REQUIREMENTS FOR MANUSCRIPTS

Types of publications

Era and Text: Interdisciplinary Journal accepts the following types of research papers:

Research Articles are original studies that present new theoretical or empirical results:

- Volume: 6,000-10,000 words (including footnotes and bibliography)

- Structure: Abstract, Introduction, Methodology (if applicable), Analysis, Discussion, Conclusion, References

- Description:

Theoretical Essays - developing new theoretical concepts or offering a critical re-evaluation of existing theories

- Volume: 5,000-8,000 words

- Structure: Free, but logically organized with clear argumentation

Review Articles - literature reviews on a specific topic, critical analysis of the state of research

- Volume: 8,000-12,000 words

- Structure: Abstract, Introduction, Thematic Sections, Conclusions, References

Book Reviews - reviews of recently published monographs and collections

- Volume: 1,500-2,500 words

Discussion Papers - Responses to previously published articles, debates on current issues

- Volume: 3,000-5,000 words

Formatting the manuscript

General format requirements:

- Format file : Microsoft Word (.docx)

- Font : Times New Roman, 12 pt

- Line spacing interval : 2

- Margins: 2.54 cm (1 inch) on all sides

- Alignment: Justify

Structure of the manuscript:

1. Title page (separate file for double-blind review):

- Article title (maximum 20 words)

- Full names of all authors

- Affiliations (institution, department, city, country)

- Contact information of the corresponding author (email, postal address, telephone)

- ORCID, ID of all authors

- Authors' Contribution Statement

- Conflict of Interest Declaration

- Information about funding

- Acknowledgments (if applicable)

2. Main manuscript file (anonymized):

Title:

- Brief, informative, no abbreviations

- Maximum 20 words

- Accurate reflection of the research content

Abstract:

- Volume: 200-300 words

- Structure: Purpose/context of the study, methodology (if applicable), main results/arguments, conclusions/significance

- No footnotes, tables, figures, abbreviations (except generally accepted ones)

- Self-sufficiency (can be read separately from the article)

Keywords:

- 4-7 keywords or phrases

- Do not duplicate words from the title

- Use terms that are relevant for searching databases

Main text:

For research articles, the following structure is recommended:

- Introduction:

- The context of the study and its significance

- Review of relevant literature

- Formulation of the research question/hypothesis

- Objectives and tasks of the work

- Methodology (Methodology/Theoretical Framework):

- Description of the methods used or theoretical framework

- Justification of the chosen approach

- Description of the research body (texts, materials)

- Analysis:

- Detailed presentation of the analysis

- Subsections by topic or aspect

- Discussion:

- Interpretation of results

- Comparison with existing studies

- Theoretical and practical implications

- Limitations of the study

- Conclusion:

- Brief summary of the main findings

- Contribution to scientific knowledge

- Directions for further research

For theoretical essays and review articles, the structure may be more flexible, but should be logical and clearly organized with informative subheadings.

Acknowledgements:

- Recognition of financial support

- Thanks to colleagues and assistants

- Information about conferences where the work was presented

Data Availability Statement:

A mandatory statement of where the research data can be obtained or an explanation of why the data are not available.

Examples:

- "The data supporting the findings of this study are available in [repository name] at [URL/DOI]."

- "Data is available in the article and/or in supplementary materials."

- "Data sharing is not applicable to this study because no new data were created or analyzed."

References:

- See section 3.3 below

3. Tables and figures:

- Each table/figure on a separate page at the end of the manuscript or in separate files

- Sequential numbering (Table 1, Figure 1, etc.)

- Informative headings and legends

- Indication of placement location in the text: [Insert Table 1 approximately here]

- High resolution for drawings (minimum 300 dpi)

- All figures and tables must be mentioned in the text

4. Supplementary Materials:

- Downloaded as separate files

- May include: extended data, additional analysis, multimedia materials

- Must be mentioned in the main text

Reference and citation formatting

Era and Text: Interdisciplinary Journal uses the APA 7 citation system, which is widely used in the social sciences and humanities.

