Author Guidelines
1.0 Introduction
The Journal of Logistics, Management and Engineering Sciences (JLMES) [ISSN 1821-9349 (Print) & ISSN 2961-6239 (Online)] is an official publication of the National Institute of Transport (NIT). JLMES is published biannually (two issues per year) by the National Institute of Transport (NIT), and serves as an academic platform for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to share empirical findings, theoretical developments, and best practices that enhance the existing body of knowledge in logistics, management, and engineering sciences.
2.0 Aims and Scope of Journal
Journal of Logistics, Management and Engineering Sciences publishes original research and review articles on transport and allied fields. The objective of the JLMES is to address issues in the areas of Transport and Logistics, Engineering Sciences, Information Technology, Mathematics and Humanities, and Management Sciences. The Journal welcomes papers in the above-mentioned areas and integrated research topics designed to contribute to policy and empirical debate relevant to the social economic development of the nation and the world at large. The criteria for including any article in the Journal is that it should have valuable contributions to the above-named fields, making it a useful reference to policymakers and practitioners.
3.0 Manuscripts Preparation Guide
3.1 Title, Authors and Affiliation
The manuscript should have a cover page containing a clear and concise title, ORCID, telephone, and the e-mail address of the person to whom all correspondences and proofs should be sent.
3.2 Abstract
The abstract should not contain more than 250 words and should be in a single paragraph including research objectives, the methodology adopted for the study, results, conclusions and recommendations.
3.3 Keywords
The number of keywords should range from four (4) to six (6) to enable online search, retrieval, and indexing.
3.4 Introduction
The manuscript should have a well-written introduction showing the justification for the article to be considered in the JLMES. Though various structures are used to structure the introduction section, manuscripts including the following aspects will be highly considered. The elements are a good narrative hook/lead sentence initiating the background, the research problem, studies that have addressed the issue (national, regional, and global), theories and models related to the research problem, deficiencies/gaps in the studies (methodological, theoretical, geographical,
knowledge, etc.,) the significance of the study for particular audiences, and the purpose statement.
3.5 The Main Body
This part may be broken down into parts covering the Literature review, Material and Methods, Results, and Discussions. Thee following points may be borrowed:
Literature review: The literature review analyzes existing studies, highlights key theories and findings, identifies gaps in knowledge, and shows how prior research informs and supports the current study’s focus and direction.
Material and Methods: The section explains the procedures, tools, and techniques used to conduct the study. It details the research design, population, sampling methods, data collection instruments, and analytical approaches.
Results: The section presents results obtained through the study’s chosen procedures, including surveys, experiments, observations, or measurements. It is considered to be the heart of a scientific paper. Findings are reported objectively using tables, models, graphs, and figures to illustrate patterns, statistical outcomes, and meaningful relationships.
Discussion: The discussion section will explain how authors interpret their data and how they connect it to other works. Authors often use the debate to describe what their work suggests and how it relates to other studies. Authors can anticipate and address any objections to their work in this section. A discussion section is also a place where authors can suggest areas of improvement for future research.
NB: JLMES allow flexibility for authors to choose whether to combine the Results and Discussion into a single section or present them as two separate sections, depending on the nature of the study.
3.6 Conclusion and Recommendations
This part presents the conclusions and recommendations made throughout the study.
3.7 Reference List
Journal of Logistics, Management and Engineering Sciences consider American Psychological Association (APA) style in referencing. APA style generally requires reference lists, not bibliographic ones. The reference list of a paper intends to provide the information necessary to identify and retrieve each work cited in the text. It includes only the works used in the research for and preparation of the paper. The style considers various categories in referencing lists, namely, textual works groups with periodicals (Journal articles, magazine, newspaper, articles and blog posts), books, edited book chapters, Dissertations and Theses, online media group which contains categories of social media (tweets, Face book posts and Instagram photos), Webpages and websites. Thus, reference group and categories should be determined first in creating reference list.
3.7.1 Reference lists for Journal articles
Four elements are necessary in writing references for journal articles, namely; author (who is responsible for the work), Date (when was the work published), Title (what is this work called) and source (where can I retrieve the work?). For examples;
Botto, S.V., & Rochat, P. (2018). Sensitivity to the evaluation of others emerges
by 24 months. Developmental Psychology, 54(9), 1723-1734. http://www.
Doi.org/10.1037/dear 0000548.
Parenthetical citation: (Botto & Rochat, 2018)
Narrative citation: Botto and Rochat (2018)
Achmenn, E., Tulle, L.J., Saviet M., & Wright, S.D. (2018). A descriptive review of ADHD Coaching research: Implications for college students. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 31 (1), 17-39.
https.//www.ahead.org/professionalresources/publications/sped/achieved.
