Author guidelines

The Colombo Business Journal (CBJ) will publish papers written only in English. Authors are advised to make sure that their manuscripts are in standard written English. See ‘Work Published’ for descriptions of the different categories of submissions accepted for publication in the CBJ.

Manuscript style and format

Times New Roman 11-point font and A4 page setting should be used. Page numbers should be centred on the bottom margin. All margins should be one inch. Manuscripts should be double spaced.

Manuscript preparation

Title Page

The title page (first page) of the manuscript should include the title, the name(s) and affiliation(s) of author(s) and their postal address(es), phone number(s), and e-mail address(es). It should also include the ORCID number (register by visiting https://orcid.org/) of the corresponding author (only).

The title should be in bold type, upper case, single-spaced, and centred across the top of the first page, in 14-point Times New Roman font. Other details should be single-spaced and centred below the title. In case of more than one author, the corresponding author should be indicated with an asterisk mark. Please note that the author name(s) must not appear anywhere else in the manuscript except on the title page and the reference list (if cited).

Abstract

The second page should begin with the title of the paper followed by a one-paragraph abstract of not more than 150 words and 3-5 key words. The abstract should include, in brief, the objectives of the research (i.e. knowledge gap being addressed), methods adopted, major findings, and conclusions.

Text

The text of the paper should begin on page 3. All body paragraphs should begin with a paragraph indent, and be fully justified. Wherever possible, authors should arrange the manuscripts in well-defined sections as appropriate for their work, such as introduction/background of the study, review of past studies/literature, context and methods of the study (when applicable), results and interpretations, and discussion and conclusion.

References and Appendices, on separate pages, should be arranged at the end of the manuscript. Page numbers should continue through all pages of the manuscript, including References and Appendices.

The word limit of a manuscript is 5000-10000 words (including Abstract, Keywords, Notes, References, Tables and Figures).

Headings

CBJ allows authors to use three levels of headings. First-level headings should be flushed left, in bold type 12-point Times New Roman font; first letter of main words should be in upper case. Second-level headings should be flushed left in bold, italics 11-point Time New Roman font; first letter of main words should be in upper case. Third-level headings are paragraph headings, which should be indented and in italicized 11-point Times New Roman font; first letter of the heading should be in upper case.

Tables

Tables should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numbering (Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and must have corresponding references in the main text. Tables should also have appropriate and concise headings. Tables should contain only horizontal lines and each should be placed immediately after the paragraph in the text containing the first reference to it. Tables of figures should be created in the paper and computer output (e.g. SPSS output) should not be copy-pasted. Any tables not based on the authors’ original data should have source notes with corresponding references appearing in the reference list.

Figures and illustrations

All figures and illustrations, as in the case of tables, should be numbered consecutively as ‘Figures’ (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.) with corresponding references in the main text. Figures should also have appropriate and concise headings. Graphs should be presented as camera-ready, using black ink only. Each figure should be placed immediately after the paragraph in the text containing the first reference to it. Any figures not based on the authors’ original data should have source notes with corresponding references appearing in the reference list.

Conflict of Interest

All submissions should include a statement declaring any personal relationships that could cause a potential conflict of interest. Any funding sources should be properly acknowledged, and should include a statement whether such funding could lead to potential conflict of interest. This statement should be presented at the end of the main text prior to the list of references. Where there is no conflict of interest, this should be stated.

Acknowledgement

If authors wish to acknowledge financial support or any other assistance, a note can be added below the statement on conflict of interest prior to references.

References

CBJ uses American Psychological Association (APA) style guide (Edition 7) for both in-text citations and reference list. All references should include the DOI numbers where they are available. The reference list should be presented at the end of the manuscript and the entries should be double spaced.

Appendices

Any appendices should presented after the list of references. They should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals (e.g. Appendix 1, Appendix 2, etc.). All appendices should be referred to in appropriate places in the main text. 

Submission checklist

1. Title page

• Title of paper
• Contact details of all authors
• One author designated as the corresponding author
• The ORCID number of the corresponding author

2. Abstract

• Title of paper
• Abstract limited to 150 words
• Keywords (3-5) noted below the abstract

3. Main text

• Identified with correct levels of headings and sub-headings
• Set with correct flow of presentation

4. Tables and figures

• Serial numbered (separately as Table 1, Table 2 and Figure 1, Figure 2) and identified with captions
• With source notes where applicable and footnoted as required
• All tables/figures referred to by number in the text
• Placed immediately after the paragraph in the text containing the first reference to the table or figure 

5. Conflict of interest statement

• Funding sources
• Declaration of any conflict of interest (due to funding sources or any other personal relations)
• Statement declaring there is no conflict of interest if there is none

6. References

• In the correct format (APA style)
• Checked with the in-text citations
• DOIs of all references where they are available

7. Appendices

• Numbered and provided after the list of references

8. Whole submission

• Spell-checked
• Grammar-checked
• Permissions are obtained appropriately

Editorial policy (Key information)

Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that their contents have not been published, nor are under consideration for publication elsewhere. However, presentation of a paper at an academic conference or professional meeting will not disqualify it from consideration, provided that the said conference/meeting does not own copyrights of the paper. All submissions will be subject to an initial screening by the Editorial Board, and if deemed appropriate for the CBJ, they will be subjected to a double-blind peer review by two independent reviewers. The copyright of all work published in the CBJ remains with the author(s), with the CBJ getting a licence to publish the work first. All work in the CBJ will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Authors are expected to follow the standard ethics of scholarly work and publishing, including refraining from plagiarism. See Policies and Ethics for further details.

Submission

Contributors may submit their manuscripts using the Online Submissions link or via email to the Managing Editor.

Email: cbjournal@fmf.cmb.ac.lk