Author Guidelines

Journal of Education and Development Lab (JEDL)

The Journal of Education and Development Lab (JEDL) welcomes original, high-quality scholarly contributions that advance knowledge, research, policy, practice, and innovation across education, development, humanities, social sciences, technology, and related interdisciplinary fields.

JEDL is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts that demonstrate academic rigor, methodological soundness, originality, ethical research practices, and clear relevance to the journal's aims and scope.

1. Before You Submit

Authors should ensure that their manuscript:

  • falls within the aims and scope of JEDL;

  • is original and has not been published previously;

  • is not currently under consideration by another journal;

  • represents the authors' own scholarly work;

  • meets appropriate academic and ethical standards;

  • follows the required manuscript structure and formatting;

  • includes complete and accurate references;

  • properly acknowledges the contribution of all authors;

  • declares any relevant conflicts of interest;

  • identifies funding sources, where applicable;

  • complies with JEDL's plagiarism and research-misconduct requirements; and

  • complies with JEDL's policy on the use of artificial intelligence and generative AI.

Submission of a manuscript implies that all authors have approved the submitted version and agree to its submission to JEDL.

2. Types of Manuscripts

JEDL may consider the following types of scholarly contributions:

2.1 Original Research Articles

Full-length articles presenting original theoretical, empirical, experimental, qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-methods research.

2.2 Review Articles

Critical and comprehensive reviews of existing literature on a significant topic within the journal's scope.

2.3 Systematic Reviews

Structured reviews conducted using a clearly defined and reproducible methodology. Where appropriate, authors should follow recognized reporting standards such as PRISMA.

2.4 Short Communications

Concise reports presenting significant findings, methodological innovations, emerging research, or timely scholarly contributions.

2.5 Case Studies

Detailed scholarly analyses of specific educational, social, developmental, technological, institutional, or community-based cases.

2.6 Conceptual or Theoretical Articles

Articles that develop, critique, extend, or propose theoretical, conceptual, or analytical frameworks.

2.7 Book Reviews

Critical evaluations of recently published academic books relevant to the journal's scope.

2.8 Editorials and Commentaries

Scholarly perspectives on important developments, emerging issues, policies, or debates relevant to education and development.

JEDL may consider other scholarly formats at the discretion of the Editorial Team.

3. Originality and Exclusive Submission

Manuscripts submitted to JEDL must be original.

A manuscript should not:

  • have been published previously in whole or in substantial part;

  • be simultaneously submitted to another journal;

  • contain substantial duplicated material from another publication; or

  • reproduce copyrighted material without appropriate permission.

Authors must inform the Editor if substantially related material has been published or submitted elsewhere.

Duplicate, redundant, or simultaneous publication may constitute research misconduct.

4. Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be prepared clearly, accurately, and consistently.

Unless otherwise specified for a particular article type, manuscripts should generally include the following sections:

  1. Title

  2. Author information

  3. Abstract

  4. Keywords

  5. Introduction

  6. Literature Review / Background

  7. Methodology

  8. Results / Findings

  9. Discussion

  10. Conclusion

  11. Recommendations or Implications, where appropriate

  12. Limitations, where appropriate

  13. Acknowledgments, where applicable

  14. Funding Statement, where applicable

  15. Conflict of Interest Statement

  16. Data Availability Statement, where applicable

  17. References

  18. Appendices, where necessary

The exact structure may vary according to the discipline and type of manuscript.

Authors should use clear headings and subheadings to improve readability.

5. Title

The title should:

  • accurately describe the content of the manuscript;

  • be concise and informative;

  • avoid unnecessary abbreviations;

  • avoid excessive jargon; and

  • accurately reflect the research topic and population or context where appropriate.

Authors should avoid misleading or sensational titles.

6. Author Information

The submission should provide accurate information for every author, including:

  • full name;

  • institutional affiliation;

  • department or academic unit, where applicable;

  • city and country;

  • institutional or professional email address; and

  • ORCID iD, where available.

The corresponding author must be clearly identified.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all author information is accurate at the time of submission.

7. Authorship

Authorship should reflect substantial scholarly contributions to the work.

All listed authors should:

  • have made a meaningful contribution to the research;

  • have participated sufficiently in the preparation or development of the manuscript;

  • approve the final manuscript;

  • agree to be accountable for their contribution; and

  • agree to the submission of the manuscript to JEDL.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be appropriately acknowledged.

Changes to the author list after submission should be supported by a clear justification and, where applicable, approval from all affected authors.

Authors should consult JEDL's Authorship & Contributorship Policy for further requirements.

8. Abstract

Research articles should normally include a concise abstract.

The abstract should clearly communicate:

  • the research problem or purpose;

  • methodology or approach;

  • major findings;

  • key conclusions; and

  • important implications, where appropriate.

Authors should avoid citations, unexplained abbreviations, and unnecessary detail in the abstract.

9. Keywords

Authors should provide approximately 4–8 keywords or key phrases that accurately represent the manuscript.

Keywords should be specific, relevant, and useful for indexing and discovery.

Authors should avoid unnecessarily broad or repetitive terms.