With dual authorship, give both names; for three or more, use et al.,
Parenthetical citation: (Achmenn et al., 2018)
Narrative citation: Achmenn et al. (2018)
With more than one reference to an author in one year, distinguish them by use of letter (a, b) attached to the publication year (2006a). For instance, (Agnes, 2000a; 2000b).
Enclose a series of references within one pair of parentheses, separated by semicolons e.g. (Cornelia, 2001; Emmanuel, 2003; Juma et al., 2004; Pembe & Owino, 2005}.
3.7.2 Reference lists for books
Harrow, R. (2005). No place to hide. Simon & Schuster.
Parenthetical citation: (Harrow, 2005)
Narrative citation: Harrow (2005)
3.7.3 Reference list for Chapter in a book
Weinstock, R., Leong, G.B., & Silv, J.A. (2003). Defining forensic psychiatry:
Roles and Responsibilities. In R. Rosner (Ed), Principles and practices of forensic psychiatry (2nd ed; pp 7-13). CRC Press.
Parenthetical citation: (Weinstock et al., 2003)
Narrative citation: Weinstock et al. (2003)
3.7.4 Reference list for Conference sessions
Fistek, A., Jester, E., & Sonnenberg, K. (2017, July 12-15). Everybody’s got a little music in them: Using music therapy to comment engage and motivate
[Conference Session]. Autism society National Conference, Milwaukee, WI, United states.
Parenthetical citation: (Fistek et al., 2017)
Narrative citation: Fistek et al. (2017)
3.7.5 Reference list for paper presentation
Maddox, S., Hurling, J., Stewart, E; E and Edwards, A. (2016, March 30 – April
2). If “mama” ain’t happy, nobody’s happy: The effect of parental
depression on mood deregulation in children [Paper presentation].
Southeastern Psychological Association 62nd Annual Meeting, New
Means LA, United States.
Parenthetical citation: (Maddox et al., 2016)
Narrative citation: Maddox et al. (2016)
3.7.6 Reference list for Dissertations and Theses Unpublished
Harris, L. (2014). Instructional leadership perceptions and practices of elementary school leaders [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Virginia.
Parenthetical citation: (Harris, 2014)
Narrative citation: Harris (2014)
Published
Hollander, M.M. (2017). Resistance to authority: Methodological innovations and new Lessons from the Milgram experiment (Publication No. 10289373)
[Doctoral dissertation, University of Wisconsin-Madison] ProQuest
Parenthetical citation: (Hollander, 2017).
Narrative citation: Hollander (2017).
Note:
a) Authors are expected to be aware of and refer to quoted works.
b) Authors are required to use reference management tools when preparing and formatting their references to ensure accuracy, consistency, and proper citation style.
c) For more information on APA style referencing, visit the publication manual of
American Psychological Association, 7th edition, 2020 on http://www.apa.org
4.0 Submission
As part of the submission process, authors must check their submission's compliance. Submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to the following guidelines.
i. Ensure their manuscript adheres to the journal’s template and complies with all formatting, style, and ethical guidelines.
ii. Ensure have thoroughly checked for plagiarism (not exceed 30% (attach report during initial submission) and AI generated content. JLMES requires all submissions to be original and free from any form of academic dishonesty.
iii. The sequence of the manuscript is as follows: title page, abstract and keywords, introduction, literature review, materials and methods/methodology (where applicable), results, discussion, summary or conclusions, acknowledgments, references, tables, and figure legends. All pages are numbered sequentially, starting with the abstract.
iv. All manuscripts must be typed double-spaced on A4 paper with wide margins of 3cm all around.
v. A manuscript should comprise 3000-7000 words excluding references and appendices, and the font size should be 12 Times New Roman.
vi. All level one (1) field must be in letter case. All level two (2) must be in sentence case. All level three (3) must be in sentence case italicized.
vii. The paper adheres to all guidelines for authors, including proper referencing as per American Psychology Association (APA) version 7. References should be listed in an appropriate format. Authors should make sure that all references listed in the reference section are cited in the text, and vice versa. Where available, URLs and Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) for the references should be provided for each cited source.
viii. A footnote may include the designation of a corresponding author of the paper, current address information for an author (If different from that shown in the affiliation); footnotes should be indicated in the text by the following symbols: (*, +, ++, //, #). Type the footnote to a table directly beneath the table.
ix. The manuscript is an original work that has not been published or reviewed elsewhere.
