Submissions

Author Guidelines

One or more authors must meet the author requirements as outlined on the Authorship page. Authors are expected to adhere to the guidelines specified in the Seventh Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA7) unless otherwise indicated. The APA Publication Manual offers valuable instructions for crafting a manuscript.

JAE Formatting Guidelines

All authors are requested to prepare the manuscript using the JAE Submission Template, which conforms to the journal’s guidelines.

Overall Document Setup

1. File Format: Submit your manuscript as an MS Word file.
2. Length: The manuscript must not exceed 15 single-spaced pages, excluding references and appendices.
3. Font: Use 11-point Times New Roman for all text.
4. Margins: Maintain one-inch margins on all sides.
5. Page Numbers: Insert page numbers centered in the footer of each page. Do not include any other headers or footers.
6. Language: Submit your manuscript in American English (AmE).

Manuscript Structure

1. Title: Begin the document with the manuscript title. It should be left-aligned and formatted in title case (major words capitalized). Do not include a separate title page or cover letter.
2. Abstract: Immediately following the title, provide an abstract of no more than 250 words. The abstract must be a single, italicized paragraph without indentation. It should summarize the study’s purpose, methods, findings, and recommendations.
3. Body Text: Follow the abstract with the main body of the manuscript.
4. References:
   1. All entries in the reference list must have a ½ inch hanging indent.
   2. For each reference that has a DOI, include it as an active hyperlink. Format the DOI as https://doi.org/xxxxx.
5. Appendices: If included, place appendices at the very end of the document, with each appendix starting on a new page.

Text Formatting and Style

1. Paragraphs: Indent the first line of each new paragraph by ½ inch. Insert one blank line (a single hard return) between paragraphs.
2. Writing Style: Use personal pronouns ("we" or "I") when referring to the author(s) to ensure clarity.
3. Special Elements:
   • Use the "Table" function to create tables and place them near the relevant text.
   • Use the "Bullets" or "Numbering" functions to create lists.
   • Use the special character function for Greek letters and mathematical symbols.
   • Do not include active hyperlinks in the body of the text.

JAE Ethics of Publication Guidelines

As part of the submission process, authors must certify that their submission complies with all the following requirements.

1. Publication Standards and Ethical Compliance

The manuscript conforms to the guidelines specified in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th Edition). It adheres to the ethical standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), except where superseded by the JAE Author Guidelines or the Policies Governing the Journal of Agricultural Education.

2. Originality and Exclusive Submission

The manuscript is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere and has not been previously published in substantially identical form, except as disclosed under Guideline 3. Further, neither the manuscript nor any other written or oral report containing substantially the same data, analyses, results, conclusions, or recommendations is currently under consideration for publication elsewhere.

3. Disclosure of Prior Conference Papers, Posters, Presentations, and Other Scholarly Outputs

If the manuscript is based on, adapted from, modifies, extends, or otherwise derives from a previously disseminated conference proceeding, paper, poster, presentation, abstract, dissertation, thesis, technical report, extension publication, white paper, or other scholarly work, the original source must be cited in the manuscript reference list.

Authors must disclose this relationship in the Comments to the Editor section and explain the substantive revisions, additions, analyses, theoretical developments, or other improvements incorporated into the submitted manuscript.

When applicable, authors must provide sufficient information for editors to evaluate the novelty and scholarly contribution of the submitted work relative to the earlier version.

4. Author Approval and Responsibility

All authors have reviewed the manuscript, approved its submission to the journal, and accept responsibility for its content and accuracy.

5. Conflicts of Interest, Funding, and Affiliations

All conflicts of interest, sources of funding, and relevant affiliations have been fully disclosed during the manuscript submission process.

The disclosures required under this guideline must also be reflected in the Publishing Ethics and Compliance Statement (Guideline 10) and the Funding Statement (Guideline 12), as applicable.

6. Copyright Compliance

Written or electronic permission to use all copyrighted materials included in the manuscript has been obtained.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all copyrighted content is appropriately cited, credited, and used in accordance with applicable copyright laws and licensing agreements.

7. Research Ethics and Integrity Compliance

The manuscript and underlying research comply with all applicable institutional, professional, legal, and ethical requirements governing the conduct of research, including requirements related to:

• Human participants;
• Informed consent;
• Privacy and confidentiality protections;
• Data stewardship and security; and
• Standards prohibiting fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and other forms of research misconduct.

When applicable, authors must disclose Institutional Review Board (IRB), ethics committee, or equivalent approval information.

If formal ethics review or IRB approval was not required, authors must indicate the basis for that determination (e.g., exempt status, institutional determination of non-human-subjects research, or other applicable exemption).

8. Prohibition of Simultaneous Submission and Dual Publication

The authors acknowledge that simultaneous submission and dual publication are unethical practices that violate JAE editorial policy.

Engaging in such practices may result in the rejection or retraction of the manuscript, notification of relevant parties, and additional consequences consistent with JAE policies, the APA Publication Manual (7th Edition), and COPE guidance.

