Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors wishing to submit manuscripts to Management Systems Evolution and Leadership Studies (MSELS) should carefully prepare their articles in accordance with the following requirements. Manuscripts that do not substantially comply with the journal’s formatting, structural, and scholarly standards may be returned to authors for revision before entering the peer-review process.

Language of the Manuscript

The full text of the article must be written in Persian. This includes the main body of the manuscript, headings, subheadings, tables, figures, methodological explanations, findings, discussion, and conclusion, except where English terminology is necessary for scientific accuracy.

Each manuscript must also include both a Persian abstract and an English abstract.

In addition to the standard English abstract, authors are required to provide a separate Extended Abstract in English, consisting of approximately 1,000 to 1,500 words. Submission of the English extended abstract is mandatory and forms part of the journal’s publication requirements.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all English sections are linguistically accurate, academically written, and consistent with the content of the Persian manuscript.

Manuscript Structure

Although the exact organization of a manuscript may vary according to the research design and disciplinary approach, original research articles should generally contain the following components:

Title; Persian Abstract; Persian Keywords; Introduction; Literature Review and/or Theoretical Framework; Research Methodology; Findings or Results; Discussion; Conclusion; Research Implications where applicable; Limitations and Suggestions for Future Research where appropriate; References; English Title; English Abstract; English Keywords; and English Extended Abstract.

The structure may be adjusted for conceptual, qualitative, review, or interdisciplinary studies where a conventional empirical format is not appropriate. However, all manuscripts should maintain clear organization, logical continuity, and appropriate academic headings.

Title

The title should be concise, informative, academically appropriate, and directly related to the central subject of the manuscript. Authors should avoid unnecessarily long titles, unexplained abbreviations, vague expressions, or wording that does not accurately represent the study.

The Persian and English titles should correspond closely in meaning.

Persian Abstract

The Persian abstract should provide a concise and self-contained summary of the research. It should normally explain the purpose of the study, research approach or methodology, principal findings, and major conclusion.

The abstract should not contain unnecessary background information, extensive theoretical discussion, tables, figures, or a reference list. Citations should generally be avoided in the abstract unless they are indispensable to understanding the study.

A set of relevant Persian keywords should appear immediately after the Persian abstract.

English Abstract

Every manuscript must contain an English abstract corresponding accurately to the Persian abstract. The English abstract should be written in clear academic English and should accurately reflect the study's objectives, methodology, findings, and conclusions.

A set of English keywords should be provided immediately after the English abstract. The English keywords should correspond as closely as possible to the Persian keywords.

Extended Abstract in English

All accepted manuscripts must contain an English Extended Abstract of 1,000–1,500 words. Authors are strongly encouraged to submit the extended abstract with the initial manuscript.

The extended abstract should provide international readers with a sufficiently comprehensive understanding of the research without requiring them to read the full Persian text. It should not simply repeat the short English abstract.

The extended abstract should present the research context and problem, objectives, relevant theoretical background where necessary, methodology, principal findings, interpretation of results, and conclusion. Where appropriate, it may also briefly mention practical or theoretical implications.

The content of the extended abstract must accurately correspond to the Persian article. Authors must not introduce results, interpretations, or claims that are absent from the main manuscript.

For empirical articles, a useful structure for the extended abstract is:

Introduction and Purpose — Methodology — Findings — Discussion and Conclusion

Equivalent structures may be used for qualitative, conceptual, review, or interdisciplinary manuscripts when more suitable.

Fonts and Typography

The required font for all Persian-language text is B Lotus.

The required font for all English-language content is Times New Roman.

This requirement applies to the English title, abstract, keywords, extended abstract, English terms within the manuscript where applicable, and references written in English.

Authors should use typography consistently throughout the manuscript and avoid unnecessary variation in fonts, decorative formatting, excessive boldface, or underlining.

Headings and subheadings should be clearly distinguished from the body text through consistent formatting.

Academic Writing Style

Manuscripts should be written in a formal, clear, coherent, and academically appropriate style. Authors should avoid conversational language, unnecessary repetition, excessive rhetorical statements, and ambiguous wording.

Technical and specialized terminology should be used accurately and consistently. Where an English technical term is essential, authors may provide it alongside the Persian equivalent where appropriate.

The manuscript should be carefully proofread before submission for grammar, punctuation, spacing, spelling, consistency, and typographical errors.

Citation and Referencing Style

The journal follows the APA style for in-text citations and references. Authors must prepare citations and the reference list according to the current applicable conventions of the American Psychological Association (APA).

In-text citations should correspond exactly to entries in the reference list, and every source listed in the references should have been cited in the manuscript, except where a specific type of source appropriately requires otherwise.

Authors should verify carefully the accuracy of:

author names, publication years, titles, journal names, volume and issue numbers, page ranges, publishers, DOI information, and other bibliographic elements.

Where a DOI is available, authors are encouraged to include it in the reference entry in accordance with APA requirements.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all references.

In-Text Citations

Sources should be cited at the relevant point in the manuscript rather than being included only in the final reference list.

For paraphrased material, authors should provide the author name and year according to APA conventions. Direct quotations should also include the appropriate page number or other locator where applicable.

Excessive reliance on direct quotations is discouraged. Authors should synthesize and critically engage with existing literature rather than reproduce large amounts of source material.

Reference List

The reference list should appear at the end of the article and should be arranged according to APA style.

References should be presented consistently and accurately. Authors should avoid including sources that have not been cited in the manuscript.

Where Persian-language references are transliterated or translated into English for publication purposes, authors should follow the journal's editorial requirements consistently.

The editorial office may request corrections where references are incomplete, inconsistent, or not prepared according to APA style.

Headings and Subheadings

The manuscript should use a logical hierarchy of headings and subheadings. Headings should clearly communicate the organization of the article and should not be unnecessarily numerous.

