Submissions

Author Guidelines

AUTHORS’ GUIDELINES

Abstract/Manuscript Submission Guidelines for Speakers & Authors

SDPI holds the right to accept or reject any paper at any stage from being presented in the Conference and from being included in the SDC Anthology. 

Editorial Review and Selection Criteria: Each submission undergoes a vigorous editorial and peer review process. Author/s need to be cognizant of the fact that during this process, their abstracts and papers will be reviewed and edited for substance, language, and grammar by a team of referees and expert editors, and their editorial and review decisions will be considered final. Potential speakers are requested to strictly abide by the mentioned deadlines. SDPI holds the right to accept or reject any paper at any stage from being included in the SDC Anthology.

Submitting Abstracts for the Conference

For every conference, potential speakers are invited to submit their abstract/s and papers for SDPI’s annual Sustainable Development Conference. When the call for abstracts is announced prior to the Conference, a soft copy of the abstract of 150 - 200 words in MS Word should be submitted to the SDC Unit at sdc@sdpi.org. Submissions may also be copied to relevant panel organisers. Details of the panel title; panel write-up; and panel organiser’s details are updated and made available: https://sdpi.org/sdconference/

Each abstract will be screened through a plagiarism detection software. Abstracts with text copied from sources without proper citations or generated using AI will not be accepted. Authors are encouraged to develop their own analysis.

The abstract should:

• Focus on the panel’s theme and be related to the overarching theme of the Sustainable Development Conference.
• Clearly state the title, theme, objectives, sources of data, and major expected findings.
• Be in a narrative form, not in bullet points.
• Consist of author’s own analysis.
• Clearly identify at the top the panel title it is being sent for.
• Be written using British spellings.
• Include the author’s full name, a brief bionote as author, of no more than 30 words, complete contact address (including email as well as postal), telephone and fax numbers.
• Example of an Author’s Bionote: Dr Rubina Ahmad is a professor at the Department of Sociology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. She is an author and gender activist and has worked with various UN and international organisations on gender issues.

Only those speakers whose abstracts have been shortlisted will be notified and guided through the process of participating in the Conference and presenting their paper. The shortlisted authors will be requested to send their draft papers and PowerPoint presentations which are to be submitted a month before the Conference.

SDC Anthology

Each SDC anthology is based on the papers presented at that particular Conference. It is an internationally circulated quality publication that goes through an extensive review process and by tradition is launched at the succeeding conference. Previous SDC anthologies are available at the given link:

https://sdpi.org/sdc-anthologies/publications

A manuscript submitted for the review process will first undergo a plagiarism review. If cleared, it will then go through a single-blind peer review process. If approved by the referee, there will be two rounds of editing followed by the publisher’s formalities. This is a year-long extensive process. Its success relies heavily on the referee’s feedback and author’s revisions undertaken whenever and wherever required. The SDC Unit supports each speaker through this journey towards becoming an author of a chapter in the SDC anthology.

Submitting[1] Papers for the Conference

After the Conference, speakers will be invited to submit their final paper having incorporated the discussion based on their presentation at the 28^th Sustainable Development Conference session. The paper should be concise not exceeding a maximum of 5,000 words including an abstract of 150 - 200 words. The paper should be approximately 20 type-written pages (1.5 line spacing, 12 font size, Times New Roman font) in MS Word, including all tables, figures and standardized references as given below.

All papers are screened through a plagiarism detection software. SDPI has zero tolerance for plagiarism. Authors are encouraged to generate their own debate and analysis. Referenced/cited text should not exceed 19% of the paper including the AI generated sources. According to the Higher Education Commission’s (HEC) guidelines, one single source should not exceed 5% within that 19%. Authors are requested to rely on recent data and publications in order to enrich the analysis. Please use the Harvard Style of referencing. A detailed guide can be viewed at the given link: https://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-agps-referencing-guide.

Authors should ensure that their manuscripts follow the format as outlined below:

1. Title

Title for the paper, tables and figures should be concise and clearly indicate the subject matter being dealt with. Title of the paper should not be the same as the title of the panel.

2. Abstract

• The paper should begin with an abstract of 150 - 200 words.
• The abstract should focus on the panel’s theme and be related to the overarching theme of the Sustainable Development Conference.
• Clearly state objectives, sources of data, and major expected findings.
• Be in a narrative form, not in bullet points.

3. Sections and Sub-Sections

Bold all sections and give a maximum of 3-digit numbering of sub-sections (i.e. 3.2.1). Sub-section headings should start at the left margin.

4. Lists, Tables, Figures and Images

Provide a list of abbreviations/acronyms used, as well as a Glossary of Key Terms, especially those mentioned in native language with their English translation and brief explanation. Present only important tables and figures that illustrate the points made. Tables and figures should be well designed and complete to avoid lengthy explanation in the text. Each figure should be presented on a separate page and should not exceed half-a-page in size and should leave margins on both sides. While reproducing data from a diagram or table, or copying the entire table or diagram, in the paper, a reference should be made to the source.

