Authors Guidelines

Journal Information

The Journal of Inquiry Based Activities (JIBA) is a scholarly peer-reviewed open access journal dedicated to advancing the understanding and application of student-centred learning and teaching approaches in education.

JIBA covers a broad range of areas related to learner-centred education at all levels from pre-school to higher education and non-formal education.  JIBA particularly welcomes applied studies that aim to develop innovative learner-centered methods and strategies. However, our scope is not limited to applied research. We also welcome descriptive research, theoretical papers, and systematic reviews on issues related to student-centered education and inquiry based learning. 

JIBA provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to all. For more detailed information regarding our open access policy, please see Journal Policies.

Publication Frequency

JIBA is published twice a year; April and October. The journal may publish a special issue each year at the discretion of the editorial board. The manuscripts for a special issue are subject to the same review process as the manuscripts submitted for regular issues.

Publication Language

Manuscripts must be submitted in English. For articles from Türkiye, the author may also publish the full-text article in Turkish, depending on his/her preference (the English version is mandatory in any case). 

Manuscript Submission

Authors are requested to submit their manuscript by using the Journal’s online submission system. They need to register with the journal prior to submission. The online submission system will guide authors stepwise through the submission process. Submission by email is not accepted. The manuscript schould not have been published previously or should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. 

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the study.  All those who have significantly contributed to the design, implementation, and/or analysis of the research data and/or to drafting or revising the article should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author should verify that all co-authors have approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication. Those who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the “Acknowledgements” section.

Publication Ethics

Manuscripts should be original and written considering the academic and ethical rules. All sources used must be appropriately cited accoding to APA Referencing Style (7th Edition).

Any form of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, is strictly prohibited. All manuscripts submitted to JIBA are routinely screened for plagiarism. Authors are responsible for ensuring the submitted work is not plagiarized. If the research is based on prior research, appropriate citation should be reported. 

The research on which the paper is based must have been conducted in accordance with ethical rules.

For more detailed information regarding our ethics policy, please see Journal Policies.

Peer Review Process

The papers published by ATED are accepted via a rigorous and double-blind peer review process. A submitted manuscript is first reviewed by the editor regarding format and scope. The editor may reject a manuscript without further review if it does not fit the scope of the journal. If the manuscript is deemed appropriate for the journal, it is sent to two independent peer reviewers. Peer reviewers assess the paper based on the reviewer form. When the reviewers submit two different evaluations of a manuscript, the editor or a third reviewer will assess the manuscript. 

Manuscript Preparation

Article  Formatting  and Length

JIBA accepts different types of papers for publication: applied research articles, descriptive studies, case studies, theoretical papers, literature reviews, etc. There are no strict formatting requirements. Depending on the article type, the format and structure may vary, but all manuscripts must contain the essential elements needed to convey your manuscript, for example Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusions, and References. 

In articles designed to develop inquiry-based activities, the format may be as follows: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Activity Implemetation, Results and Discussion, Conclusions ans Suggestions, and References. 

The manuscript length must be between 3000 and 8000 words. Articles that are longer than 8000 words may still be considered for publication, provided the length is clearly justified by the scientific content.

Manuscripts must be submitted as Microsoft Word (.doc  or .docx) format.  

Title

The title should be concise and informative, and should not exceed 20 words. Abbreviations should not be used in the title, except for those that are widely known (e.g. COVID-19).

Abstract and Keywords

Please include an abstract of 100 to 200 words. The abstract should appropriately summarize the purpose, method, key findings, and conclusions of the article. Include also 4 to 6 keywords which can be used for indexing purposes.

Referencing Format

Citations and references should be made in accordance with APA References Style (7th edition).  Please make sure that all sources cited in the text are included to the Reference List, and vice versa. Footnotes can be used only to give additional information. Don’t use them for citation purpose. Include the DOI numbers of the sources in the Reference list, if applicable. If you provide the URLs, please make sure that the links are valid and working. 

Tables and figures

All tables and figures must have a caption (title) explaining their contents. Number tables and figures consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text.  Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. They must be placed within the text at the appropriate points. Please prepare tables according to APA Referencing Style (7th Ed.).

Make sure that the image quality of the documents such as photos, pictures or illustrations is high. Don't submit them as a separate file. Please edit the images containing photographs of research participants in a way that the identity of the participants is not revealed. 

It is the responsibility of the author to obtain written permission for a figure, illustration, or table that has already been published elsewhere.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Authors should include a statement disclosing any financial or other substantive conflicting, or competing, interest that may be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support should be disclosed.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments (people, grants, funds, etc.)  should be placed in a separate section before the reference list. Authors must obtain permission to include the names of all individuals included in the Acknowledgements section.