10. References and Citations

Authors must provide complete and accurate references for all sources cited in the manuscript.

JEDL generally recommends the use of APA 7th edition citation and reference style unless a discipline-specific requirement has been communicated by the Editorial Team.

Authors should ensure that:

  • every in-text citation appears in the reference list;

  • every reference-list entry is cited in the text;

  • author names and publication dates are accurate;

  • titles and publication information are complete;

  • DOI information is included where available; and

  • URLs are accurate and functional where required.

Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy of their references.

11. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be used only when they improve the presentation or understanding of the research.

Each table and figure should:

  • have a clear and descriptive title;

  • be numbered consecutively;

  • be referred to in the manuscript;

  • be sufficiently clear and readable;

  • include appropriate notes or source information where necessary; and

  • comply with copyright requirements.

Authors must obtain permission for copyrighted tables, figures, photographs, or other materials where permission is required.

12. Research Methodology

Research manuscripts should provide sufficient methodological information to allow readers to understand and, where reasonably possible, evaluate or reproduce the study.

Depending on the research design, authors should clearly describe:

  • research design;

  • participants or study population;

  • sampling procedures;

  • data sources;

  • instruments or materials;

  • data-collection procedures;

  • analytical methods;

  • ethical considerations; and

  • relevant statistical or qualitative procedures.

Authors should not omit important methodological information that could materially affect interpretation of the findings.

13. Research Ethics

Authors are responsible for ensuring that research involving human participants, animals, personal data, or sensitive information has been conducted ethically.

Where applicable, manuscripts should provide information regarding:

  • ethical approval or institutional review;

  • informed consent;

  • participant confidentiality;

  • protection of personal information;

  • data protection procedures; and

  • other relevant ethical safeguards.

Where ethical approval was not required, authors should provide an appropriate explanation when relevant.

JEDL reserves the right to request evidence of ethical approval or other relevant documentation.

14. Plagiarism and Research Misconduct

JEDL does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data, duplicate publication, inappropriate image manipulation, citation manipulation, authorship misconduct, or other forms of research misconduct.

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using appropriate plagiarism-detection or similarity-checking tools.

A high similarity score does not automatically establish plagiarism; the Editorial Team will assess the nature and context of the similarity.

Where misconduct is suspected or identified, JEDL may take appropriate action in accordance with its Plagiarism & Research Misconduct Policy and Publication Ethics & Malpractice Policy.

15. Artificial Intelligence and Generative AI

Authors may use artificial intelligence tools responsibly in accordance with JEDL's AI & Generative AI Policy.

AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for:

  • the accuracy and integrity of the manuscript;

  • originality of the work;

  • factual claims;

  • citations and references;

  • interpretation of results;

  • disclosure of relevant AI use; and

  • compliance with research and publication ethics.

Where the use of generative AI materially contributed to the preparation of a manuscript, authors should disclose such use according to JEDL's AI policy.

Authors must not use AI tools in a manner that compromises confidential, personal, proprietary, or unpublished information.

16. Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, personal, institutional, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

If no conflict exists, authors should provide an appropriate declaration such as:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Further requirements are provided in JEDL's Conflict of Interest Policy.

17. Funding

Authors should disclose all sources of financial or institutional support for the research.

Where no external funding was received, authors may state:

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Funding information should be accurate and complete.

18. Data Availability

Authors should provide an appropriate data availability statement where relevant.

Depending on the circumstances, authors may indicate whether:

  • research data are publicly available;

  • data are available upon reasonable request;

  • data are restricted because of ethical, legal, privacy, or confidentiality considerations; or

  • the study did not generate or analyze datasets.

Authors must not disclose confidential or personally identifiable information without appropriate authorization.

19. Acknowledgments

Individuals or organizations that contributed to the research but do not qualify for authorship may be acknowledged.

Acknowledgments may include:

  • research assistance;

  • technical assistance;

  • institutional support;

  • language or editorial assistance;

  • data collection assistance; or

  • other appropriate contributions.

Individuals should generally be informed before being named in an acknowledgment.

20. Copyright and Licensing

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted material does not infringe the rights of others.

JEDL's copyright and licensing arrangements are described in its Copyright & Licensing Policy.

Authors should ensure that permission has been obtained for copyrighted material where required.

The applicable license for published articles will be identified on the article's publication page.

21. Open Access

JEDL is an open-access journal. Published articles are made available to readers without subscription barriers, subject to the journal's applicable copyright and licensing terms.

Authors should review the JEDL Open Access Policy for further information.

22. Publication Fees

JEDL operates without mandatory author publication charges.

JEDL does not charge:

  • Article Processing Charges (APC);

  • manuscript submission fees;

  • acceptance fees; or

  • mandatory publication fees.

The journal is maintained through voluntary academic and editorial contributions.

Any future change to the journal's fee policy will be publicly announced and reflected in the official APC / Fee Policy before implementation.

23. Submission Procedure

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically through the JEDL online submission system.

