Instructions for authors |

Before you continue to submit your manuscript to LUMEN, take some moments to consult and understand LUMEN editorial and publishing mechanisms, by reading the Editorial policies, Publishing Policies and then go further and prepare your manuscript.  

Preparing your manuscript

Anonymize your manuscript for double - blind peer review

LUMEN uses double-blind peer review; therefore, authors are required to submit:

1| a version of the manuscript which has had any information that compromises the anonymity of the author(s) removed or anonymized. This version will be sent to the peer reviewers.

2| a separate title page which includes any removed or anonymized information. This will not be sent to the peer reviewers.

How to anonymize your manuscript

Wherever is introduced in the manuscript, the following identifiable information should be treated as follows:

  • remove author names, emails and affiliations
  • remove the Acknowledgements
  • anonymize the Conflict-of-Interest statement where a competing interest exists
  • anonymize the trial registration number and date
  • anonymize the funding source(s)
  • avoid using self-citations. If you include an essential self-citation then the citation should not be anonymized and if necessary, it should refer to in the third person, e.g., write "Brown and Charles (2019) have shown", not "we have previously shown (Brown & Charles, 2020)".

If the journal you are submitting to mandates research data sharing and requires links to the data to be shared at submission, the data should be deposited in a repository that preserves author anonymity. The data can then be viewed anonymously during the peer review process.

Formatting your manuscript

When formatting your references, please ensure you check the reference style followed by your chosen journal. Use APA rules for citations and references (tutorial for APA Manual 7th edition); Any paper that does not comply with the aforementioned requirements will be returned to the authors.

Equations should to be submitted using Office Math ML and Math type.

Microsoft Word guidelines

There is no need to follow a specific template when submitting your manuscript in Word. However, please ensure your heading levels are clear, and the sections clearly defined.

Artwork guidelines

Illustrations, pictures and graphs, should be supplied in the highest quality and in an electronic format that helps us to publish your article in the best way possible. Please follow the guidelines below to enable us to prepare your artwork for the printed issue as well as the online version.

  • Format: PNG, JPEG: Common format for pictures (containing no text or graphs).
    EPS: Preferred format for graphs and line art (retains quality when enlarging/zooming in).
  • Placement: Figures/charts and tables created in MS Word should be included in the main text rather than at the end of the document.
  • Resolution: Rasterized based files (i.e. with .jpeg extension) require a resolution of at least 300 dpi (dots per inch). Line art should be supplied with a minimum resolution of 800 dpi.
  • Color: Please note that images supplied in color will be published in color online and black and white in print (unless otherwise arranged). Therefore, it is important that you supply images that are comprehensible in black and white as well (i.e. by using color with a distinctive pattern or dotted lines). The captions should reflect this by not using words indicating color.
  • Dimension: Check that the artworks supplied match or exceed the dimensions of the journal. Images cannot be scaled up after origination
  • Fonts: The lettering used in the artwork should not vary too much in size and type (usually sans serif font as a default).

The Integrity of Images

All figures should be minimally processed and should reflect the integrity of the original data in the image. Adjustments to images in brightness, contrast, or color balance should be applied equally to the entire image, provided they do not distort any data in the figure, including the background. Images should not be layered or combined into a single image unless it is stated that the figure is a product of time-averaged data.

All adjustments to image date should be clearly disclosed in the figure legend. Images may be additionally screened to confirm faithfulness to the original data. Authors should be able to supply raw image data upon request. Authors should also list tools and software used to collect image data and should document settings and manipulations in the Methods section of the article.

Length of Manuscripts

Manuscripts should be no more than 10,000 words. Submitted papers will be screened by the volume's editors before they are entered into the Peer Review Process.

Manuscript Structure

(NOT FOR REVIEWERS)

TITLE PAGE (here you may insert all the information you removed from the anonymized manuscript; it will not be sent to reviewers)

TITLE OF THE PAPER, AUTHORSHIP & AFFILIATION (to be introduced only in the title page)

the author(s) should mention the institution of affiliation, city, country and the contact details (at least e-mail address) of all authors of the paper (if more than 1);

a short biodata and a photo of the author(s) should be provided at the beginning of the document, before the Title (not mandatory).

This part will be excluded from the file sent to peer-review, but will be published with the article, if accepted for publication.