A reference within the text to a table taken from a book should include the author and page (Smith 2005, p.33). Where the source of the data is not the author’s own, but obtained from another source, that is, a second-hand reference and needs to be cited thus (United Nations 1975 cited in Smith 2005, p.33). Ensure that all graphs, maps and figures can be printed in black-and-white colour since colour printing of the paper is not possible.

Captions/Titles should be above each image, figure, box or table along with correct numerical order, whereas the source (in italics) of each should be given at the end of the image, table or box:

Figure 1: Consumer Confidence, Concerns, Spending and Attitudes to Recession

{Object}

Source: World Bank 2010.

5. Footnotes and Endnotes

For extra explanations, use footnotes indicated using auto numbers. Footnotes should be brief. Footnotes should not provide references given within the text. The bionote should be given on the first page using an asterisk (*). Do not use endnotes.

• Example of an Author’s Bionote: *Dr Rubina Ahmad is a professor at the Department of Sociology, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. She is an author and gender activist and has worked with various UN and international organisations on gender issues. 

6. Direct Quotes

Brief quotations (about 30 words or less) can be included in text. Use single quotations marks/inverted commas, (‘Engineers are vital to the survival of the planet’ (Stewart 1982, p. 6)). Very lengthy quotations should be given in separate, smaller text, indented paragraphs (Block Quotes) with the complete citation. 

7. Paraphrasing

Use of another scholar’s work (even paraphrased) requires proper referencing. Citation marks are not essential. However, there is a need to provide the original source of information referred to within the text. Further, any paraphrased text without giving the reference source next to it is academic dishonesty and is NOT acceptable. 

8. Acknowledgements

Authors are welcome to give Acknowledgements at the end of the paper. However, the word limit is 30 words.

9. List of Acronyms and Glossary of Terms

A complete list of acronyms / abbreviations used in the text need to be provided. References made to terms, objects, nomenclature in the local dialect need to be given in italics in the text with their English translation and explanation given in the Glossary of Terms as well as given in the footnotes.

10. Syntax and Language

Each paragraph should contain a full message and use simple language. Avoid lengthy sentences. Use British spellings and indicate all monetary values in US dollars (USD) apart from the local form of currency as the paper is meant for an international audience and readers.

11. References

The reference section is one of the most important sections of the paper that needs to be given very close attention while finalising the manuscript for submission. The peer-reviewed approved papers are published in an edited volume and require references standardised according to the Harvard style. As mentioned earlier, authors are encouraged to generate their own debate and analysis. Referenced/cited text should not exceed 19% of the paper including the AI generated text.

The style of references used in the SDC Anthology and SDPI’s English Publication Series has been adapted from the Harvard Style (AGPS) of University of Southern Queensland. These can be viewed at: <https://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-agps-referencing-guide>.

• Sources that have been quoted in the research (statistics, statements, terminology, pictures etc.) should be acknowledged by citing their source reference within the text along with the complete source/citation in the Reference section at the end of the document.
  
  
• Sources that have been studied during research and have not been quoted can be added in the Bibliography

• The list of references should be arranged in alphabetical order by authors’ surnames. The author’s surname is placed first, followed by initials or first name, and then the year of publication is given. Where an item does not have an author, it should be arranged by its title.

• If the list contains more than one item published by the same author in the same year, add lower case letters immediately after the year to distinguish them, for example ‘2020a’, ‘2019b’ and so on.
  
  
• E-documents and e-books also need to be quoted. If a web document includes both a date of creation and a date it was last updated, use only the date it was last updated. For a document on the Web, which is a series of linked pages, use the information from the main or ‘home’ page.

• The author’s own previously published work, if cited in the paper, also needs to be referenced.

• A detailed reference style guide is available at: <https://www.usq.edu.au/library/referencing/harvard-agps-referencing-guide>.

12. Categories

Authors may consider one of the following categories while submitting their papers:

1. Research Paper / Scholarly Article presents research findings meant to stimulate discussion and create awareness. These papers/articles discuss the various sides of the debate and are finished products fit for publication in a scholarly journal or a peer reviewed anthology.

1. Working Papers present preliminary research findings to stimulate discussion and critical comment. These papers may be improved upon and need not to be of the same standard as the above.

1. Policy Briefs / Policy Papers are solicited/ unsolicited briefs on practical policy issues. They are meant to provide clear-cut policy outlines and make recommendations.

1. Perspectives / Argumentative Essays utilize logic and reason to show that one idea is more legitimate than another idea using sound reasoning and solid evidence by stating facts, giving logical reasons, using examples, and quoting experts. 

Please submit your paper for the SDC Anthology to: sdc@sdpi.org

Ms Uzma T. Haroon

Director SDC Unit

Ms Tayyaba Hanif

Coordinator – SDC Unit

Ms Romila Qamar

Associate Editor – SDC Unit

If you wish to submit your paper for SDPI’s Journal of Development, Policy & Practice (JoDPRP), you may submit it online at the given link:

https://journals.sdpipk.org/index.php/JoDPRP

[1] Original papers are encouraged. However, published and written papers with proper credit given to the source/s may be presented at the SDC provided they are approved by the editorial team. Obtaining the copyright permission will be the author’s responsibility.