Manuscript Preparation

MULTI DISCERE JOURNAL · FOR AUTHORS

Author Guidelines

Submission requirements, formatting guidance, reporting expectations, and a pre-submission checklist.

Before Submission Eligible Manuscript Types Existing Manuscript Preparation Requirements Recommended Manuscript Sections References and Reporting Author Submission Checklist Submission and Revision Procedure

01Before Submission

Before submitting, authors should consult the Focus and Scope, ensure the work is original and not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere, obtain any research-ethics approvals and third-party permissions, and use the official MDJ manuscript template. Submissions are made via the OJS submission system.

Single authoritative manuscript template. Authors should follow the latest downloadable MDJ article template. Where an older web instruction differs from the template, the editorial office should resolve the discrepancy and publish a single consistent requirement before enforcing it.

02Eligible Manuscript Types

Original Research Article

Reports original research with an articulated question, appropriate methodology, results, discussion, limitations and conclusions.

Review Article

Provides a substantive synthesis using an explicit review question, transparent search/selection or corpus construction, critical analysis and conclusions proportionate to reviewed evidence.

03Existing Manuscript Preparation Requirements

The two publicly accessible MDJ guidance pages currently contain inconsistent requirements. To avoid imposing contradictory instructions on authors, the following table distinguishes editorial harmonisation proposed for adoption from specifications that must still be confirmed against the currently downloadable template.

Item	Proposed harmonised instruction / required verification
Language	English or Bahasa Indonesia, matching the journal’s published practice; articles in Bahasa Indonesia must also supply an English title and abstract.
Abstract	200–250 words, stating purpose, method, principal findings and conclusions; for manuscripts in Bahasa Indonesia provide Indonesian and English abstracts.
Keywords	3–5 informative keywords (preferably in English).
Main text and font	Use the officially approved MDJ template. Confirm and consistently publish the font family, size, line spacing and paper format in both OJS guidance locations.
File	Submit an editable Word-compatible manuscript (.docx/.doc or .rtf, as permitted by OJS) with appropriate anonymisation for double-blind review.
References	Use APA author–date citation conventions as indicated by the existing MDJ guidelines; check every in-text citation against the reference list.

EDITORIAL ACTION REQUIRED BEFORE PUBLICATION

Before replacing the live Author Guidelines, the Editor-in-Chief should formally confirm the publication language, typography, abstract and keyword rules in the MDJ template and update the native OJS Submissions guidelines and checklist to match. Existing pages currently disagree on Arial/Book Antiqua, 150–250/200–250 abstract words, and permitted languages.

04Recommended Manuscript Sections

Research articles should contain title, authors and affiliations (as separate OJS metadata where anonymisation is required), abstract, keywords, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusions, acknowledgments where relevant, funding/ethics/conflict statements and references. Results and Discussion may be combined when the approved template permits it.

Review articles should report the review problem, background, material identification or search strategy, eligibility or analytical framework where applicable, review findings, critical interpretation, limitations, and a substantiated conclusion. Systematic reviews should report selection procedures transparently, including a suitable flow diagram where warranted.

All tables and figures must be cited in the text, accompanied by concise captions and legible labels. Authors should explain statistical methods or interpretive procedures sufficiently for critical assessment.

05References and Reporting

Follow the current journal template for the reference style, using consistent APA author–date citations where specified. Provide accurate author names, years, article titles, journal names, volume/issue/page or article numbers and DOI links wherever available. Avoid citations to sources that do not support the statement being made.

Every in-text citation must correspond to a reference-list entry; every listed reference should be used in the text.
Cite primary and contemporary scholarship where relevant; preserve important foundational sources when needed.
Include ethical approval, informed consent, funding, contribution and conflict-of-interest statements where relevant.
Disclose prior dissemination, preprints and the use of AI-based tools according to current journal policies.
Follow reporting guidance appropriate to the study design where applicable.

06Author Submission Checklist

The paper is within MDJ’s declared scope and submitted under the correct manuscript type.
The manuscript is original, not currently under review elsewhere, and any related prior outputs have been disclosed.
All authors approve the work, author order and submitted metadata; contributor and interest disclosures are included.
The manuscript file follows the verified MDJ template and is anonymised appropriately for double-blind review.
Abstracts, keywords, tables, figures and supplementary material are complete and legible.
Methods, analyses, findings and limitations are reported transparently, with relevant ethics permissions.
Every citation and reference matches, and DOI links are checked.
Authors have reviewed the current APC policy and all submission declarations before submission.

07Submission and Revision Procedure

Authors should submit through OJS, upload the required manuscript and supplementary files, enter accurate metadata, complete the submission declarations and retain the submission ID. Revisions requested by the editor should be accompanied by a clear response to each review comment. An editorial invitation to revise is not a guarantee of acceptance.