Author Guidelines

Before you submit an article, please make sure you have:
1. Read the publication ethics,
2. Understand the peer review process,
3. Read the copyright notice,
4. Read the Article processing charge,

5. Conform your manuscript with the IGCJ article template.

 

IGCJ requires manuscripts submitted to meet international standards for the English language to be considered for publication. Articles are normally published only in English. 

For authors who would like their manuscript to receive language editing or proofing to improve the clarity of the manuscript and help highlight their research, IGCJ recommends the language-editing services provided by the internal or external partners (contact Principal of the IGCJ for further information).

Note that sending your manuscript for language editing does not imply or guarantee that it will be accepted for publication by the IGCJ. Editorial decisions on the scientific content of a manuscript are independent of whether it has received language editing or proofing by the partner services, or other services.

 

The default language style at IGCJ is American English. If you prefer your article to be formatted in British English, please specify this on your manuscript on the first page. 

Article length / word count
Articles should not more than 3000 words in length. This exludes references and appendices.
 

There are a few simple ways to maximize your article's discoverability. Follow the steps below to improve the search results of your article:

• Include a few of your article's keywords in the title of the article;
• Do not use long article titles;
• Pick 3 to 5 keywords using a mix of generic and more specific terms on the article subject(s);
• Use the maximum amount of keywords in the first 2 sentences of the abstract;
• Use some of the keywords in level 1 headings.

The title is written in title case, align to the left, and in Times New Roman font at the top of the page.

The title should be concise, omitting terms that are implicit and, where possible, be a statement of the main result or conclusion presented in the manuscript. Abbreviations should be avoided within the title.

Witty or creative titles are welcome, but only if relevant and within the measure. Consider if a title meant to be thought-provoking might be misinterpreted as offensive or alarming. In extreme cases, the editorial office may veto a title and propose an alternative.

 

All names are listed together and separated by commas. Provide exact and correct author names as these will be indexed in official archives. Affiliations should be keyed to the author's name with superscript numbers and be listed as follows: Institut/University/Organisation, Country (without detailed address information such as city zip codes or street names).

Example: Institut Agama Islam Ma'arif NU Metro Lampung, Indonesia.

The Corresponding Author(s) should be marked with superscript. Provide the exact contact email address of the corresponding author(s) in a separate section below the affiliation.

 

Capitalize on headings and capitalize each word of subheadings. Headings need to be defined in Calibri, 14, bold and subheadings defined in Calibri, 12, bold.

 

As a primary goal, the abstract should render the general significance and conceptual advance of the work clearly accessible to a broad readership. In the abstract, minimize the use of abbreviations and do not cite references. The word length is not more than 250 words, written in English.

Tips:

• Background of study
• Aims and scope of the paper
• Methods
• Summary of result or findings
• Conclusions

All article types: you may provide up to 5 keywords; at least 3 are mandatory.

 

The body text is in 12 points normal Times New Roman. New paragraphs will be separated with a single empty line. The entire document should be single-spaced and should contain page and line numbers in order to facilitate the review process. The IGCJ recommended manuscript written using MS-Word 97-2003.

 

The use of abbreviations should be kept to a minimum. Non-standard abbreviations should be avoided unless they appear at least four times, and defined upon first use in the main text. Consider also giving a list of non-standard abbreviations at the end, immediately before the Acknowledgments.

 

Your manuscript is organized by headings and subheadings.

