For Authors

InformedLens Journals

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Why Publish with InformedLens Journals?

Choosing where to publish is a significant professional decision. InformedLens Journals offers authors a rigorous, supportive, and internationally visible venue for original scholarship. Here is what publishing with InformedLens Journals means for your work and your career.

Ready to submit your manuscript? Register and select Author as your role, or log in to your existing account. Submit a Manuscript Log In to Dashboard

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1. Journal Scope

InformedLens Journals publishes original scholarly work within its defined scope. The journal is deliberately multidisciplinary and does not impose methodological boundaries. We publish qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, and conceptual or theoretical work, provided the methodology is appropriate to the research question and rigorously executed.

Not sure if your manuscript fits? Review recent issues at informedlens.com/index.php/[[JOURNAL_URL_SLUG]] or email the editorial office at info@informedlens.com with a brief description of your study before submitting.

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2. Article Types

InformedLens Journals accepts the following types of submission. All submissions undergo the same double-blind peer review process unless stated otherwise.

Article Type	Word Count	Description
Research Article	6,000 - 9,000	Original empirical or theoretical research presenting new findings and their implications. The most common submission type. Includes introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusions.
Systematic Review / Literature Review	6,000 - 10,000	A rigorous and reproducible synthesis of the existing literature on a defined topic, identifying patterns, gaps, and implications for future research and practice.
Conceptual / Theoretical Paper	5,000 - 8,000	Papers that develop, refine, or critique theoretical frameworks and conceptual models relevant to the journal's scope. Must make a clearly articulated contribution beyond a literature survey.
Case Study	4,000 - 7,000	In-depth analysis of a specific organisation, initiative, policy, or transformation process. Must demonstrate transferable lessons and theoretical grounding beyond description.
Research Note / Short Communication	2,000 - 4,000	A concise report of preliminary findings, a focused methodological contribution, or a brief conceptual discussion. Suitable for timely or emerging insights that do not require a full article format.
Commentary / Perspective	1,500 - 3,000	Opinion-based or reflective pieces offering a scholarly perspective on a current debate, policy development, or emerging issue. Commentary pieces are reviewed editorially and may undergo expedited peer review.

Word counts refer to the body of the manuscript, excluding the abstract, references, tables, figures, and appendices. Manuscripts substantially exceeding the upper limit may be returned to authors for condensing before review.

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3. Submission Requirements

3.1 Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts must be prepared in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format. Please do not submit PDFs for the initial submission - these cannot be annotated by reviewers. Format your manuscript as follows:

• Font: Times New Roman or Arial, 12pt
• Line spacing: Double-spaced throughout, including references
• Margins: 2.5cm (1 inch) on all sides
• Page numbers: Bottom centre, beginning from page 1
• Abstract: 150 to 250 words, structured or unstructured, on a separate page before the main text
• Keywords: 4 to 6 keywords listed below the abstract
• Headings: Use clear hierarchical headings (numbered sections are encouraged)
• Tables and figures: Numbered sequentially, titled, and placed in the text at the point of reference (not appended at the end)

3.2 Anonymisation for Double-Blind Review

InformedLens Journals operates double-blind peer review. Authors are responsible for removing all identifying information from the main manuscript file before submission. Manuscripts that are not fully anonymised will be returned to the author before review.

Remove or anonymise the following:

• Author names and institutional affiliations from the title page, headers, and footers
• Acknowledgements sections (these should be submitted separately or omitted from the review file)
• Self-citations written in first person (replace with "Author, year" or cite in the third person)
• Identifying references to your own datasets, ongoing grants, or institutional studies
• Document metadata - go to File / Properties in Word and remove author name from document properties before saving

Tip: Submit two files - a fully anonymised manuscript file for review, and a separate title page file containing your name, institutional affiliation, corresponding author email, and a short author biography. The title page is held by the editorial office and not shared with reviewers.

3.3 Referencing Style

InformedLens Journals uses APA 7th edition referencing style throughout. This applies to in-text citations and the reference list. References should be complete, accurate, and formatted consistently. Incomplete or inconsistently formatted references may result in the manuscript being returned before review.

All references cited in the text must appear in the reference list. All items in the reference list must be cited in the text. Do not include sources in the reference list that are not cited in the manuscript.

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4. How to Submit

All submissions must be made through the InformedLens Journals online submission system. Manuscripts submitted by email will not be processed.