Authors should use consistent numbering and formatting throughout the manuscript where numbered headings are employed.

Very short sections consisting of only one or two sentences should generally be avoided unless they are structurally necessary.

Tables

Tables should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned in the text.

Each table should have a clear and informative title. The table should be understandable without requiring excessive reference to the body of the manuscript.

Authors should avoid duplicating the same information in both tables and figures. Tables should be used only when they improve the clarity or efficiency of presenting results.

All statistical symbols, abbreviations, and notes appearing in tables should be explained where necessary.

Sources must be acknowledged when a table is reproduced or adapted from previously published material.

Figures, Charts, and Illustrations

Figures, diagrams, charts, and other visual materials should be numbered consecutively and cited in the main text.

Each figure should have an informative title or caption and should be of sufficient quality for publication.

Text contained within figures should remain legible after formatting. Authors should avoid overly complex or visually crowded figures.

If a figure has been reproduced or adapted from another source, the original source must be properly acknowledged, and authors are responsible for obtaining any necessary permission.

Statistical Reporting

Quantitative manuscripts should report statistical analyses accurately, transparently, and consistently.

Authors should provide sufficient information to enable readers to understand the analysis, including relevant test statistics, significance levels, effect sizes, confidence intervals, model-fit indices, or other appropriate measures depending on the research design.

Statistical symbols and abbreviations should follow recognized disciplinary or APA conventions.

Authors should avoid reporting statistical significance without appropriate interpretation of its substantive or theoretical relevance.

Research Methodology

The methodology section should provide sufficient detail to allow readers to understand how the study was conducted.

Depending on the research design, this section may include the research approach, population and sample, sampling method, inclusion and exclusion criteria, instruments, validity and reliability procedures, data-collection process, ethical considerations, and methods of data analysis.

Qualitative studies should clearly explain the research design, participant selection, data-collection procedures, coding or analytical approach, and procedures used to establish the credibility and rigor of the findings.

Ethical Considerations

Research involving human participants should comply with applicable ethical requirements.

Where relevant, authors should state whether ethical approval was obtained from an appropriate institutional or ethics committee. The approval code or identifying information should be provided when available and required.

Authors must obtain informed consent where applicable and protect participants' privacy and confidentiality.

Any potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed transparently.

Originality and Previous Publication

Manuscripts submitted to MSELS must be original and must not have been published previously in substantially the same form.

A manuscript should not be under simultaneous consideration by another journal at the time of submission.

Authors must disclose any substantial overlap with previously published papers, conference proceedings, theses, reports, preprints, or related manuscripts where relevant.

All submissions may be checked using iThenticate for plagiarism and inappropriate textual similarity.

Authorship

Only individuals who have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the work should be listed as authors.

All authors should approve the submitted version of the manuscript and agree to its submission to the journal.

The order of authors should be determined by the authors before submission. Requests to modify authorship after submission must be appropriately justified and may require written agreement from all authors.

The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal and for ensuring that all co-authors are informed about the submission, revisions, editorial decisions, and final publication.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

If no conflict of interest exists, authors may be asked to include an explicit statement indicating this.

Funding

Authors should identify any organization, institution, grant, or funding source that supported the research.

Where no external funding was received, this may also be stated where required by the journal.

Funding disclosure should not be confused with acknowledgment of general institutional affiliation.

Acknowledgments

Individuals or organizations that contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged in an Acknowledgments section.

Authors should obtain permission before naming individuals whose inclusion in the acknowledgments could imply endorsement of the work.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and scholarly content of their manuscripts, including any content prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools.

AI systems must not be listed as authors.

If generative AI or AI-assisted technologies have been used substantially in preparing, translating, analyzing, or editing the manuscript, authors should disclose such use where relevant and ensure that all generated information, references, and claims have been independently verified.

AI-assisted tools must not be used in a manner that compromises research confidentiality, participant privacy, copyright, or academic integrity.

File Preparation and Submission

Authors should submit a complete and editable manuscript file prepared according to the journal's requirements.

Before submission, authors should ensure that the manuscript contains all required components, including the Persian title and text, Persian abstract and keywords, English title, English abstract and keywords, the mandatory 1,000–1,500-word English Extended Abstract, and the complete reference list.

To preserve the journal's double-blind anonymous peer-review process, authors should also remove identifying information from the manuscript file where required. Names, affiliations, acknowledgments, and other identifying details should be provided separately through the journal submission system or title-page file as instructed.

Revision of Manuscripts

When revision is requested, authors should address all comments provided by the editors and reviewers carefully.

The revised manuscript should normally be accompanied by a clear response explaining how each reviewer or editorial comment has been addressed. Where an author does not agree with a requested change, an academically reasoned explanation should be provided.

A revision request does not constitute final acceptance. Revised manuscripts may undergo additional editorial assessment or further peer review.

Final Proofreading

After acceptance, authors may be asked to review the final proof of the article.

At the proof stage, corrections should normally be limited to typographical, formatting, factual, or production errors. Major changes to the content, authorship, data, analysis, or conclusions are generally not permitted after final acceptance unless exceptional circumstances justify them.

Authors are responsible for reviewing proofs carefully and returning corrections within the period specified by the journal.

Final Submission Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript to Management Systems Evolution and Leadership Studies, authors should confirm that the article is written in Persian; the Persian and English abstracts and keywords are included; the required English Extended Abstract of 1,000–1,500 words is provided; Persian text is formatted in B Lotus; English text is formatted in Times New Roman; citations and references follow APA style; tables and figures are properly numbered and cited; ethical, funding, and conflict-of-interest information is included where applicable; and identifying information has been removed from the anonymous review file.

Compliance with these guidelines helps facilitate efficient editorial screening, peer review, revision, and publication.