamese Social Structure]. National Politics Publishers.

Examples

Book chapter in book with editors

Van de Vijver, F., & Leung, K. (2011). Equivalence and bias: a review of concepts, models, and data analytic procedures. In D. Matsumoto & F. Van de Vijver (Eds.), Cross-cultural research methods in psychology (pp. 17–45). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Journal articles

Gleditsch, N. P., Pinker, S., Thayer, B. A., Levy, J. S., & Thompson, W. R. (2013). The forum: The decline of war. International Studies Review, 15(3), 396–419.

Paper presentation or poster session

Seibel, R., & Saffran, J. (2006, June). Tune or text: The effect of text on melody recognition. Paper presented at the annual meeting of XVth Biennial International Conference on Infant Studies, Kyoto, Japan. Abstract retrieved from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p94581_index.html

Government report

National Institute of Mental Health. (2009). Anxiety disorders (NIH Publication No.
09-3879). Retrieved from National Institute of Mental Health website:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/anxiety-disorders/nimhanxiety.pdf
Vietnam National Assembly (2012). Luật giáo dục đại học [Higher education law]. No 08/2012/QH13. June 8th 2012.