For Original Research Articles, it is recommended to organize your manuscript in the following sections:

 

INTRODUCTION
Opening Paragraph: The Introduction should begin with a single, clear paragraph that: (1) Identifies the topic and establishes its importance in one or two brief sentences, (2) Presents the specific research gap or limitation in the existing literature, (3) Concludes with a general statement indicating how the present study addresses that gap. The opening paragraph should remain focused and should not include detailed literature, extended explanations, or multiple citations. The final sentence should begin with “This study…” to clearly signal the contribution of the manuscript.
Subsequent Paragraphs (Focused Literature Review). No need to create sub-heading. After the opening paragraph, authors should proceed directly to a focused review of the research that justifies the study. In this section: (1) Avoid string citations. Each cited work should be accompanied by a meaningful explanatory sentence; if a citation is important, provide context, (2) Avoid citing outdated sources unless they represent foundational theories or classic works, (3) Cite sparingly and selectively, using only the most relevant and contemporary studies, (4) Keep author names in parentheses to maintain emphasis on ideas rather than individuals (author names should not appear in running text except when referring to a widely recognised theory), and (5) Avoid redundancy by ensuring each citation adds a distinct point to your argument. The literature review should build a clear, coherent rationale for the research questions or hypotheses presented later. Avoid overviews that drift away from the central research problem.

The Present Study (or Current Study)
This section should be a single, succinct paragraph placed at the end of the Introduction. It should: (1) Briefly restate the research gap being addressed, (2) Clearly identify the study’s aims, expectations, hypotheses, or research questions, (3) Provide a concise rationale for these aims, grounded in the literature already reviewed, (4) Avoid introducing new citations or new theoretical material, and (5) Avoid repeating details better suited for the Methods section. Hypotheses or research questions may be numbered within sentences, for example: “This study examines whether behavioral patterns differ across contexts (Hypothesis 1).” Do not use a colon followed by a list; hypotheses must be integrated smoothly into the narrative. The Present Study section should orient the reader to the purpose of the research without providing methodological detail or previewing the results. Use Americal Psychological Association (APA) 7 citation style.

METHODS
Design
This study used a clearly defined research design that aligned with the study aims and analytic approach. The design should be stated explicitly (whether experimental, quasi-experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal, qualitative, or mixed methods) and briefly justified based on its suitability for addressing the research questions. The description should remain concise, offering only the essential details needed for readers to understand how the study was structured.

Participants
Participants were recruited using clearly defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and all procedures adhered to ethical standards. Authors should describe the sampling strategy, recruitment process, and final sample size, providing an appropriate rationale such as power analysis, purposive sampling, or saturation claims for qualitative work. Key demographic characteristics relevant to interpreting the study, such as age range, gender, and setting, should be summarized. Information on informed consent or assent, as well as the ethics approval under which the study was conducted, must be reported in this section. Only details necessary to understand the sample should be included, avoiding any results-related descriptions. The demographic characteristics of both samples are presented in Table 1.

Instruments
Data were collected using instruments selected for their relevance and suitability to the research aims. Each measure should be introduced with a brief description of the construct assessed, followed by essential information on scoring, response formats, and internal consistency when available. Authors should indicate whether the instruments have been validated for the population or cultural context, and clearly describe any adaptations made for the present study. The focus should remain on enabling readers to understand what was measured and how, without including excessive psychometric detail.

Procedure
Authors should outline how participants were invited and consented, the setting in which activities occurred, and the sequence of study tasks, such as baseline assessments, surveys or interviews, and participation in intervention sessions if applicable. For intervention studies, briefly note how the intervention was delivered, its format and duration, and any steps taken to support fidelity. Key ethical procedures, including confidentiality safeguards, voluntary participation, and ethics approval, should be stated. The description should provide a clear overview of how the study was conducted while avoiding unnecessary operational detail.

Data Analysis
Data were analysed using methods appropriate to the study design and research questions. Authors should specify the statistical or qualitative techniques applied (for example, regression models, latent class analysis, thematic analysis, or content analysis) and identify the software used to conduct these analyses. The approach to handling missing data must be clearly described, along with any assumption checks or criteria for model fit where relevant. For qualitative studies, authors should outline the coding process, theme development, and strategies used to ensure rigour and trustworthiness. The analysis section should describe how the data were processed and interpreted, without reporting numerical results or findings.