APA 7 style for referencing and citing in a scientific journal:

Introduction

General requirements for the list of references

The list of references should begin on a new page after the main text of the article. The "References" heading should be centered on the page without bolding.

Key formatting options:

- Line spacing: double throughout the list, no extra spaces between entries

- Indentation: hanging indent 1.27 cm (0.5 in) - the first line of the entry starts from the left margin, subsequent lines are shifted to the right

- Order: alphabetical by last name of the first author; if there is no author, by the first word of the title (excluding articles A, An, The)

- Font: the same font as the main text is used (Times New Roman 12 pt)

To create proper indentation, you should use the paragraph formatting feature in your word processor rather than manually adding spaces.

Formatting journal articles

Basic citation structure

A standard entry for a journal article in the bibliography includes the following elements:

Author, AA, & Author, BB (Year). Title of the article. Journal Name, volume (issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Detailed rules for each element

1. Authors

Authors' surnames are inverted: first the surname, then the initials of the first and middle names, separated by a comma. A space is placed between the initials (e.g., Smith, JK, not Smith, JK). The author order is maintained exactly as it appears in the source.

Rules for multiple authorship:

- 2 authors: both are listed in full, separated by an ampersand (&) in the bibliography

- 3-20 authors: all authors are listed in full in the bibliography

- 21+ authors: the first 19 authors are listed, then an ellipsis (...), then the last author

Example with three authors:

Nielsen, M., Hansen, J., & Schmidt, T. (2023). Cognitive processes in decision making. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 45(2), 112-128. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001234

2. Year of publication

The year is indicated in parentheses immediately after the authors, ending with a period. For articles published online before the print version, the year of final publication is used.

3. Title of the article

Sentence case is used: capitalize only the first letter of the title, after a colon or dash, and for proper names. The article title is not italicized or enclosed in quotation marks.

Sentence case examples:

- The psychology of learning: A comprehensive review

- Deep blue: The mysteries of the Marianas Trench

- Cognitive development in Russian-speaking children

4. Journal title

Title case is used (every significant word is capitalized): all key words are capitalized. The journal title is italicized and followed by a comma.

Examples:

- Journal of Applied Psychology

- Nature Communications

- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

5. Volume and issue

The volume number is in italics, and the issue number is in parentheses (NOT in italics). There is no space between the volume number and the issue number. A comma follows the parentheses.

Correct: 45 (3),

If there is no issue number, a comma is placed immediately after the volume number.

6. Pages

The page range is indicated by using a short dash (en dash), without spaces around the dash and without the "pp." prefix. The entry ends with a period.

Examples:

- 112-128.

- 1-15.

7. DOI or URL

A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is required for all works that have one. Since 2017, the DOI format has changed:

Correct (APA 7): https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001234

Incorrect (obsolete APA 6 format): doi:10.1037/xge0001234

DOI is represented as an active hyperlink WITHOUT a period at the end.

If DOI is missing:

- For articles from databases (EBSCO, ProQuest, etc.) - the URL is not specified

- For articles from open web sources, the full URL is included

A complete example of a journal article

Petrov, A. V., Ivanova, M. S., & Sidorov, K. L. (2024). Neurocognitive mechanisms of metaphor processing. Voprosy Psikhologii, 68(4), 45–62. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu02.2024.401

In-Text Citations

Main formats

There are two main ways of citing in a text: narrative (authors are part of a sentence) and parenthetical (in brackets).

Narrative quotation:

- Harris (2020) found that...

- Harris and Cook (2020) demonstrated...

- Harris et al. (2020) found...

Parenthetical citation:

- Cognitive processes differ (Harris, 2020).

- Research supports this hypothesis (Harris & Cook, 2020).

- A meta-analysis showed a significant effect (Harris et al., 2020).

Please note: narrative quotations use the conjunction "and", while parenthetical quotations use the ampersand "&".

Rules for using "et al."

This is one of the key changes in APA 7 compared to the previous edition:

- 1 author: always just a last name (Smith, 2020)

- 2 authors: both authors at each mention (Smith & Jones, 2020)

- 3+ authors: first author + et al. from the first mention (Smith et al., 2020)

APA 6 required all authors (up to five) to be listed at the first mention, but now the abbreviation is applied immediately. Important: "et al." is used ONLY in in-text citations, NOT in the reference list.

