Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

The Journal of Sustainable Islamic Economics and Finance (JSIEF) welcomes original scholarly manuscripts that contribute to the advancement of Islamic economics, Islamic finance, sustainability, governance, public policy, and development studies. Submitted manuscripts should demonstrate academic originality, theoretical relevance, methodological clarity, and practical or policy significance.

Authors are required to carefully follow these guidelines before submitting their manuscripts through the JSIEF online submission system. Manuscripts that do not comply with the journal’s scope, formatting requirements, ethical standards, or reference style may be returned to the authors or rejected during the initial editorial screening.

1. Types of Manuscripts

JSIEF accepts the following types of manuscripts:

2. Language and Originality

Manuscripts must be written in clear and professional academic English. Authors whose first language is not English are strongly encouraged to use professional language editing before submission. All submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another journal.

JSIEF does not accept manuscripts that contain plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated data, falsified findings, or unethical authorship practices.

3. Manuscript Format

Manuscripts should be prepared in Microsoft Word format using the following specifications:

• File format: Microsoft Word document (.docx);
• Paper size: A4;
• Margins: 2.54 cm or 1 inch on all sides;
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt;
• Line spacing: 1.5 lines;
• Page numbering: bottom centre;
• Reference style: APA 7th Edition.

4. Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts submitted to JSIEF should generally contain the following components:

4.1 Title

The title should be concise, specific, informative, and relevant to international readers. It should not exceed 20 words. Authors should avoid overly general, descriptive, or institution-bound titles.

4.2 Author Information

The manuscript should include the full name of each author, institutional affiliation, country, email address, and ORCID ID. The ORCID ID is mandatory for the corresponding author. Scopus Author ID may be included where available.

4.3 Abstract

The abstract should be 200–250 words and should clearly present the research background, purpose, method, key findings, originality, and implications. References should not be cited in the abstract.

4.4 Keywords

Authors should provide 5–7 keywords that reflect the main concepts, theory, method, context, and policy area of the manuscript. Keywords should use internationally recognized academic terminology to support discoverability.

5. Article Body

Original research articles should normally follow the structure below:

5.1 Introduction

The introduction should explain the research background, problem statement, research gap, novelty, research questions or objectives, and contribution of the study. Authors are encouraged to clearly identify the theoretical, empirical, methodological, or contextual gap addressed by the manuscript.

5.2 Literature Review

The literature review should critically discuss relevant theories, previous studies, debates, contradictions, and unresolved issues. A descriptive summary of previous studies is not sufficient. The literature review should lead logically to the research framework, hypotheses, propositions, or analytical focus of the study.

5.3 Research Methodology

The methodology section should describe and justify the research design, data sources, population and sample, instruments, variables or constructs, data collection procedures, and analytical techniques. The method must be appropriate to the research questions and should allow the study to be replicated or assessed by other scholars.

5.4 Results

The results section should present the findings clearly and systematically. Quantitative studies should include relevant statistical results, while qualitative studies should present themes, categories, patterns, or evidence from the data. Tables and figures may be used where necessary to support clarity.

5.5 Discussion

The discussion should interpret the findings in relation to the research questions, theoretical framework, and previous studies. Authors should explain whether the findings confirm, extend, refine, or challenge existing literature.

5.6 Implications

Authors should explain the theoretical, practical, and policy implications of the study. Policy recommendations should be specific, evidence-based, and relevant to Islamic economics, Islamic finance, sustainability, governance, or development.

5.7 Conclusion

The conclusion should summarize the main findings, contributions, limitations, and suggestions for future research. It should not merely repeat the abstract or earlier sections.

6. Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively and placed close to the relevant text. Each table and figure must have a clear title and source information where applicable. Authors must ensure that all tables and figures are readable, properly cited in the text, and do not infringe third-party copyright.

7. References

JSIEF uses the APA 7th Edition referencing style. Authors are strongly encouraged to use reference management software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote to ensure consistency between in-text citations and the reference list.

Reference quality should meet the following standards:

• Research articles should normally include at least 40 references;
• Most references should come from peer-reviewed journal articles;
• Authors are encouraged to use recent and relevant references, particularly publications from the last 10 years;
• References should engage with leading scholarship in Islamic economics, Islamic finance, sustainability, development studies, governance, and public policy;
• All in-text citations must appear in the reference list, and all references must be cited in the manuscript.

8. Ethical Declarations

All manuscripts must include the following declarations before the reference list:

• Funding Statement: Authors must state whether the research received funding. If no funding was received, this should also be stated.
• Conflict of Interest Statement: Authors must disclose any potential conflict of interest.
• AI Use Disclosure Statement: Authors must disclose any use of AI tools in manuscript preparation, language editing, data processing, or other research-related activities.
• Data Availability Statement: Authors must state whether and how the data supporting the findings are available.
• Author Contribution Statement: Authors must describe each author’s contribution using the CRediT taxonomy where applicable.
• Ethical Approval Statement: Required for studies involving human participants, interviews, surveys, institutional data, or sensitive information.

9. Submission Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript, authors should ensure that:

• The manuscript fits the focus and scope of JSIEF;
• The manuscript is original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere;
• The manuscript is written in professional academic English;
• The title is concise, specific, and relevant;
• The abstract is 200–250 words and clearly presents the purpose, method, findings, originality, and implications;
• Five to seven keywords are provided;
• The manuscript follows the JSIEF template and formatting requirements;
• References follow APA 7th Edition style;
• All in-text citations are included in the reference list;
• The corresponding author’s ORCID ID is provided;
• The similarity index does not exceed the journal’s maximum threshold;
• Ethical approval and informed consent are provided where applicable;
• Funding, conflict of interest, AI use, data availability, and author contribution statements are included.

10. Desk Rejection Criteria

Manuscripts may be rejected without external review if they:

• Fall outside the focus and scope of JSIEF;
• Lack clear originality, novelty, or scholarly contribution;
• Use weak, unclear, or inappropriate methodology;
• Contain poor academic writing that affects readability;
• Fail to comply with the journal’s manuscript template or formatting requirements;
• Exceed the journal’s similarity threshold;
• Contain ethical concerns, including plagiarism, duplicate submission, data fabrication, or inappropriate authorship;
• Do not include required declarations or ethical approval where applicable.

11. Manuscript Template

Authors are required to use the JSIEF manuscript template provided on the journal website. The template contains the required format for the title page, abstract, keywords, article body, declarations, references, and appendices. Manuscripts that do not follow the template may be returned to the authors for correction before editorial evaluation.

12. Online Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted through the JSIEF online submission system. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all required metadata, author information, manuscript files, ethical declarations, and supplementary documents are complete at the time of submission.