Submissions

Author Guidelines

1. Scope and Focus

Journal of SPHERES (JSPHERES) welcomes high-quality manuscripts that contribute to advancing interdisciplinary research and scholarly discourse across education, philosophy, ethics, history, sociology, culture, economics, politics, arts, linguistics, psychology, geography, and related social science and humanities disciplines.

Reflecting its acronym, SPHERES represents seven interconnected domains of human knowledge:

• Scholarly Education & EdTech: Digital learning, teaching methodologies, educational technology, pedagogy, curriculum studies, teacher education, and innovations in learning systems.
• Philosophy & Ethics: Logic, philosophical inquiry, moral reasoning, existential questions, applied ethics, traditional and modern belief systems, and ethical dimensions of contemporary challenges.
• History, Sociology & Culture: Ancient, medieval, and modern history, historiography, social structures, caste systems, tribal communities, kinship studies, cultural transformations, and subaltern perspectives.
• Economics & Politics: Agrarian distress, poverty, economic inequality, public policy, political institutions, federal democratic structures, electoral behaviour, governance, and international relations.
• Representation, Arts & Linguistics: Literature, media studies, cultural representation, language studies, regional Indian languages and dialects, communication, and artistic expressions.
• Empathy, Psychology & Geography: Social, clinical, and organizational psychology, human behaviour, well-being, human geography, urbanization, migration, and spatial distribution of societies.
• Synthesis & Connections: Interdisciplinary studies exploring relationships between these domains, such as the influence of political policies on economic inequality, technology on education, or cultural contexts on social development.

The journal particularly encourages submissions that examine contemporary social, educational, cultural, political, economic, and ethical challenges through rigorous theoretical, empirical, historical, comparative, or applied research approaches.

Areas of Contribution (including but not limited to):

Education and Educational Technology

• Teaching and learning processes
• Educational psychology and pedagogy
• Digital education and EdTech innovations
• Artificial intelligence in education
• Teacher education and professional development
• Educational policy and reform
• Higher education studies

Philosophy, Ethics and Critical Thought

• Philosophical traditions and contemporary philosophy
• Logic and reasoning
• Moral philosophy and applied ethics
• Bioethics, technology ethics, and social ethics
• Religion, belief systems, and philosophical traditions
• Existential and humanistic inquiry

History, Sociology and Cultural Studies

• Ancient, medieval, and modern history
• Historiography and historical methods
• Social change and social movements
• Caste, tribe, kinship, and community studies
• Subaltern history and marginalized communities
• Cultural heritage and identity studies

Economics, Politics and Public Policy

• Development economics
• Agrarian issues and rural transformation
• Poverty, inequality, and social welfare
• Public policy and governance
• Political institutions and democratic processes
• Federalism and electoral behaviour
• International relations and global affairs

Arts, Representation and Linguistics

• Literature and literary criticism
• Media and representation studies
• Language and linguistics
• Regional Indian languages and dialects
• Translation studies
• Arts, culture, and identity formation

Psychology and Human Geography

• Social and organizational psychology
• Human behaviour and well-being
• Clinical and community psychology
• Urbanization and migration studies
• Human geography and spatial analysis
• Population studies and regional development

Journal of SPHERES (JSPHERES) particularly values interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary research that connects different fields, including:

• The relationship between education technology and social inequality.
• The ethical implications of artificial intelligence and digital transformation.
• The influence of political policies on economic development and poverty.
• The role of culture, history, and identity in social transformation.
• The interaction between geography, migration, and human development.

All submissions must demonstrate academic rigor, originality, methodological transparency, and relevance to contemporary scholarly debates.

2. Manuscript Types and Requirements

Type	Word Count (excluding references)	Minimum References	Recent References (2020–2025)
Original Research Article	5,000–9,000 words	≥ 30	≥ 70%
Theoretical / Conceptual Paper	4,500–7,500 words	≥ 40	≥ 70%
Review Article (Systematic, Integrative, Critical)	5,000–8,000 words	≥ 60	≥ 70%
Historical / Cultural Case Study	3,500–6,000 words	Case-by-case	≥ 70%
Educational Innovation / Practice-Based Research	3,000–5,500 words	Case-by-case	≥ 70%
Commentary / Position Paper	2,000–4,000 words	Case-by-case	Not applicable

 

3. Submission Process

Author(s) are required to submit the following documents along with their manuscript:

• Author Declaration and Copyright Agreement Form
  Fill out the form online via this link: Author Declaration & Copyright Form.
  After completing, print or save as a PDF and upload this form during your manuscript submission.

• Manuscript File (Anonymised)
  The manuscript must be anonymised. Remove all identifying information before submission.