1Create an account - Register at informedlens.com/index.php/[[JOURNAL_URL_SLUG]] and select Author as your role. If you already have an account, log in directly.

2Start a new submission - From your author dashboard, click "New Submission" and follow the step-by-step submission wizard.

3Upload your files - Upload your anonymised manuscript file and your separate title page file. Upload any supplementary materials (data files, instruments, appendices) as additional files.

4Complete the submission metadata - Enter the title, abstract, keywords, article type, and all author details (co-authors can be added here). Declare any conflicts of interest and confirm your submission statements.

5Suggest or exclude reviewers (optional) - You may suggest up to three preferred reviewers and request the exclusion of specific individuals (with reasons). The editorial team is not obligated to follow these preferences but will consider them.

6Confirm and submit - Review your submission and click Submit. You will receive an automated confirmation email. The corresponding author is responsible for all communication with the editorial office on behalf of the author team.

Submission problems? If you experience technical difficulties with the submission system, contact the editorial office at info@informedlens.com with a description of the issue.

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5. What Happens After Submission

Once your manuscript is submitted, it enters the InformedLens Journals editorial workflow. Here is what you can expect at each stage.

Stage	What Happens	Indicative Timeframe
Confirmation	You receive an automated acknowledgement of your submission with a manuscript reference number. Keep this for your records.	Immediate
Desk Screening	The editorial team checks scope, anonymisation, Turnitin similarity and AI scores, and minimum quality. Manuscripts that do not pass are returned with reasons.	5-7 business days
Peer Review	Your manuscript is sent to at least two independent expert reviewers. Reviewers have 3 weeks to submit their reports.	3-5 weeks
Editorial Decision	The handling editor reads all reviewer reports and issues a decision: Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject. You will receive the full reviewer reports and the editor's decision letter.	Within 1 week of review receipt
Revision (if required)	You revise and resubmit with a point-by-point response to reviewer comments. The revised manuscript is assessed by the editor and, for major revisions, by the original reviewers.	Per agreed deadline
Final Decision	The Editor-in-Chief gives final approval for acceptance. You will be notified of the formal acceptance decision.	Within 1 week of re-review
Production	Accepted manuscripts enter copyediting, typesetting, and proof review. You will receive a proof to check before publication.	2-4 weeks

Target turnaround: InformedLens Journals aims to communicate an initial decision within 4-6 weeks of submission. You can track the status of your manuscript at any time through your author dashboard.

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6. Revisions and Responding to Reviewers

If your manuscript receives a revision decision, the editorial team will communicate the deadline for resubmission. Please contact the editorial office promptly if you require an extension - extensions are granted at the editor's discretion and should be requested before the deadline, not after it has passed.

What to Submit with Your Revision

• The revised manuscript with all changes made (re-anonymised, if required)
• A point-by-point response letter addressing every comment raised by each reviewer and by the editor - stating clearly what was changed, where it was changed (by section or page number), and why
• A tracked-changes version of the manuscript (optional but strongly encouraged for major revisions)

How to Write an Effective Response Letter

• Address every comment - do not omit any, even those you disagree with
• Quote the original reviewer comment, then provide your response directly beneath it
• If you have made a change, specify exactly where in the revised manuscript (e.g., "Section 3.2, page 8, paragraph 2")
• If you disagree with a comment and have not made the requested change, explain your scholarly reasoning clearly and respectfully
• Keep a professional and collegial tone throughout

A useful test: Before submitting your revision, ask yourself - has every concern raised been addressed or explained? If a reviewer or editor reads my response letter alongside the revised manuscript, will they be able to see exactly what changed and why? If the answer is no, revise your response letter before resubmitting.

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7. Author Ethics and Responsibilities

InformedLens Journals follows the ethical guidelines of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and expects all authors to uphold the highest standards of scholarly integrity. Submission of a manuscript to InformedLens Journals constitutes a declaration that the following conditions are met.

7.1 Originality

The manuscript is the authors' own original work and has not been published, accepted for publication, or submitted for review elsewhere. If the manuscript draws on work previously published in conference proceedings, a thesis, or a working paper, this must be disclosed in the cover letter at the time of submission.

7.2 Authorship

All individuals listed as authors must have made a substantive intellectual contribution to the work and must have approved the final submitted version. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have agreed to be listed and have approved the submission. Changes to authorship after submission require written justification and approval from the Editor-in-Chief.