Authors should:

  1. Register for an account or log in to an existing account.

  2. Select the appropriate submission section.

  3. Enter the required manuscript and author information.

  4. Upload the manuscript and any required supplementary files.

  5. Complete the submission metadata accurately.

  6. Provide relevant declarations.

  7. Confirm that the manuscript complies with JEDL's submission requirements.

  8. Complete the submission.

Authors should carefully review all metadata before completing submission because accurate metadata supports indexing, discoverability, DOI registration, and scholarly communication.

24. Submission Checklist

Before submitting, authors should confirm that:

  • The manuscript fits the scope of JEDL.

  • The manuscript is original.

  • The manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere.

  • All authors have approved the submission.

  • Author information is complete and accurate.

  • The corresponding author has been identified.

  • The manuscript follows JEDL formatting requirements.

  • The abstract is included.

  • Keywords are included.

  • Tables and figures are properly numbered and cited.

  • References are complete and accurate.

  • Ethical approval information is included where applicable.

  • Conflict of interest information is provided.

  • Funding information is provided where applicable.

  • Data availability information is provided where applicable.

  • AI use has been disclosed where applicable.

  • Permissions have been obtained for copyrighted material where required.

  • The manuscript has been checked for plagiarism and research misconduct.

  • The manuscript has been proofread for language and presentation.

  • All required files have been uploaded.

25. Editorial and Peer Review Process

After submission, manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment to determine whether they meet JEDL's basic requirements and fall within the journal's scope.

Manuscripts that pass the initial assessment may be sent for peer review.

The Editorial Team may consider:

  • relevance to the journal's scope;

  • originality;

  • methodological quality;

  • academic significance;

  • clarity and organization;

  • ethical compliance;

  • research integrity; and

  • suitability for publication.

Submission does not guarantee acceptance or publication.

The final publication decision rests with the appropriate JEDL editor in accordance with the journal's editorial policies.

26. Revisions

Authors may be asked to revise their manuscripts following editorial or peer-review comments.

When submitting a revised manuscript, authors should:

  • address reviewer and editor comments carefully;

  • provide a clear response to each substantive comment;

  • identify major changes made to the manuscript; and

  • ensure that the revised manuscript is complete and consistent.

The Editorial Team may request additional revisions where necessary.

27. Withdrawal of Manuscripts

Authors should contact the Editorial Team if they need to withdraw a manuscript.

Withdrawal requests should provide a clear reason and, where there are multiple authors, should normally be made with the knowledge and agreement of all authors.

Authors should not submit a manuscript elsewhere while it remains under active consideration by JEDL unless the manuscript has been formally withdrawn.

28. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Issues

JEDL is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

Where significant errors, ethical concerns, or research misconduct are identified after publication, the journal may issue:

  • corrections;

  • editorial notices;

  • expressions of concern; or

  • retractions,

as appropriate.

Post-publication actions will be handled according to JEDL's Retraction & Correction Policy and applicable publication-ethics principles.

29. Language and Presentation

Manuscripts should be written in clear, academically appropriate English unless another language has been expressly approved by the Editorial Team.

Authors should ensure that manuscripts are:

  • grammatically clear;

  • logically organized;

  • professionally presented;

  • free from unnecessary repetition; and

  • understandable to the intended scholarly audience.

Authors whose first language is not English are encouraged to obtain appropriate language editing or proofreading before submission where necessary.

Language editing does not guarantee acceptance.

30. Accessibility and Inclusive Scholarly Communication

Authors are encouraged to use clear, respectful, inclusive, and non-discriminatory language.

Tables, figures, and other visual materials should be prepared as clearly as reasonably possible to support accessibility and scholarly communication.

Authors should avoid unnecessary exclusionary terminology and should use terminology appropriate to the research context.

31. Author Responsibility

Authors are ultimately responsible for the content of their manuscripts.

This includes responsibility for:

  • accuracy of information;

  • originality;

  • research integrity;

  • ethical conduct;

  • citations and references;

  • authorship;

  • declarations;

  • data and analysis;

  • copyright compliance; and

  • compliance with JEDL policies.

Publication in JEDL does not transfer responsibility for scholarly accuracy from the authors to the journal.

32. Important JEDL Policies

Authors should read the following policies before submission:

  • Publication Ethics & Malpractice Policy

  • Plagiarism & Research Misconduct Policy

  • Authorship & Contributorship Policy

  • Conflict of Interest Policy

  • AI & Generative AI Policy

  • Copyright & Licensing Policy

  • Open Access Policy

  • APC / Fee Policy

  • Retraction & Correction Policy

  • Complaints & Appeals Policy

  • Data Availability Policy

  • Peer Review Policy

  • Archiving & Preservation Policy

Compliance with these policies is an essential part of the JEDL submission and publication process.

33. Contact

For questions regarding manuscript preparation, submission, editorial procedures, or publication policies, authors may contact the JEDL Editorial Team through the official journal contact information provided on the journal website.

Journal of Education and Development Lab (JEDL)
Publisher: Education and Development Lab
Email: editor@jedl.us
Website: https://jedl.us/

Final Note

Authors are encouraged to carefully review these guidelines and the relevant JEDL policies before submitting a manuscript. The Editorial Team reserves the right to return manuscripts that do not meet the journal's basic submission requirements or to request appropriate corrections before peer review.