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Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

  • This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
  • All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness.
  • All tables and figures have been numbered and labeled.
  • Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission.

Research Articles

An Article is a substantial novel research study, with a complex story often involving several techniques or approaches. 

Format

  • Main text – up to 12500 words, excluding abstract, Methods, references and figure legends.
  • Abstract – up to 150 words, unreferenced. 
  • Display items – up to 6 items (figures and/or tables). 
  • Article should be divided as follows: 
    • Introduction (without heading) 
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Methods. ​
  • Results and Methods should be divided by topical subheadings; the Discussion does not contain subheadings. 
  • References – as a guideline, we typically recommend up to 50.
  • Articles include received/accepted dates. 
  • Articles may be accompanied by supplementary information. 
  • Articles are peer reviewed.

Analysis Reports

An Analysis Reports include data-driven research that analyzes data and discovers the characteristics of the data and the phenomena behind it, and the introduction to the new data.

Format

  • Main text – up to 7,000 words.
  • Abstract – 100-150 words. 
  • Analysis should be divided as follows: 
    • Introduction 
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
  • References – as a guideline.
  • Analyses Reports may be accompanied by supplementary information. 
  • Analyses Reports are peer reviewed.

Review

A Review is an authoritative, balanced and scholarly survey of recent developments in a research field. The requirement for balance need not prevent authors from proposing a specific viewpoint, but if there are controversies in the field, the authors must treat them in an even-handed way. 

The scope of a Review should be broad enough that it is not dominated by the work of a single laboratory, and particularly not by the authors' own work.

Format

  • Main text – 3,000-4,000 words.
  • Illustrations are strongly encouraged.
  • References – up to 100 (exceptions are possible in special cases). 
  • Citations – these should be selective and, in the case of particularly important studies (≤ 10% of all the references), we encourage authors to provide short annotations explaining why these are key contributions.
  • Reviews include received/accepted dates. 
  • Reviews are peer reviewed.

Perspective

A Perspective provides a forum for authors to discuss fast-moving or emerging topics in a scholarly way while also presenting an original, forward-looking vision. They are more thought-provoking or speculative than Reviews and may take a narrower field of view. While opinionated, Perspectives should remain balanced and are intended to stimulate discussion.

Format

  • Main text – 3,000-4,000 words.
  • References – up to 100 (exceptions are possible in special cases). 
  • Perspectives include received/accepted dates. 
  • Perspectives are peer reviewed.

Comment

A Comment is a very flexible format, focusing on the scientific, commercial, ethical, legal, societal, or political issues surrounding research. Comments should be topical, readable, provocative and introduce new concepts/points of view, providing a personal perspective on a matter of public or scientific importance. The main criteria are that they should be of immediate interest to a broad readership and should be written in an accessible, non-technical style. 

Format

  • Length – 1,500-2,000 words.
  • Comments do not normally contain primary research data, although they may present 'sociological' data (funding trends, demographics, bibliographic data, etc.). 
  • References should be used sparingly – up to 15.
  • Article titles are omitted from the reference list.
  • Peer review is at the editors' discretion.

Reusability Reports

Reusability Reports are Articles that specifically test the robustness and reusability of previously published code that supported the findings in papers published in Annual Conference of the Asian Criminological Society or elsewhere.

Speech

A Speech is a format focusing on the keynote speech, presentation, roundtable discussion or research proposal report. Speech should be topical, readable, provocative and introduce new concepts/points of view, providing a personal perspective on a matter of public or scientific importance. 

Format

  • Length – 1,500-3,000 words.
  • References should be used sparingly – up to 30.
  • PPT is acceptable, but MUST transformed as a PDF file.

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