4. Manuscript Preparation

• Language: English
• File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx)
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt
• Spacing: 1.5 line spacing
• Page Size: A4 with 2.5 cm margins
• Referencing Style: APA 7th Edition
• ORCiD: Authors are encouraged to provide ORCiD identifiers

Recommended Manuscript Structure

• Title
• Abstract (150–250 words)
• Keywords (5–8)
• Introduction
• Literature Review / Theoretical Framework
• Research Objectives / Questions
• Methodology
• Findings / Analysis
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Implications
• Limitations and Future Research
• References

5. Declarations

Author(s) Contributions

For manuscripts with multiple authors, a brief statement outlining individual contributions is required. Use the following format:

“Conceptualization, X.X. and Y.Y.; methodology, X.X.; software, X.X.; validation, X.X., Y.Y., and Z.Z.; formal analysis, X.X.; investigation, X.X.; resources, X.X.; data curation, X.X.; writing—original draft preparation, X.X.; writing—review and editing, X.X.; visualization, X.X.; supervision, X.X.; project administration, X.X.; funding acquisition, Y.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.”

If AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly, etc.) were used during manuscript preparation for language editing, summarization, or formatting assistance, a statement also must be included. Example:

“The authors used [AI tool name] for [brief description of use, e.g., grammar correction or paraphrasing]. All content was reviewed and verified by the authors.”

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Funding Information

If the research received financial support, state the funding source(s). If no external funding was received, include:

“This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

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Availability of Data and Materials

Include a statement about the accessibility of the data supporting the findings. Example:

“The data supporting this study are available upon request. The data are stored in [e.g., institutional repository, Google Drive] and can be provided to interested parties.”

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Conflict of Interest

Disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence the work. If none, use:

“The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.”

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Clinical Trial Registration (if applicable)

Provide the trial registration number if applicable.

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Human Ethics and Consent to Participate

If ethical approval or consent was required, provide details. Otherwise, include:

“The study did not involve any clinical interventions or experiments requiring formal ethical approval.”

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Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Journal follows a transparent and responsible AI policy.

Permitted Uses (non-substantive only):

• Grammar, spelling, and style correction

• Paraphrasing for clarity

• Formatting assistance

• Brainstorming ideas or structure

Prohibited Uses:

• Generating substantive content, arguments, data analysis, or interpretations

• Creating new scientific claims or literature synthesis

Mandatory Disclosure:
If AI tools were used in any capacity, authors must include a clear statement in the manuscript (e.g., in Acknowledgements or a separate “AI Usage Disclosure” section):

“[Tool name(s), e.g., ChatGPT-4o, Grammarly] was used for [specific purpose, e.g., language polishing and sentence restructuring]. All content was reviewed, verified, and edited by the authors.”

Failure to disclose AI use may result in rejection or retraction.

6. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage

Journal of SPHERES (JSPHERES) permits limited use of AI tools for:

• Language correction
• Grammar improvement
• Formatting assistance
• Organizational support

AI tools must not replace scholarly reasoning, research analysis, interpretation, citation verification, or original intellectual contribution.

Authors must disclose any AI usage in the manuscript. Failure to disclose significant AI assistance may result in rejection or post-publication action.

7. Publication Schedule

• Frequency: Tri-Annual
• Publication Months: April, August, December
• Rolling submissions: Accepted throughout the year

8. Peer Review Process

All submissions undergo double-blind peer review by at least two independent experts.

• Average first decision: 8–12 weeks
• Review model: Double-blind peer review
• Full details: Peer Review Policy

9. Open Access and Copyright

All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Authors retain copyright while granting the journal the right to publish and distribute scholarly work.

10. Ethical Responsibilities

• Authorship follows ICMJE/COPE criteria/PNAS standards.(substantial contribution + drafting/revising + final approval + accountability).

• Include Author Contributions statement (CRediT taxonomy preferred). Authors may provide either:

  • A free-text statement, e.g.:
    All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by [name], [name], and [name]. The first draft was written by [name], and all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

  • Or a CRediT taxonomy format:
    Conceptualization: [name]; Methodology: [name]; Writing – original draft: [name]; Writing – review & editing: [name]; Supervision: [name]; etc.

• Disclose funding, conflicts of interest, and ethical approvals

• Ensure data integrity and transparency

• Declare any AI usage (see Section 5 above)

• Authors are fully responsible for originality, accuracy, plagiarism prevention (<10% similarity per UGC guidelines), and ethical compliance.

• Changes to authorship after submission (addition, removal, or reordering of authors) are not allowed after acceptance and should be avoided during peer review unless justified. Any change requests during the review stage must:

  • Be explained in a formal letter.

  • Be approved by all co-authors and the Editor-in-Chief.

  • Include confirmation that all authors agree to the change.

11. Disclaimer

The statements, opinions, and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Synergy Publication or the editor(s) of the journal. While reasonable editorial and peer-review procedures are followed, Synergy Publication and the editor(s) do not endorse any products, methods, or claims described in the content.