AUTHOR GUIDELINES
About the Journal
The International Journal of Civil Service Reform and Practice (IJCSRP) is a peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal published biannually by the Astana Civil Service Hub (ACSH). The Journal serves as an international platform for disseminating original research and practical knowledge on civil service reform, public administration, public sector management, and related areas.
The Journal aims to bridge the gap between academic research and public sector practice by publishing high-quality manuscripts that contribute to the advancement of theory, policy, and administrative practice. Particular attention is given to research relevant to the countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and other ACSH participating countries, while welcoming comparative and international studies from all regions.
IJCSRP welcomes original contributions that have not been previously published and are not under consideration elsewhere.
Types of Manuscripts
The Journal accepts the following categories of manuscripts:
- Research Articles, Review Articles, Case Studies: analytical studies examining practical experiences, innovative administrative practices, reforms, or institutional developments with broader theoretical or policy relevance
- Discussion Notes: scholarly discussions addressing emerging issues, conceptual debates, policy challenges, or methodological developments
- Book Reviews
Unless otherwise agreed with the Editorial Board, the following indicative word limits apply: Research Articles: up to 8,000 words; Review Articles: up to 8,000 words; Case Studies: up to 6,000 words; Discussion Notes: up to 4,000 words; Book Reviews: up to 1,500 words. Word limits include abstract, footnotes, and references but exclude tables, figures, and appendices.
Submission Checklist
Before submitting a manuscript, authors should ensure that:
- the manuscript has not been published or submitted elsewhere;
- all authors have approved the submission;
- the manuscript complies with these Author Guidelines;
- references are complete and correctly formatted;
- figures and tables are properly numbered and cited;
- all required declarations have been included;
- identifying information has been removed from the anonymized manuscript submitted for peer review.
Manuscript Preparation
- Language (Manuscripts must be written in clear, concise, and grammatically correct English. Authors whose first language is not English are strongly encouraged to have their manuscripts professionally edited or proofread before submission).
- File Format (Manuscripts should be submitted as Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) files).
- Formatting Requirements. Authors should prepare manuscripts using the following formatting standards: Font size: 11-point; Single line spacing; Justified text alignment; Margins: 2.5 cm (left and right) and 2 cm (top and bottom); Paragraph spacing: 6 pt after each paragraph; Pages numbered consecutively; Paragraphs should not be indented. Tables should be editable and prepared using the table function in Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel.
Figures, charts, maps, and photographs should be of publication quality (minimum 300 dpi) and inserted at appropriate locations within the manuscript. Each figure and table must include a title and, where applicable, the source of the data.
Manuscript Structure
Manuscripts should normally be organized using the following structure.
- The title should be concise, informative, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript.
- The abstract should contain 150–300 words and provide a concise summary of: the purpose of the study; the research methodology; the principal findings; the originality and contribution of the study; practical or policy implications, where appropriate. The abstract should not contain references, tables, figures, or unexplained abbreviations.
- Authors should provide three to six keywords that accurately reflect the subject matter and facilitate indexing and discoverability.
- Literature Review
- Methodology
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- References
References
The Journal uses the Harvard Author–Date referencing style. Authors are responsible for ensuring that every in-text citation appears in the reference list, every reference listed is cited in the text, references are complete and accurate, DOIs are provided whenever available, URLs include the date of access where appropriate. References should be arranged alphabetically by the surname of the first author.
Where sources are published in non-Latin scripts (e.g., Cyrillic), authors should provide transliterated references using the Roman alphabet. The original language should be indicated in square brackets where appropriate.
Tables and Figures
Tables and figures should be cited in numerical order throughout the manuscript. Each table and figure must include: a sequential number; a concise title; the source of data (where applicable). Tables should be editable and should not be submitted as images. Figures should be of publication quality with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material.
Declarations
To ensure transparency and integrity of the research, all submitted manuscripts should include the following declarations, as applicable.
Authors should disclose all sources of financial support received for conducting the research and preparing the manuscript. If the research received no external funding, authors should state: “This research received no external funding.”
Authors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence the research or its interpretation.
If no conflicts exist, please state:
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Research involving human participants, personal data, interviews, surveys, or experiments must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional requirements.
Where applicable, authors should indicate the name of the approving ethics committee together with the approval number.
If ethical approval was not required, authors should provide a brief explanation. Authors must not state that ethical approval was unnecessary without providing the applicable institutional, legal, or disciplinary basis.
Where research involves human participants, authors should confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection.
- Data Availability Statement
All manuscripts reporting empirical research must include a Data Availability Statement. Authors are encouraged to make supporting data publicly available whenever legally, ethically, and technically feasible.
Examples:
The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
or
The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are publicly available at [repository].
or
No new data were created or analysed in this study.
Authors are encouraged to specify their individual contributions following the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy).
Permissions
Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reproduce or adapt any copyrighted material (including figures, tables, photographs, illustrations, maps, questionnaires, and substantial excerpts of text) where such permission is required by copyright law.
Appropriate acknowledgement of the original source and copyright holder must be included in the manuscript.
The editorial office reserves the right to request documentary evidence that all necessary permissions have been obtained prior to publication.
Failure to obtain the required permissions may result in rejection of the manuscript or removal of the copyrighted material before publication.
Permission is not normally required for material that is in the public domain or used under a license permitting the intended reuse, provided that all license conditions and attribution requirements are satisfied.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
Authors must comply with the Journal’s Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence. AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Where AI tools have made a substantial contribution to manuscript preparation, their use must be disclosed immediately before the References section. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and legal compliance of the submitted manuscript.
Author Information
A separate title page should include:
- full name of each author;
- institutional affiliation;
- country;
- ORCID iD, where available;
- e-mail address;
- identification of the corresponding author.
Authors are strongly encouraged to provide an ORCID iD. The corresponding author should provide an ORCID iD wherever possible.
Language Editing
Authors are responsible for submitting manuscripts written in clear and grammatically correct English. The Editorial Team reserves the right to return manuscripts that require substantial language editing before peer review. Authors whose first language is not English are strongly encouraged to use professional language editing services prior to submission.
Publication Ethics
Authors must comply with the Journal’s Publication Ethics policy. Manuscripts must be original, must not be under consideration elsewhere, and must not contain plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, manipulated materials, inappropriate authorship, or other forms of publication misconduct. Submissions may be screened using plagiarism-detection software.
Peer Review Process
Eligible manuscripts undergo double-anonymous peer review, normally by at least two independent reviewers. Authors must remove identifying information from the review version of the manuscript. Detailed procedures are provided in the Journal’s Peer Review Policy.