7.3 AI Usage Policy

InformedLens Journals permits the use of AI writing assistance tools provided the following conditions are met:

• All use of AI tools must be declared in a short statement in the Methods section or Acknowledgements - specifying which tool was used and for what purpose
• AI tools may not be listed as authors
• Manuscripts submitted to InformedLens Journals are screened using Turnitin. Manuscripts with an AI-generated content score above 15% will be returned to authors without review
• Authors are responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of all content in the manuscript, regardless of whether AI tools were used in its preparation

Undisclosed AI usage constitutes a serious ethical violation under InformedLens Journals policy and COPE guidelines. Confirmed cases may result in rejection, retraction, and notification of the authors' institution.

7.4 Conflicts of Interest

Authors must declare all financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could be perceived as influencing the research or its findings. Conflict of interest declarations are included in the published article.

7.5 Research Ethics

Research involving human participants must have received appropriate ethics approval from a recognised institutional review board or ethics committee prior to data collection. Authors must confirm this in the Methods section and provide the name of the ethics body and approval reference number. If your study did not require ethics approval, please state this clearly and explain why in the Methods section.

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8. Open Access and Copyright

InformedLens Journals is a fully open access journal. All published articles are freely available online immediately upon publication, without embargo and without cost to readers.

Licence

Articles published in InformedLens Journals are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. This means anyone may freely read, download, copy, distribute, and adapt the work, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors and the source is cited.

Copyright

Authors retain copyright in their published work. By submitting to InformedLens Journals, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive licence to publish, reproduce, and distribute the article in all media and formats. Authors are free to deposit their article in institutional repositories and share it on personal or academic networking sites without seeking permission from the journal.

No Article Processing Charges

InformedLens Journals does not charge authors any fees at any stage of the submission, review, or publication process. There are no submission fees, no review fees, and no article processing charges (APCs). Open access publication at InformedLens Journals is entirely free for authors.

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9. Appeals and Corrections

Appeals

If you believe your manuscript has been rejected in error, you may submit a formal appeal to the Editor-in-Chief. Appeals must be submitted in writing within 30 days of the rejection decision and must include: a clear statement of the grounds for the appeal; a point-by-point response to the reviewer and editor comments; and any additional evidence or clarification relevant to the decision. Submit appeals to info@informedlens.com with the subject line: Appeal - [Manuscript Reference Number].

Appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, whose decision is final. Appeals based solely on disagreement with the reviewers' scholarly judgement, without new substantive arguments or evidence, will not be upheld.

Post-Publication Corrections

If you identify an error in your published article, notify the editorial office promptly. InformedLens Journals will take appropriate corrective action:

• Correction (Erratum): For minor errors that do not affect the conclusions of the work
• Retraction: For major errors, fabricated data, plagiarism, or duplicate publication that undermines the integrity of the findings
• Expression of Concern: Where an investigation is ongoing and readers should be made aware of potential issues

All corrections and retractions are published openly and linked to the original article. Authors are encouraged to self-report errors rather than wait for them to be identified by others.

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10. Submission Checklist

Before submitting your manuscript, confirm all of the following:

Manuscript Preparation

• ☐ The manuscript is within the word count range for the selected article type
• ☐ The manuscript is formatted in Times New Roman or Arial 12pt, double-spaced
• ☐ An abstract of 150-250 words is included on a separate page before the main text
• ☐ 4 to 6 keywords are listed below the abstract
• ☐ All references are formatted in APA 7th edition style and are complete and consistent
• ☐ All in-text citations match entries in the reference list and vice versa

Anonymisation

• ☐ All author names and institutional affiliations have been removed from the main manuscript file
• ☐ The Acknowledgements section has been removed from the review file
• ☐ Self-citations are anonymised (e.g. "Author, year") in the main manuscript file
• ☐ Document metadata has been cleared (File / Properties in Word)
• ☐ A separate title page file has been prepared with full author details

Ethics and Declarations

• ☐ The manuscript has not been published, accepted, or submitted elsewhere
• ☐ All listed authors have contributed substantively and have approved the submission
• ☐ Ethics approval details are included in the Methods section (or a statement that approval was not required)
• ☐ Conflicts of interest have been declared (or a statement that none exist)
• ☐ Any use of AI tools has been declared and described
• ☐ Funding sources have been acknowledged appropriately

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Questions about your submission? If you have any questions at any point in the submission or review process, contact the editorial team. Email: info@informedlens.com Submission portal: informedlens.com/index.php/[[JOURNAL_URL_SLUG]]