Author Guidelines
General Information
The Journal of Research in Music (JRM) accepts research and review manuscripts that have not been published and are not currently in the process of scientific publication elsewhere.
Every submitted paper is independently reviewed by at least two peer reviewers. The decision for publication, amendment, or rejection is based upon their reports/recommendations and made by Editor. If two or more reviewers consider a manuscript unsuitable for publication in this journal, a statement explaining the basis for the decision will be sent to the authors.
All manuscripts must be submitted to the official email address: jrm@vpa.ac.lk. Alternatively, submissions can also be sent to the coordinating editor: chinthaka.pm@vpa.ac.lk. Two types of manuscripts are acceptable for publication: Original Research Articles and Review Articles of relevant books, special issues, magazines, CDs, websites, DVDs, online music releases, exhibitions, artwork, radio programs, and music festivals.
Reviewing of manuscripts
Every submitted paper is independently reviewed by at least two peer reviewers. The decision for publication, amendment, or rejection is based upon their reports/recommendations and made by Editor. If two or more reviewers consider a manuscript unsuitable for publication in this journal, a statement explaining the basis for the decision will be sent to the authors. The review process will take approximately 4 to 12 weeks.
Decisions categories include:
Reject – Rejected manuscripts will not be published and authors will not have the opportunity to resubmit a revised version.
Resubmit for Review– The submission needs to be re-worked, but with significant changes, may be accepted. However, it will require a second round of review.
Accept with Revisions – Manuscripts receiving an accept-pending-revisions decision will be published in JRM under the condition that minor/major modifications are made. Revisions will be reviewed by an editor to ensure necessary updates are made prior to publication.
Accept – Accepted manuscripts will be published in the current form with no further modifications required.
Revision of manuscripts
Manuscripts sent back to the authors for revision should be returned to the editor without delay. Revised manuscripts can be sent to the editorial through the official email address: jrm@vpa.ac.lk. The revised manuscripts returned later than two months will be considered as new submissions.
Manuscript Preparation Guidelines
The manuscript texts are written in English. Manuscripts in English will be first reviewed by editorial boards. The main text of a manuscript must be submitted as a Word document (.doc).
The manuscript is well-typed on A4 size paper. The manuscript contains an original work and has potentially contributed to the highly scientific advancement.
The manuscript should contain the following section in order:
a. Title
- The title should describe the main content of the article, be informative, concise, be accurate, unambiguous, specific, not too wordy, does not contain formulas, and infrequently-used abbreviations. This is your opportunity to attract the reader’s attention. Remember that readers are the potential authors who will cite your article. Identify the main issue of the paper. Begin with the subject of the paper. The title should and complete.
- Font Times New Roman (TNR) / 15pt Bold, Uppercase
b. The author-name
Author’s details: Please clearly indicate the given name(s). Manuscript written by groups needs to be supplemented by complete contact details.
c. Name of affiliation for each author
The author’s name should be accompanied by a complete affiliation address, email.
d. Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required (maximum 250 words) in Times New Roman (TNR) / 11pt. with research problem, Aims & methodology, results, and conclusions. An abstract should stand alone, which means that no citation in the abstract. Avoid using technical jargon and uncommon abbreviations. You must be accurate, brief, clear, and specific. Use words that reflect the precise meaning. The abstract should be precise and honest.
Keywords: Written in English 3 (minimum) -5 (Maximum) words or groups of words, written alphabetically. Keywords are the labels of your article and are critical to correct indexing and searching. Therefore, the keywords should represent the content highlight of your article. Use only those abbreviations that are firmly established in the field.
e. Introduction
This section could also provide the expected results. The introduction must be written in single-line spacing. The introduction comprises of: (1) research problem; (2) insight and problem solve planning; (3) a summary of theoretical studies and the results of the present study (state of the art), related to the observed problems (gap analysis), and (4) research aims.
f. Methodology
Research methodology describes the design of a study, research targets (population, sample, and data collection techniques), research models, research development, and data analysis techniques. The research hypothesis must be stated implicitly.
g. Results and Discussion
Findings and discussion provide data analysis with respect to research questions. It is recommended to use tables, graphs, or diagrams that provide an explanation of the results of the study. Research discussions explain the results of the research data without including in the text of the research results but rather explain the importance of the research findings. The results of the study aim to be able to overcome the research problem, objectives, and research hypotheses so that the research discussion can focus on research findings that occur implicitly.
h. Conclusion
The conclusions of the study are based on the findings and discussions that have been discussed. The substance of the conclusions is based on research findings, problem formulation, research objectives, and research contributions.
i. Figures (photograph/drawings/ maps/drafts):
Figures (photographs, drawings, maps, drafts) can be inserted when necessary in the text. In the case of an image taken by a photographer, due credits of the person’s name should be mentioned. Tables and other illustrations of content supporting images must include proper in-text references if applicable and indicate the source there (Maximum 5 to 10 visuals will be the limit).
j. Acknowledgement
This section can be written in case there are certain parties that need to be acknowledged, such as research sponsors/funding supporters.
j. References
Citation and referencing must be written based on American Psychological Association (APA) style 6th or 7th. TNR 11 point
More or less 80% of references for literature reviews should be the recent (up to date) journals published in the last 10 years, but the rest of the 20% of references can be cited from research reports and or articles.
The following is an example of the reference style to be used in the manuscript:
- Journal articles:
Grady, J. S., Her, M., Moreno, G., Perez, C., & Yelinek, J. (2019). Emotions in storybooks: A comparison of storybooks that represent ethnic and racial groups in the United States. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 8(3), 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000185
- Book:
Jackson, L. M. (2019). The psychology of prejudice: From attitudes to social action (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000168-000
- Chapter in an edited book
Aron, L., Botella, M., & Lubart, T. (2019). Culinary arts: Talent and their development. In R. F. Subotnik, P. Olszewski-Kubilius, & F. C. Worrell (Eds.), The psychology of high performance: Developing human potential into domain-specific talent (pp. 345–359). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000120-016
Note:- For more information about reference examples visit https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples
k. Footnotes: TNR 10pt
L. Manuscript submission
Manuscripts written in English will be reviewed by reviewer boards with related study competencies.
Please do not send the PDF. Papers with images should be sent in a separate folder and should be numbered in the following with the author’s name (e.g. weerasinghe.figure 1.jpeg / de silva.figure 2. jpeg etc.). Please send your full submissions (non-formatted, with all your figures and items placed within the text of a word document and a cover sheet with your personal data) jrm@vpa.ac.lk email address. Please make sure that you only include figures (drawings, photos, schemes, and others, and do not forget captions below the figures) for which you were granted rights. The declaration form to be sent together with final work to jrm@vpa.ac.lk.
M. Content:Times New Roman (TNR) / 12pt Bold, Introduction, Research problem, Aims & methodology, results, and conclusions.
- Word limit of the paper: 3000 – 5000 without bibliography
- Sub headings: Times New Roman (TNR) / 12pt