9. Transparency Regarding Multiple Publications from the Same Project

Authors must ensure full transparency regarding the relationship among outputs derived from the same research project.

It is acceptable and often expected that descriptions of methodology, populations, samples, instruments, or procedures may be substantially similar or identical across manuscripts derived from the same project. However, each manuscript must make a distinct scholarly contribution and address a unique research question, objective, or aspect of the larger project.

To maintain scholarly integrity, authors must include an explicit statement at the beginning of the Methods section that describes the larger project and explains how the submitted manuscript differs from related publications.

Example Statement

"The data reported in this manuscript are part of a larger, three-year study investigating [overall project goal]. This manuscript focuses specifically on [distinct research question]. Other manuscripts from this project have addressed [topic 1] (Author et al., 2024) and [topic 2] (Author et al., in press)."

Additionally, authors must disclose in the Comments to the Editor section the relationship of the submitted manuscript to any related papers, articles, presentations, dissertations, technical reports, conference proceedings, or other scholarly outputs arising from the same project, whether published, under review, accepted, or in preparation.

Such disclosures must include full citations for published works and titles for unpublished works.

10. Publishing Ethics and Compliance Statement

Authors must include a Publishing Ethics and Compliance Statement in the Comments to the Editor section.

Information disclosed pursuant to Guidelines 3 and 9 may be incorporated into this statement.

At a minimum, the statement must disclose:

• Whether the manuscript is based on, adapted from, revises, extends, or otherwise derives from previously disseminated scholarly work;
• Full citations for all related prior versions;
• The substantive additions, revisions, analyses, theoretical developments, or other improvements incorporated into the manuscript;
• Any conflicts of interest;
• Whether copyrighted materials are included;
• Applicable ethics approval information;
• Whether the manuscript is associated with a larger research project; and
• Any related project outputs.

If no prior version, related output, conflict of interest, copyrighted material, or ethics approval applies, authors should explicitly indicate this for the applicable category.

Example Statement

"This article revises a [paper/poster/presentation] from [Conference, Year] [Citation], adding [key improvements]. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. No copyrighted materials are included. IRB approval: [University], #[XXXXXXX], [Date]. The data reported are part of a larger project on [goal], with related outputs on [topic 1] (Author et al., 2024) and [topic 2] (Author et al., in press)."

Example Statement When No Prior Dissemination Exists

"This manuscript is not derived from any previously disseminated work. The authors declare no conflicts of interest. No copyrighted materials are included. IRB approval was not required because the study did not involve human subjects. The manuscript is not associated with any previously published or under-review project outputs."

If the manuscript revises or extends a previously disseminated abstract, paper, poster, presentation, dissertation, thesis, technical report, or similar work, the original item must be cited both in this statement and in the manuscript reference list.

11. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Statement

Authors must disclose in the Comments to the Editor section any use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies during any stage of the work, including but not limited to:

• Literature review support;
• Data collection;
• Data analysis;
• Coding or software development;
• Statistical analysis;
• Image generation or modification;
• Manuscript preparation;
• Citation formatting;
• Writing enhancement;
• Editing; or
• Translation.

If no AI technologies were used, authors must explicitly state that no AI was used.

Regardless of the extent of AI use, authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and appropriateness of all content submitted for publication.

All AI disclosures must comply with JAE Policy, Section VII.

Example Statement

"No artificial intelligence tools were used in the design, conduct, analysis, or reporting of this study."

12. Funding Statement

Authors must include a Funding Statement in the Comments to the Editor section disclosing all sources of financial support for the research and/or publication of the manuscript.

Funding disclosures should identify grants, contracts, institutional support, industry sponsorships, or other financial assistance relevant to the submitted work.

If no funding was received, authors must explicitly state:

"No funding was received for this research and/or publication."

13. Data Availability Statement

Authors must provide a Data Availability Statement in the Comments to the Editor section consistent with the JAE Data Policy.

The statement should identify the availability status of the data supporting the study and, where appropriate, how the data may be accessed.

Acceptable categories include:

• Publicly available in a repository;
• Available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request;
• Available under restricted access because of ethical, legal, privacy, or contractual limitations; or
• Not available (state reason).

Example Statement

"The data supporting this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request."

14. Certification of Compliance

The authors certify that they have read, understand, and complied with all JAE publication ethics, disclosure, transparency, authorship, and formatting requirements.

Failure to provide required disclosures or certifications may delay editorial review, result in the return of the manuscript for revision prior to review, or lead to rejection of the submission.

Submission Checklist: Required Comments to the Editor Disclosures

The Comments to the Editor section must include, at a minimum:

1. Publishing Ethics and Compliance Statement
2. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure Statement
3. Funding Statement
4. Data Availability Statement
5. Disclosure of any related publications, presentations, conference papers, dissertations, technical reports, or manuscripts arising from the same project

Failure to provide these required disclosures may delay editorial review and consideration of the manuscript.

 Submission Instructions

Detailed instructions on how to submit your manuscript in the PKP system can be found at this link: Submission Instructions.