Authors' Guidelines

1. Online Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the Journal's Open Journal Systems (OJS) submission platform. The online system enables efficient manuscript handling, peer review, editorial communication, and tracking throughout the publication process.

The Journal accepts manuscripts prepared in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or LaTeX.

To facilitate a timely review process, authors are expected to ensure that all submission files are complete, accurate, and fully compliant with these guidelines before submission.

2. General Manuscript Requirements

Community Dynamics: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal (CDIIJ) welcomes original, high-quality research that advances understanding of communities through interdisciplinary perspectives. Although there is no strict word or page limit, most research articles are typically 6,000–10,000 words (approximately 10–25 manuscript pages), excluding references and supplementary materials.

Authors should ensure that manuscripts:

present a clear research question, objective, or argument;
employ rigorous and appropriate research methods;
discuss findings critically and within the relevant scholarly literature;
demonstrate originality and interdisciplinary relevance;
are written in clear, concise, and grammatically accurate English; and
are carefully proofread before submission.

All figures, tables, appendices, and supplementary materials must be cited in the text in the order in which they appear and accompanied by informative titles or captions.

2.1 Originality and Publication Ethics

Submitted manuscripts must represent original work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal or publisher.

The Journal does not consider:

previously published articles;
translated versions of published works;
duplicate or redundant publications; or
manuscripts containing plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, or other forms of research misconduct.

All submissions are screened using plagiarism-detection software as part of the editorial assessment process. Manuscripts that fail to meet the Journal's ethical standards may be rejected without external peer review.

2.2 Language

All manuscripts must be submitted in English.

Authors whose first language is not English are strongly encouraged to have their manuscripts reviewed by a proficient English speaker or a professional language-editing service before submission. Language editing improves readability but does not guarantee acceptance for publication. All abbreviations must be provided with their full form at their first appearance in the article.

2.3 Manuscript Style

Manuscripts should follow the latest edition of the American Sociological Association (ASA) Style Guide for writing, citations, references, tables, figures, and general formatting. Authors are encouraged to write in a clear, objective, and scholarly style; use active voice where appropriate; avoid unnecessary jargon, redundancy, and exaggerated claims; define abbreviations and acronyms at first mention; maintain consistency in terminology, spelling, punctuation, and verb tense throughout the manuscript; and use inclusive, respectful, and bias-free language when referring to individuals or groups.

The Journal encourages language that avoids stereotypes relating to gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, age, religion, or other protected characteristics.

2.4 Tables, Figures, and Illustrations

Tables and figures should be prepared to a high publication standard and submitted in editable formats whenever possible.

2.4.1 Tables

Tables should:

be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals;
include concise and descriptive titles;
be editable (Microsoft Word or Excel preferred);
avoid duplication of information presented elsewhere in the manuscript; and
be cited sequentially within the text.

Any abbreviations, symbols, or statistical notations used in tables should be explained in table footnotes.

2.4.2 Figures and Illustrations

Figures, graphs, photographs, diagrams, maps, and other illustrations should:

be submitted as high-resolution files (e.g., TIFF, JPEG, PDF, SVG, EPS, or editable Office formats);
remain clear and legible after publication;
include descriptive captions;
be numbered consecutively according to their order of citation; and
be accompanied by written permission where reproduction from another source requires copyright clearance.

2.5 Mathematical Expressions and Special Characters

Authors should carefully check mathematical symbols, equations, Greek letters, special characters, and scientific notation before submission to ensure that they display correctly in both the manuscript and any supplementary files.

2.6 Supplementary Materials

Authors may submit supplementary materials that provide additional information supporting the manuscript but are not essential to understanding the main text. Examples include research datasets; detailed methodologies or analytical procedures; survey instruments or interview guides; computer code or software scripts; additional tables, figures, appendices, or multimedia files; and other supporting documentation that enhances transparency or reproducibility. Supplementary files should:

• be uploaded separately from the main manuscript;
• be clearly named and accompanied by a brief description;
• be cited appropriately within the manuscript;
• contain no confidential, identifying, or copyrighted material without permission; and
• be provided in widely accessible file formats whenever possible.

The Editorial Office may review supplementary materials for relevance, quality, accessibility, and compliance with the Journal's editorial and ethical policies. Accepted supplementary files may be published online alongside the final article.

3. Final Checks Before Submission

Before submitting a manuscript, authors should confirm that:

• the manuscript complies with the Journal's formatting and style requirements;
• all authors have approved the final version;
• ethical approvals and required declarations have been included where applicable;
• figures, tables, and supplementary files are complete and correctly cited;
• references are accurate and formatted according to ASA style; and
• the manuscript has been thoroughly proofread for language, formatting, and typographical errors.

4. Submission Guidelines

All submissions to Community Dynamics: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal should contain article’s title, author (s) full name and affiliation, corresponding author(s) name, institutional affiliation/address, and e-mail. Authors should also present a short 'running title'.

5. Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts aimed to be submitted in Community Dynamics: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal should have following sections:

• Title
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Main Text
• Conclusion
• List of Abbreviations (if any)
• Funding statement (if any)
• Conflict of Interest
• Author’s contribution
• Acknowledgments (if any)
• References
• Appendices
• Supportive/Supplementary Material
• Reviewer Suggestions/Exclusion by Authors

5.1 Title

The title should be specific and concise; and must not contain more than 15 words. Mentioning information about the type of study as a part of the title is encouraged (especially for detailed reviews, and meta-analyses).

5.2 Abstract

The abstract should provide a clear, concise, and accurate overview of the manuscript. It should briefly describe the background or context of the study, the research objectives, the methodology employed, the principal findings, and the main conclusions. The abstract should be written as a single paragraph without subheadings and should not exceed 250 words. Authors should avoid unnecessary details, citations, and unexplained abbreviations within the abstract.

5.3 Keywords

Authors must provide 6–8 keywords that accurately represent the main themes, concepts, and subject areas of the manuscript. Keywords should be carefully selected to improve discoverability and indexing of the article in academic databases. They should reflect terminology commonly used by researchers in the relevant field and may include important terms from the title, abstract, and main text. Authors should avoid overly broad or unrelated keywords and prioritize specific terms that best describe the content and scope of the study.

5.4 Main Text

The main text appears after the keywords and may be subdivided further according to the type of the article(for original research articles- Introduction, material and methods, results, discussion and conclusion) or field of discussion, followed by the List of Abbreviations (if any), Conflict of Interest, Acknowledgements, and Reference sections. For Review Articles, the main text must be organized in Introduction/background, discussion and conclusion. The text may be partitioned further according to the fields to be explained, accompanied by the Acknowledgements and Reference sections. The Review Article should contain a broad introduction starting with the general background of the field and discussing notable previous and current reviews in the area. It should then move on to discuss the remarkable features of recent developments. Presenting material already declared in a former review should be avoided. Authors are advised to express their observations in conclusion section. Non-assimilated terms from Latin or other languages should be italicized, e.g., per se et al., etc.

The full term for an abbreviation should introduce its first appearance in the text, except when it is a standard unit of measurement.

5.4.1 Introduction

The Introduction section should include the background and aims of the research comprehensively.

5.4.2 Materials and Methods

This section provides details of the methodology used in the article along with information on any previous efforts with corresponding references. The authors should include details if further modifications of previously reported method/protocols were carried out for the research. Authors must provide sufficient details in relation to the data presented and the results produced from it to allow independent verification and assessment of the analysis and reported results.

If human participants were involved in the study, the statement regarding the approval by an independent review committee (local, regional or national e.g., the ethics committee or institutional review board) may be a part of the Methods Section or stated at the end of the article. If the manuscript has individuals' data, such as personal detail, visual material, etc., authors should clearly state about obtaining the individual's consent to publish the content in this section. In children's cases (below 18 years of age), such permission should be obtained from the parent or the legal guardian of the child.

5.4.3 Results

The essential and main findings of the study should come first in the Results Section. The tables, figures, and references should be given in sequence to emphasize the vital information or observations related to the research. The author should avoid text repetition of data already presented in tables and figures, rather the results should be presented precisely. If the research yields some negative/unsupportive results, these should also be ethically mentioned in this section.

5.4.4 Discussion

In this section author should explore the significance of obtained results of the research, and these must be discussed in the light of previously published literature on the topic (comparative discussion with previous studies is encouraged). However, extensive discussion of previously published studies must be avoided. The length of this section should be appropriate and proportionate to the scope and content presented in the Introduction. Presenting Results and discussion either combined in a single section with short and informational headings, or separately is at authors’ discretion.

5.5 Conclusion

The author must give a small paragraph summarizing the article's contents and research outcome at the end of the article under Conclusion. Proposing future direction in this section for further studies on the subject is appreciated.

6. List of Abbreviations (if any)

Abbreviations should, ideally, be defined in full at their first occurrence in the text, alternatively, authors should provide a complete list of abbreviations after the Main text.

7. Funding Statement

If the research is funded or financially supported by an individual/organization, the authors need to declare the funding sources of their manuscripts clearly by providing the name of the funding agency or financial support along with allotted grant/award number in round brackets, for instance, 

"This work was financially supported by [name of the funding agency] (Grant number XXX).

Authors will be required to state whether the funder was involved in writing, editing, approval, or decision to publish the article.

8. Conflict of Interest Declaration

Authors must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that may have influenced, or could be perceived to influence, the research, interpretation of findings, or publication process. Conflicts may include financial relationships, professional affiliations, personal relationships, institutional associations, or any other circumstances that could affect the objectivity of the work.

If no conflicts of interest exist, authors should include a clear statement such as: “The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to this research, authorship, or publication of this article.”

9. Contributorship and Acknowledgments

All individuals listed as authors must have devoted substantially to the conception, execution, analysis, or summarizing of the work and are encouraged to indicate their particular contribution. Anyone (individual/company/institution) who has substantially contributed to studying important intellectual content or was involved in drafting or revising the manuscript must also be acknowledged. Guest or honorary authorship based solely on position (e.g., research supervisor, departmental head) is discouraged.

