Instructions for Authors

Authors are encouraged to read these guidelines carefully before preparing and submitting a manuscript. Manuscripts that do not comply with the guidelines may be returned without editorial review, causing unnecessary delays. All manuscripts must be written in clear, grammatically correct academic English. Authors whose first language is not English are strongly encouraged to seek professional language editing prior to submission.

Before submitting, authors must ensure their manuscript has been prepared using the official JSHE Manuscript Template. The title must be concise (20 words or fewer), informative, and free of abbreviations. All authors must be listed with their full names, ORCID iDs, and institutional affiliations. The corresponding author must be identified with a valid institutional email address. The abstract must fall within the required word limit of 150 to 300 words and be structured where specified. Between four and eight keywords aligned with MeSH or standard subject thesauri must be provided. References throughout the manuscript must be formatted in APA 7th Edition.

For double-blind review, the main manuscript file must be fully anonymized — no author names, affiliations, or identifying information should appear in the body text or document metadata. A separate Title Page file containing all author details must be uploaded. Where applicable, authors must include an ethics approval or IRB statement, a statement of informed consent for human subject studies, a data availability statement, a conflict of interest declaration, and a funding statement (or a declaration that no external funding was received). Author contributions must be listed using the CRediT taxonomy. Authors should conduct a plagiarism self-check before submission to ensure the similarity index is below 20%. All figures must be at minimum 300 DPI, and all tables must be formatted per the JSHE template. A cover letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief must be included with every submission.

Article Types & Word Limits

JSHE accepts several categories of scholarly manuscripts, each with specific structural and length requirements. Original Research Articles reporting new empirical data — whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods — must follow the IMRaD structure and range from 4,000 to 8,000 words, with a structured abstract of 250 to 300 words. Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses must follow PRISMA guidelines, include the mandatory PRISMA flow diagram, and range from 5,000 to 10,000 words with a structured abstract of the same length. Meta-Analyses additionally require GRADE assessment. Scoping Reviews must follow PRISMA-ScR guidelines and include a framework table; their word limit is 4,000 to 8,000 words with a structured abstract of 200 to 250 words.

Narrative and Integrative Reviews are expert syntheses taking a comprehensive, thematic, or critical approach, with a word limit of 4,000 to 8,000 words and an unstructured abstract of 150 to 250 words. Case Studies offer in-depth analyses of single or multiple cases at clinical, coaching, or programme level; they range from 2,500 to 5,000 words with an unstructured abstract and a maximum of 50 references. Brief Communications and Pilot Study Reports present preliminary findings or methodological notes in 1,500 to 3,000 words with an unstructured abstract and no more than 30 references. Editorials and Commentaries, whether invited or submitted, present expert opinion on current issues in 800 to 2,500 words and do not require an abstract, with a maximum of 20 references. All word limits exclude the abstract, references, figure captions, and tables. Manuscripts exceeding the applicable limit by more than 10% without prior editorial approval may be returned to authors.

Manuscript Template & Formatting

All manuscripts submitted to JSHE must be prepared using the official JSHE Manuscript Template. Use of the template ensures correct formatting and significantly speeds up the editorial and production process. Manuscripts submitted without the template will be returned for reformatting before review can begin.

Manuscripts must be prepared on A4 page size (210 × 297 mm) with margins of 2.5 cm on all sides. Body text should be set in Times New Roman 12 pt or Calibri 11 pt, with 1.5-line spacing (double-spacing is acceptable for submission). Section headings must be bold, in title case, and numbered in the format 1., 1.1, 1.1.1. Tables should be numbered sequentially with titles placed above and notes below, and must not include vertical borders. Figures should be numbered sequentially with captions placed below and must be submitted at a minimum resolution of 300 DPI in TIFF or high-resolution JPG format. Statistical reporting must include exact p-values, confidence intervals, and effect sizes such as η², d, or r where applicable. All references must follow APA 7th Edition throughout the manuscript. The JSHE Manuscript Template is available for download from the journal website.

Submission Guidelines

JSHE accepts submissions exclusively through its online portal powered by Open Journal Systems (OJS). Authors must create an account on the portal before submitting. Email submissions are not accepted under any circumstances.

To submit a manuscript, authors should visit the JSHE OJS portal and register or log in. They should then select "New Submission," choose the appropriate Article Type, and confirm the submission checklist. The anonymized Main Manuscript file in .docx format must then be uploaded, ensuring that no author-identifying information appears anywhere in the body or document metadata. A separate Title Page in .docx format, containing all author details, must be uploaded as a distinct file — the system manages the blinding process. Supplementary files such as high-resolution figures, supporting datasets, and ethics approval documentation must be uploaded as separate components. Authors must enter all required metadata including the full title, running title, abstract text, keywords, all author details (name, institution, ORCID iD, and country), and the corresponding author's email address.

Authors may optionally suggest between three and five peer reviewers by providing their name, institution, and email address. Any reviewer exclusion requests must be accompanied by reasons. A Cover Letter must be attached as a separate file; it should address the Editor-in-Chief by name, briefly describe the study's contribution to the field, confirm that the manuscript has not been submitted elsewhere, and disclose any competing interests. After reviewing all entered information, authors should click "Submit." The automated confirmation email containing the Manuscript ID must be retained for all future correspondence with the Editorial Office.

ℹ  Simultaneous submission to more than one journal is a breach of publication ethics and will result in immediate rejection. By submitting to JSHE, authors confirm that their manuscript is not under consideration at any other journal.

Authorship & Contributions

JSHE follows the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Every listed author must satisfy all four of the following criteria: first, substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; second, drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content; third, final approval of the version to be published; and fourth, agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including investigating and resolving any questions related to accuracy or integrity.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all four criteria — for example, those who provided statistical advice, contributed to sample collection, or secured funding — should be named in the Acknowledgements section with their specific contributions clearly noted. They must not be listed as authors.

Authors are required to provide a contribution statement using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) framework. Each author's role must be specified against the 14 CRediT categories: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, and Writing – review and editing. For example: "A.B.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – original draft. C.D.: Formal analysis, Visualization. E.F.: Supervision, Writing – review and editing." Any changes to authorship after manuscript submission — including the addition, deletion, or reordering of authors — require a written request signed by all current authors, submitted to the Editorial Office, and are subject to approval by the Editor-in-Chief.

Article Processing Charge (APC)

JSHE is a fully open-access journal with no Article Processing Charge. Authors pay nothing — neither at submission, during peer review, nor upon acceptance and publication. JSHE is committed to removing financial barriers for researchers worldwide, including those based in low- and middle-income countries. All services provided to authors — including peer review coordination, editorial management, professional copyediting, XML/JATS typesetting, PDF and HTML production, DOI registration via Crossref, digital preservation through PKP PN, LOCKSS, and CLOCKSS, and author-facing article metrics — are provided entirely at no cost. There are no submission fees, review fees, or publication fees at any stage.