Author Guidelines

Nordic Journal of Systematic Reviews in Education (NJSRE) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal. We primarily publish systematic reviews of educational research as well as protocols for systematic reviews. In this overview, you will find information regarding our guidelines and procedures for the submission of manuscripts.

We look forward to receiving your contribution!

BEFORE SUBMISSION

All authors are requested to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal, or other relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or be perceived to influence their work.

All authors must have materially participated in the research and/or manuscript preparation. The statement that all authors have approved the final article should be true and included in the disclosure.

All manuscripts must be written using inclusive language, acknowledging diversity, conveying respect to all people, and being sensitive to differences.

Before you submit your manuscript, we ask you to read the guidelines closely. Make sure that the number of words does not exceed the limits stated underneath and that references and notes comply with the guidelines.  Authors are encouraged to use Supplementary Materials which do not count towards the word limit.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

NJSRE accepts manuscripts written in Danish, English, Norwegian or Swedish. Manuscripts must not exceed 12 000 words (excluding title page, figures, tables and reference list). 

At the stage of submission, all manuscripts must be thoroughly edited and proofread. Manuscripts that are not language-checked will not be considered for review.

The journal uses double-blind reviewing of manuscripts. Manuscripts must therefore be anonymized by the author(s). Information about the author(s) must be given in a separate document, containing the title page and the author contribution statement. All explicit self-references should be anonymized.

Submissions are made electronically via the journal’s electronic platform: Make a submission

Submissions must contain the following:

  • Title page (with author details): This should include the title, authors' names, affiliations, acknowledgements and any Declaration of Interest statement, and a complete address for the corresponding author including an e-mail address.
  • Author biographies (three to five lines) for each author, including information regarding their position, field, affiliated institution or departement as well as previous relevant publications (if applicable).
  • An author contribution statement briefly detailing the contributions of each author should be enclosed. Please refer to authors as author 1, author 2 etc., and use the Contributor Roles Taxonomy as a general guideline for the statement. The author contribution statement can be in the same file as the title page.
  • Anonymized manuscript (no author details): The main body of the paper (including the references, figures, tables, and any acknowledgements) should not include any identifying information, such as the authors' names or affiliations.
  • Supplementary materials, if any.

The manuscript should include:

  • Title (Articles in Scandinavian languages must include an English title).
  • English abstract: Provide a brief abstract of max. 250 words. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the review, methods, the principal results and major conclusions or implications. (Articles in Scandinavian languages must include English abstract).
  • 3–5 English keywords (articles in Scandinavian languages must include English keywords).
  • 3–4 highlights which are a short collection of bullet points that convey the core findings.
  • The main body of the paper including reference list.

MANUSCRIPT STANDARDS

Formatting standards

  • Font size 12, single line spacing, Times New Roman.
  • Main headings and subheadings should be clearly indicated. Use no more than three heading levels.
  • Use italics for emphasis instead of bold or underlining (except for URLs).
  • Direct speech and references to direct speech should be within quotation marks.
  • Paragraphs should be indicated by blank lines.
  • Short quotes shall be set within quotation marks as part of the running text. Set longer quotes (those exceeding three sentences) as block quotations. Do not place quotation marks around block quotes.
  • All quoted material requires a reference placed in parentheses directly after the quote. References for quotes within the running text are placed before the sentence’s punctuation mark; place the reference for a block quotation after the final punctuation mark. Titles of books and terms used in the body text can be highlighted using either italics or quotation marks.
  • Please keep the use of notes to a minimum. If necessary, notes should be numbered and placed after the reference list as endnotes.
  • Explicit references to the author(s) must be anonymized (XXX, 201x).
  • Acknowledgments, dedications, and information about financing should be placed after the main text body, and before the reference list and endnotes.
  • Files should be submitted in .doc or .docx format.
  • Tables, charts or other illustrations are to be numbered and placed within the main body. For example: Table 1: [table caption], Figure 1: [figure caption].
  • Do not use double spacing after punctuation.

REFERENCES AND CITATIONS

Abbreviations

Use standard abbreviations. Any non-standard abbreviations (to be avoided if possible) should be explained in the text the first time they are used. Avoid abbreviations and notes in the title. Quantities and units should be expressed in accordance with the recommendations of the International System of Units (Système International d'Unités).

Reference style

The journal uses the APA 7th edition style guide for references. An introduction to this style can found here: http://www.apastyle.org/index.aspx

Also, a basic tutorial can be found here: 
https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/basics-7e-tutorial

DOI-reference

References should always include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) ​​if applicable. A DOI should be a clickable URL, inserted at the end of the reference in the literature list. If you are unsure of the DOI for a given reference, or whether a DOI for the reference is available, you can search for title, author name, etc. at http://search.crossref.org/.

Tables, figures and illustrations

Each table/figure should be numbered and editable in Microsoft Word. Please number tables/ figures consecutively with Arabic numerals and give each table/ figure a short, descriptive heading, following APA7 Guidelines.

If data from another published or unpublished source are used, obtain permission and acknowledge fully.

Notes

Notes should be kept to a minimum and used only for comment as a footnote.