The correct spelling of "et al." is:

- The period is only after "al" (short for "alia")

- Space between "et" and "al"

- Italics are not used

Correct: et al.

Incorrect: et. al., et al, et. al.

Page numbers in citations

Required for direct quotes:

- (Smith, 2020, p. 25) - one page

- (Smith, 2020, pp. 25-27) - page range

- (Smith, 2020, pp. 15, 28) - non-adjacent pages

It is recommended, but not required, for paraphrasing when referring to a specific part of a larger source.

For sources without pages, the following alternatives are used:

- Paragraph number: (Smith, 2020, para. 4)

- Section title: (Smith, 2020, Introduction section)

- Timestamp for audiovisual materials: (Smith, 2020, 15:30)

Multiple sources

When citing multiple sources at once:

- Sources are separated by semicolons

- Arranged in alphabetical order

- (Chen, 2019; Martinez, 2021; Smith, 2020)

For multiple works by the same author:

- Years are separated by a comma

- (Johnson, 2018, 2020, 2022)

Works by the same author in the same year are distinguished by letter indices:

- (Cooper, 2020a, 2020b)

- Letters are assigned in alphabetical order of the titles of the works

Design of non-English language sources and transliteration

Requirements for Cyrillic sources

Scopus requires all references to be presented in the Latin alphabet. Transliteration is mandatory for sources in Russian, Kazakh, and other languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet.

Transliteration standard:

For academic publications, the Library of Congress (LC) transliteration system is recommended. This is the official system used by libraries in the United States, Canada, the British Library, and many international publications.

Recording format for non-English language sources

Full structure:

1. Full names of authors: transliterated according to the LC system
2. Year: remains unchanged
3. Name: transliterated in full
4. Translation of the title: in square brackets in English
5. Journal title: transliterated (or official English version used, if available)
6. Output data: unchanged
7. DOI or URL: if available

Examples:

Russian language article:

Sidorov, I. P., & Petrova, E. A. (2023). Cognitive aspects of literary creativity. Voprosy Psikhologii, 69(2), 34–48. https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/vp.2023.234

Kazakhstan magazine:

Akhmetova, A. K., Nurlanova, B. S., & Seitkazieva, G. M. (2024). Aimaqtyq til erezhesindegi kognitivtik mekhānizmder [Cognitive mechanisms in regional language variation]. Til zhăne ădebiet, 15(3), 78-92.

Important note: In the bibliography, author names are presented ONLY in transliterated form, without duplicating the original Cyrillic spelling. When citing in the text of the article, the transliterated form is also used: (Sidorov & Petrova, 2023), not (Sidorov and Petrova, 2023).

Special cases

If the source is translated into English:

The version you actually used is quoted. If you read the English translation, the translator is cited:

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes (M. Cole, Trans.). Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1930) In-text citation: (Vygotsky, 1930/1978)

If you translated the quote yourself:

Your translation is considered a paraphrase, so a page number is encouraged but not required. In-text citation: (Petrov, 2023, p. 45).

Link requirements:

- Relevance of sources (preference to the last 5-10 years)

- Relevance of cited works

- Balance between classical and modern sources

- The minimum number of references depends on the type of article (review articles - 50+, empirical - 30-50)

Formatting:

- Absolute accuracy in following the chosen citation style

- Consistency throughout the manuscript

- Checking each DOI for functionality [48]

Using link management systems

Highly ranked journals strongly recommend the use of specialized bibliography management software:

Popular systems:

- Zotero (free and open source software)

- EndNote (the most functional commercial solution)

- Mendeley (free with integration into Elsevier)

- RefWorks (web platform)

Advantages:

- Automatic formatting in APA 7 style

- Reducing the risk of errors

- Easy change of citation style when resubmitting to another journal

- Organization of the source library

Important: Automatically generated references always require manual verification, especially for capitalization, DOI, and author names.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Top 6 APA 7 Formatting Mistakes