RESULTS
The Results section should present the findings clearly and objectively, following the sequence of the research questions or analytic plan. Authors should report results without interpretation or commentary, reserving all explanation for the Discussion. Only essential statistics, effect sizes, model estimates, or thematic findings should be included, and all results must correspond directly to the methods described. Tables and figures may be used to summarise complex findings but should not duplicate information already provided in the text. For qualitative studies, report the themes or patterns that emerged, supported by concise, illustrative quotations where appropriate. For quantitative studies, describe the outcomes of primary and secondary analyses, noting significance levels, confidence intervals, and model fit indices when relevant. Avoid reporting procedural detail or restating methods, and ensure that all results are presented in a neutral, factual manner.

DISCUSSION
The Discussion should open by briefly restating the broader research gap and why it matters, giving readers a clear sense of the issues that remain unresolved in the field. The paragraph should then indicate, in general terms, how the present study addressed these issues. The final sentence should clearly signal the study’s contribution, often beginning with “This study…”, and may offer a concise summary of the overall finding. This opening provides the foundation for the more detailed interpretation that follows in subsequent paragraphs.
The Discussion should clearly explain how the study advances understanding of the research problem beyond what was established in the Introduction. It must not repeat or rearrange the Introduction but instead demonstrate how the findings answer the research questions or hypotheses and how they extend, clarify, or challenge the existing literature. The Discussion should be as concise as possible while fully stating, explaining, and defending the study’s key messages. Authors should avoid reiterating results; instead, they should interpret the findings, explain their meaning and importance, and relate them to expectations and prior research. Major findings should be highlighted, compared with those reported in similar studies, and considered alongside plausible alternative explanations. Interpretation must remain grounded in the data, over-interpretation, unwarranted speculation, tangential issues, or inflated claims about the study’s impact should be strictly avoided.

Implications
Authors should discuss the implications of the findings.

Limitations and Future Directions
Acknowledge the study’s limitations and offer clear suggestions for future research.

CONCLUSION
The Conclusion should begin by briefly reminding readers of the topic, the research gap, and how the study addressed that gap, without opening with phrases like “This study…”. Authors should then clearly state the key findings and explain their importance. The focus must remain on what the study discovered, with implications presented only briefly and directly. Implications may address practical applications but should also highlight how the findings contribute to broader understanding of adolescence, early adulthood, or emerging adulthood, as appropriate to the manuscript. The Conclusion should be written as a single, strong paragraph that does not introduce new literature, avoid overstatement, and remains centred on the study’s central insights.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This is a short text to acknowledge the contributions of specific colleagues, institutions, or agencies that aided the efforts of the authors.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTION STATEMENT
The Author Contribution Statement can be up to several sentences long and should briefly describe the tasks of individual authors. Please list only 2 initials for each author, without full stops, but separated by commas (e.g. JC, JS). In the case of two authors with the same initials, please use their middle initial to differentiate between them (e.g. REW, RSW). The Author Contributions Statement should be included at the end of the manuscript before the References.

REFERENCES
All citations in the text  must be in the reference list and vice-versa using American Psychological Association (APA) 7 style. The references should only include articles that are published or accepted. Datasets that have been deposited to an online repository should be included in the reference list, include the version and unique identifier when available. For accepted but unpublished works use "in press" instead of page numbers. Unpublished data, submitted manuscripts, or personal communications should be cited within the text only, for the article types that allow such inclusions. Personal communications should be documented by a letter of permission.
In-text citations should be called according to the surname of the first author, followed by the year. For works by 2 authors include both surnames, followed by the year. For works by more than 2 authors include only the surname of the first author, followed by et al., followed by the year. For assistance please use management reference (Mendeley or Zotero) and utilize the format of the American Psychological Association 7th Edition. If possible, please provide the retrieved link for each reference.

 

Maba, A. P. (2017). Paradoxical intervention dalam bimbingan dan konseling untuk mengatasi kecemasan. Counsellia: Jurnal Bimbingan Dan Konseling, 7(2), 99-109.