10. References

Authors must prepare citations and references in accordance with the latest edition of the American Sociological Association (ASA) Style Guide. Authors are responsible for ensuring that every in-text citation appears in the reference list; every reference-list entry is cited in the text; bibliographic information is complete and accurate; Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are included whenever available; and online resources include stable URLs and access information where appropriate

In-Text Citations:

ASA uses the author–date citation system. Cite the author's surname followed by the year of publication. Include page numbers when quoting directly or referring to a specific passage.

Examples:

One author: (Smith 2022)
Two authors: (Smith and Jones 2021)
Three or more authors: (Smith et al. 2020)
Direct quotation: (Smith 2022:45)

Reference List:

A complete list of all cited sources must appear at the end of the manuscript under the heading References. Entries should be arranged alphabetically by the first author's surname and include only works cited in the text. Use a hanging indent for each entry and ensure that every in-text citation has a corresponding reference-list entry.

Examples:

Journal Article Smith, John A., and Mary L. Jones. 2022. "Community Resilience in Urban Settings." Journal of Social Research 45(2):123–140. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Book Giddens, Anthony. 2018. Sociology. 8th ed. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Book Chapter Putnam, Robert D. 2015. "Social Capital and Civic Engagement." Pp. 55–74 in Community Studies Today, edited by Jane Brown. New York: Routledge.

Website World Bank. 2024. World Development Indicators. Retrieved January 15, 2026 (https://data.worldbank.org).

11. Appendixes

If there is a need to present lengthy but essential methodological details, use appendices, which can be a part of the article. A single appendix should be titled as APPENDIX, while more than one can be titled APPENDIX A, APPENDIX B, and so on. Appendices should have appropriately placed in-text citations.

12. Supportive/Supplementary Material (if any)

Supportive/Supplementary material intended for publication must be numbered and referred to within the manuscript but should be submitted as separate files, not as part of the main article. Authors should include in-text citations to the supplementary material and provide a section titled "Supportive/Supplementary Material" before the "References" section.

13. Reviewer Suggestions/Exclusion by Authors

The Journal recognizes that authors may have valuable knowledge of experts who possess appropriate subject expertise to evaluate their research. To support an efficient and effective peer-review process, authors may suggest potential reviewers during manuscript submission. Authors may also request the exclusion of specific individuals whom they believe should not review their manuscript due to potential conflicts of interest or other legitimate concerns.

13.1 Reviewer Suggestions

Authors may recommend up to three potential reviewers who have appropriate expertise relevant to the submitted manuscript. Suggested reviewers should be independent experts in the field and should be able to provide an objective and unbiased assessment of the work.

When suggesting reviewers, authors should provide the reviewers' full names, institutional affiliations, professional email addresses, and relevant expertise. Suggested reviewers should not have any personal, professional, or financial relationship with the authors that could compromise the impartiality of the review process.

Authors should not suggest reviewers who:

have collaborated with any of the authors within the recent past;
are from the same institution or research group as any of the authors;
have personal, professional, or financial relationships that may create a conflict of interest; or
have any other relationship that could reasonably influence their objectivity.

The Editor retains full responsibility and discretion for reviewer selection. The suggestion of reviewers by authors does not guarantee that those individuals will be invited to review the manuscript. The Editorial Office may select reviewers from author suggestions, its own database, or other qualified experts in the field.

13.2 Reviewer Exclusion Requests

Authors may request that up to three specific individuals not be considered as reviewers for their manuscript if they believe that these individuals may have a conflict of interest or may be unable to provide an impartial assessment.

Such requests should be made at the time of manuscript submission and should include a brief and reasonable explanation. Examples of legitimate reasons may include recent collaboration, direct competition, personal conflicts, institutional relationships, or other circumstances that may affect objectivity.

Requests to exclude reviewers will be considered carefully by the Editor; however, the final decision regarding reviewer selection remains solely with the Editorial Office. The Journal is not obligated to exclude any individual where the Editor determines that the person can provide an independent and objective evaluation.

13.3 Editorial Independence in Reviewer Selection

The peer-review process is conducted under the authority and responsibility of the Editor. Reviewer suggestions and exclusion requests are considered as supportive information only and do not influence the Editor's independent judgment regarding reviewer selection.

JITFCC remains committed to ensuring a fair, confidential, transparent, and unbiased peer-review process in accordance with internationally recognized standards of publication ethics.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

An Article Processing Charge (APC) of USD 300 is payable only upon acceptance of a manuscript. The APC supports the operational and publication costs required to maintain the journal’s quality and sustainability. These costs include professional copyediting, typesetting, online hosting, long-term digital archiving, DOI registration, journal platform maintenance, salaries of editorial and administrative staff, and office-related expenses necessary for daily journal operations.

This APC structure enables the journal to uphold high editorial standards, ensure timely publication, and maintain global visibility and accessibility of published research.