(FOR PEER REVIEWERS)

TITLE OF THE PAPER

1) should be clear and concise, provide the reader with an idea of the article s main topic; 2) should not exceed 15 words; 3) no subtitles, mottos or any other introductory words allowed;

ABSTRACT
should have between 200-250 words, and should briefly present the main ideas expressed in the article, such as the context of the paper, objectives, hypotheses or thesis (if any), methodology (only mentioned), results (only the main or most relevant results), conclusions (optional);
KEYWORDS

between 5-7 keywords, separated by semicolons;

ARTICLE’S CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

1) the introduction provides the reader with a brief idea of the content of the article; 2) should contain information about the scientific context of the research or theoretical article; 3) scopes and objectives of the paper, hypotheses (if any);

LITERATURE REVIEW

1) should present the relevant literature on the topics of the paper and should be structured upon specific analysis criteria; 2) the scientific literature should be critically approached by the author(s); 3) should mention the identified gaps that led to the current research (these gaps are what underlies the original contribution of the article); 4) should argue the need for the research in the universe of the existing scientific literature and the conjunction point between it and the current paper; 5) all sources used for inspiration in this chapter must be correctly quoted, according to the APA Style Manual.

METHODOLOGY (mandatory chapter for research articles)

Some theoretical articles could have methodology, some don’t. 1) this chapter describes the methods and techniques used for collecting, analyzing and interpreting data;
2) in the field-research papers, the author(s) should provide information on the sample, data collection, compliance with the ethical guidelines (this information could also be mentioned in Acknowledgments); 3) other details regarding the data collection process;
4) precise and comprehensive description of the analyzed methods, particularly when they are new or poorly-known in the literature;

RESULTS (mandatory chapter for research articles)

1) the results are presented in large, using tables, figures, graphics or any other type of visual representation destined to help the reader better understand the ideas resulted;
2) the statistical data should be accompanied by explanations on its significance;
3) the data that could contradict the hypotheses must be presented and analyzed;
4) the author(s) should present the way in which the collected data leads to the fulfilment of the research objective;

THEORETICAL SUB-CHAPTERS (especially used in theoretical articles)

For theoretical articles, the chapters of Methodology and Results could be replaced by subchapters of theoretical analysis. We recommend using the analytical framework of the theoretical papers which consist in Arguments to support the thesis and Arguments to argue the thesis;

LIMITS and DISCUSSIONS

1) this subchapter presents the validity of the research and its limits; 2) the author(s) should consider and present the geographical, epistemological, methodological limitations of the research; 3) the author(s) should present how the results can be extrapolated and generalized to the literature on the topic; 4) the author(s) should clearly state the original elements of the paper that could be of interest for worldwide readers;

CONCLUSIONS

1) the conclusions should be correlated with the objectives and the data analyzed; 2) the author(s) should mention here whether the hypotheses (if any) were validated or not (in case of evidence-based research).

Acknowledgments:

Acknowledgments usually include the recognition of the contribution of third parties to the research, that led to creating the article, or the actual writing of the article, but whose contribution is not so significant as to be considered authors. Also, the acknowledgments include information on the source of research funding, the research organization in which the authors carried out the research activity or research project in which the data was obtained.

REFERENCES

1) this chapter must be formatted according to the guidelines of the APA Manual. It is very important to make sure that there is a full compliance between the sources mentioned in the text and in References.

All submissions will be peer reviewed before entering the publication process. Authors are expected to participate in the Peer Review process for further issues of this journal.

Submitting your manuscript

How to submit your manuscript

 Go online at the Submissions page of each of the LUMEN journals Open Journal System and 1) Register by creating your profile or 2) Login into already created account on the OJS (if the case).

Once logged in into your account, start New Submission and follow the submission’ stages, from 1 to 5, by filling out each stage properly.

  1. Start > 2. Upload Submission > 3. Enter Metadata > 4. Confirmation > 5. Next Steps

All new submissions receive an ID that is used to identify the article. This ID should be kept throughout the entire evaluation process, included in all correspondence and in documents related to the open-access fee.

Before submitting an article to our Journal, the author(s) must make sure the manuscript is not under evaluation elsewhere.

When the author(s) submit a revised version of an article, the document should be submitted under the same submission ID, not by creating a New Submission. In exceptional cases, the revised version of an article could be sent by e-mail, specifying the submission ID.

ORCID

As we are doing our best to support an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process LUMEN allows ORCID iDs to be present in article metadata ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID 

ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized. 

LUMEN encourages all authors and co-authors to link their ORCIDs to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. Our OJS platform allows this link to be made in few seconds. In addition, your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

On acceptance & publication

LUMEN Production

Your LUMEN Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be sent by PDF to the corresponding author and should be returned promptly.

Manuscript Procedure Time 

  • The average time during which the preliminary assessment of manuscripts is conducted - 90 (Days)
  • The average time during which the reviews of manuscripts are conducted - 180 (Days)
  • The average time in which the article is published - 200 (Days)

Access to your published article

LUMEN provides authors with online access to their final article.

Permissions

This journal requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent manner under a separate heading. Please check the “Step 3 – Enter Metadata - Supporting Agencies” on the LUMEN Submission OJS platform to introduce your source of funding acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: “This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors”.