Based on an analysis of typical problems in manuscripts [7]:

1. Incorrect DOI format** (18% of manuscripts)

- ❌ Incorrect: doi:10.1037/arc0000014 or DOI: 10.1037/arc0000014

- ✅ Correct: https://doi.org/10.1037/arc0000014

2. Incorrect capitalization of titles (22% of manuscripts)

- ❌ Incorrect: The Psychology of Learning: A New Approach (in the bibliography)

- ✅ Correct: The psychology of learning: A new approach

3. Volume/issue formatting** (15% of manuscripts)

- ❌ Incorrect: Journal of Psychology, *12(3)*, or Journal of Psychology, 12*(3)*,

- ✅ Correct: Journal of Psychology, *12*(3),

4. Lack of hanging indentation (31% of manuscripts)

- Use the paragraph function in Word/Google Docs, don't manually space

5. Incorrect use of "et al." (12% of manuscripts)

- ❌ For 2 authors: (Smith et al., 2020)

- ✅ For 2 authors: (Smith & Jones, 2020)

- ✅ For 3+ authors: (Smith et al., 2020)

6. Lack of page numbers for direct quotations (17% of manuscripts)

- Mandatory for all direct quotes

Checklist before submitting a manuscript

General formatting:

- [ ] Double space throughout the text, including the bibliography

- [ ] Hanging indent of 1.27 cm for all entries in References

- [ ] Margins 2.54 cm on all sides

Bibliography:

- [ ] "References" heading on a separate page

- [ ] Alphabetical order of entries

- [ ] Sentence case for article and book titles

- [ ] Title Case for magazine titles

- [ ] Italics on volume number, NOT issue number

- [ ] All DOIs in the format https://doi.org/xxxxx

- [ ] All DOIs have been verified to be functional

Citations in text:

- [ ] "et al." is used for 3+ authors

- [ ] Ampersand (&) in parenthetical quotations, "and" in narrative

- [ ] Page numbers for all direct quotations

- [ ] Each citation in the text has a corresponding entry in References

For non-English language sources:

- [ ] All Cyrillic names are transliterated according to the LC system

- [ ] English translation of the names in square brackets

- [ ] Journal titles are transliterated or presented in the official English version

Additional types of sources

Books

Format:

Author, AA, & Author, BB (Year). Title of the book (7th ed.). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Peculiarities:

- The publisher is indicated WITHOUT the city of publication (change from APA 6)

- The edition number (if not the first) is indicated in parentheses after the title

- The book title is in italics in sentence case.

Example:

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Chapters in edited books

Format:

Author, AA, & Author, BB (Year). Title of chapter. In CC Editor & DD Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xxx-xxx). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Peculiarities:

- Chapter titles are NOT in italics, sentence case

- Editors' names in direct order (not inverted)

- Specifies the page range of the chapter

- Book title in italics, sentence case

Example:

Bjork, R. A. (1989). Retrieval inhibition as an adaptive mechanism in human memory. In H. L. Roediger III & F. I. M. Craik (Eds.), Varieties of memory and consciousness (pp. 309–330). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Electronic sources without DOI

Web article:

Author, A.A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Website Name. URL

Example:

Worland, J. (2017, March 15). The world is running out of time on climate change. Time. https://time.com/4701988/climate-change-solutions/

Language requirements

Publication languages:

The journal accepts manuscripts preferably in English, as well as in Kazakh and Russian.

Language standards:

- Manuscripts must be written in clear, literate academic language.

- English: American or British English (consecutive in one manuscript)

- Avoid unnecessary jargon; explain specialized terms when first used

- Minimize the use of abbreviations; spell them out at first mention.

- Manuscripts with serious language deficiencies may be rejected or returned for revision.

Title and abstract:

- If the manuscript is in Kazakh or Russian, the title and abstract in English are required.

- If the manuscript is in English, the title and abstract in Kazakh or Russian are required.

Language editing:

Authors whose native language of publication is not English are strongly encouraged to use professional language editing services before submitting their manuscript.