x. The manuscript has undergone professional language editing from a recognized language expert.
xi. All symbols in equations must be clear. Identify unconventional or ambiguous symbols in the margin when they first appear, underline vectors with a wavy line, and Chemical supply reproducible artwork for chemical equations. Long reaction sequences should be treated like figures.
xii. List all the symbols used alphabetically, giving definitions and units in metric systems. Greek letters, subscripts, and superscripts should be included.
xiii. Submit a title page and the main text as separate files for anonymous review.
xiv. The title page contains the article’s title, author's full name(s) and affiliation(s), ORCID, and address for correspondence (including telephone number and e-mail address)
xv. The submission file must be in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format with all illustrations, figures, images, or tables.
xvi. All figures and tables should be referred to in the text. Tables that may break in two pages should be avoided, and these should appear as appendix. All figures should be editable, either in pdf or eps formats. Figures and table should be numbered consecutively in the typescript. All figures and table should have caption (above the table below the figure). Figures and table are not edited, and the author must produce them in publication quality.
xvii. The abstract is structured with up to 250 words for original articles.
5.0 Information for Reviewers
The journal adopts a double-blind peer review process, whereby both the authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other throughout the review period. The following are key responsibilities of reviewers:
i. To evaluate article submissions to journals based on the requirements of that journal, predefined criteria, and the quality, completeness and accuracy of the research presented;
ii. To provide feedback on the paper, suggest improvements and make a recommendation to the editor about whether to accept, reject or request changes to the article;
iii. To ensure the rigorous standards of the scientific process by taking part in the peer-review system;
iv. Uphold the integrity of the journal by identifying invalid research and helping to maintain the quality of the journal;
v. To fulfil a sense of obligation to the community and their area of research;
vi. To establish relationships with reputable colleagues and their affiliated journals and increase their opportunities to join an Editorial Board; and
vii. To prevent ethical breaches by identifying plagiarism, research fraud and other problems by virtue of their familiarity with the subject area.
6.0 Journal Metrics
i. All manuscripts should be submitted online through JLMES submission system accessible at the official journal website.
ii. Upon submission, each manuscript will undergo an initial editorial screening to ensure compliance with the Journal’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines and overall quality standards.
iii. Manuscripts that do not conform to these requirements will be returned to the author(s) with comments for correction or rejected outright within ten (10) working days of submission.
iv. Manuscripts that pass the preliminary screening will be assigned to at least three (3) qualified peer reviewers who are experts in the relevant subject area for a blind review.
v. If two (2) or more reviewers recommend the manuscript for publication, it shall proceed to the next stage, and reviewers’ comments will be communicated to the author(s) for revision.
vi. If two (2) or more reviewers recommend rejection based on content quality, methodological flaws, or ethical concerns, the manuscript shall be rejected outright or conditionally, depending on the severity of the issues identified.
vii. The review period granted to reviewers shall be twenty one (21) days from the date of assignment.
viii. Authors shall be given fourteen (14) days to address and submit revised manuscripts based on reviewer’s comments.
ix. All revised manuscripts will be re-evaluated by the Editorial Board to confirm that reviewers’ comments have been adequately addressed before a final decision on acceptance and publication is made.
7.0 Acknowledgement
The section shows appreciations to non-author contributions such as financiers and sources of data.
8.0 Copyright
Upon acceptance, authors are required to complete an Author Publishing Agreement. The corresponding author will receive an email confirming manuscript receipt and providing the agreement form. This agreement includes the Creative Commons license selected by the author, which determines how others may use the published article. Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or compile article lists with abstracts for internal institutional use. Permission from the Publisher is necessary for resale, external distribution, or creation of derivative works such as compilations or translations. When using copyrighted material from other sources, authors must secure written permission from the copyright holders and properly acknowledge the original sources in the article.
9.0 Publication Ethics
Alongside all issues stated in this document, authors must ensure their work is original, accurately reported, and free from fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. All sources must be properly cited, and permissions obtained for copyrighted materials. Authorship should include only those who made substantial scholarly contributions, with all authors approving the final manuscript. Conflicts of interest, funding sources, and relevant ethical considerations must be disclosed. Manuscripts should not be under review elsewhere. If AI tools are used, authors must transparently state how they were applied, ensure outputs are verified for accuracy, and accept full responsibility for the content. Any errors identified after publication must be reported for correction or retraction.
10.0 Contact
Journal of Logistics, Management and Engineering Sciences (JLMES) Publications, National Institute of Transport
P.O. Box 705, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Telephone: +255 22 2213701
You can see the Matrix for Reviewer's Comments here