 

Maba, A. P. (2017). Paradoxical intervention dalam bimbingan dan konseling untuk mengatasi kecemasan. Counsellia: Jurnal Bimbingan Dan Konseling, 7(2), 99-109. https://doi.org/10.25273/counsellia.v7i2.1852

Hambleton, R. K. (2005). Issues, designs, and technical guidelines for adapting tests into multiple languages and cultures. In Adapting educational and psychological tests for cross-cultural assessment (pp. 3-38). Mahwah, NJ, US: Erlbaum.

 

Baron, R. A. (1977). Human Aggression. Boston, MA: Springer US.

 

Maba, A. P. (2017). Peran Kesendirian dan Kecemasan Sosial terhadap Keinginan untuk Konseling Siswa (Skripsi). Institut Agama Islam Ma'arif NU Metro Lampung, Lampung.

 

Islamic Guidance and Counseling Journal do not support pushing important results and information into supplementary sections. However, data that are not of primary importance to the text, or which cannot be included in the article because it is too large or the current format does not permit it (such as movies, raw data traces, PowerPoint presentations, etc.) can be uploaded during the submission procedure and will be displayed along with the published article. Supplementary Material can be uploaded as Data Sheet (word, excel, csv, cdx, fasta, pdf or zip files), Presentation (PowerPoint, pdf or zip files), Supplementary Image (cdx, eps, jpeg, pdf, png or tif), Supplementary Table (word, excel, csv or pdf), Audio (mp3, wav or wma) or Video (avi, divx, flv, mov, mp4, mpeg, mpg or wmv).

Supplementary material is not typeset so please ensure that all information is clearly presented, the appropriate caption is included in the file and not in the manuscript, and that the style conforms to the rest of the article.

 

Figures help readers visualize the information you are trying to convey. Often, it is difficult to be sufficiently descriptive using words. Images can help in achieving the accuracy needed for a scientific manuscript. For example, it may not be enough to say, "The surface had nanometer-scale features." In this case, it would be ideal to provide a microscope image.

For images, be sure to:

• Include scale bars
• Consider labeling important items
• Indicate the meaning of different colors and symbols used

Tables are a concise and effective way to present large amounts of data. You should design them carefully so that you clearly communicate your results to busy researchers.

The following is an example of a well-designed table:

• Clear and concise legend/caption
• Data divided into categories for clarity
• Sufficient spacing between columns and rows
• Units are a provided font type and size are legible

Figure and table legends are required to have the same font as the main text (12 points normal Times New Roman, single-spaced). Legends should be preceded by the appropriate label, for example, "Figure 1" or "Table 4". Figure legends should be placed at the end of the manuscript (for supplementary images you must include the caption with the figure, uploaded as a separate file). Table legends must be placed immediately before the table. Please use only a single paragraph for the legend. Figure panels are referred to by bold capital letters in brackets: (A), (B), (C), (D), etc.

 

Figure images should be prepared with the PDF layout in mind, individual figures should not be longer than one page and with a width that corresponds to 1 column or 2 columns.

 

The following formats are accepted:

TIFF (.tif) TIFF files should be saved using LZW compression or any other non-lossy compression method. JPEG (.jpg)

EPS (.eps) EPS files can be uploaded upon acceptance

Images must be submitted in the color mode RGB.

 

All images must be uploaded separately in the submission procedure and have a resolution of 300 dpi at final size. Check the resolution of your figure by enlarging it to 150%. If the resolution is too low, the image will appear blurry, jagged or have a stair-stepped effect.

Please note saving a figure directly as an image file (JPEG, TIF) can greatly affect the resolution of your image. To avoid this, one option is to export the file as PDF, then convert into TIFF or EPS using a graphics software. EPS files can be uploaded upon acceptance.

Details of all funding sources must be provided in the funding section of the manuscript including grant numbers, if applicable.