Author Guidelines

Plagiarism
Al-Turath Journal of Media Studies (ATJMS) does not tolerate plagiarism in any form. All submitted manuscripts will be screened using plagiarism-detection software before proceeding to editorial assessment and peer review. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarism, unattributed material, excessive textual overlap, or other serious originality concerns may be rejected.

Before Submission
Authors should ensure that their manuscripts have been prepared in accordance with these guidelines and the step-by-step instructions provided through the journal’s online submission system.

The journal accepts the following article types:

1. Original Research Articles.
2. Review Articles.

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be prepared in Microsoft Word using 12-point Times New Roman font for English text and an appropriate Unicode Arabic font for Arabic text. The manuscript should be single-spaced throughout, including quotations, figure captions, tables, and references. A4 paper size should be used with 1 cm margins. Major sections should be clearly identified and separated by appropriate spacing. The manuscript should be organized as follows:

1. List of Authors: Authors’ full names should be provided without unnecessary initials, together with their institutional affiliations. The order of authors should reflect their relative scholarly contributions. The corresponding author must be identified with an asterisk. Each affiliation should include the department, institution, city, postal code where applicable, and country. The corresponding author’s email address must be provided. All authors must review and approve the final version before submission.
2. Title Page: The title page should include the article title, full names of all authors, institutional affiliations, and the corresponding author’s email address. Academic degrees should not be included with the authors’ names. The title should be concise, informative, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript.
3. Abstract: The abstract should provide a concise and accurate summary of the study and normally include:
   1. Background: Explain the context and rationale for the study.
   2. Objective: State the principal aim or research question.
   3. Methods: Summarize the research design, media sample or participants, data-collection instruments, procedures, and analytical methods.
   4. Results: Present the principal findings, including relevant statistical results where applicable.
   5. Conclusion: State the principal conclusions and implications without overstating the findings.
4. Keywords: Provide three to six keywords that accurately represent the subject, concepts, methods, or media context examined in the study.
5. Introduction: Present the background of the study, identify the research problem or gap, explain its significance, and clearly state the study’s objectives, research questions, or hypotheses.
6. Literature Review and Theoretical Framework: Critically review relevant and current scholarship, define the principal concepts, and explain the theoretical or conceptual framework guiding the investigation.
7. Methods: Provide sufficient information about the research design, study setting, population or corpus, sampling method, media content or participants, data-collection instruments, validity and reliability procedures, coding framework, and analytical methods. Ethical approval and informed-consent procedures must be reported where applicable. The software and statistical methods used should also be identified.
8. Results: Present the findings logically and objectively in relation to the research questions or hypotheses. Tables and figures should be self-explanatory and should not unnecessarily duplicate information presented in the text.
9. Discussion: Interpret the results in relation to the study’s objectives, theoretical framework, and previous research. Explain the scholarly and practical implications, acknowledge relevant limitations, and avoid unsupported generalizations.
10. Conclusion: Summarize the principal findings and contributions of the study. Recommendations and suggestions for future research may be included where appropriate.
11. Appendices: Appendices are optional and may contain coding manuals, interview protocols, questionnaires, or other materials essential for understanding the study but unsuitable for inclusion in the main text.
12. Figures and Media Materials: Figures may include photographs, charts, graphs, screenshots, advertisements, social-media content, or other visual materials. All figures must be numbered consecutively, cited in the text, and accompanied by concise captions below the figure. Authors must obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted or identifiable media content. Images should be minimally processed and submitted at sufficient resolution, preferably 300 dpi for color images, 600 dpi for grayscale images, and 1200 dpi for line art. The journal may request high-resolution originals or relevant metadata when necessary.
13. Tables, Lists, and Equations: Tables should be created using Microsoft Word’s table function and numbered consecutively according to their appearance in the manuscript. Each table should have a concise title and any necessary explanatory notes. Tables must supplement rather than duplicate the text. Lists and equations should be clearly presented and consistently formatted.
14. Acknowledgements: Authors should acknowledge individuals, institutions, funding agencies, sponsors, or providers of facilities and materials that contributed to the research but did not meet the criteria for authorship.
15. References: All sources cited in the manuscript must appear in the reference list, and every reference listed must be cited in the text. References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they first appear and identified using Arabic numerals in square brackets. Full journal titles should be used without abbreviation and italicized, followed by the year, volume, issue, page range, and DOI where available.

Reference Style

The reference list is compulsory and must appear at the end of the manuscript. Footnotes or endnotes must not be used as substitutes for the reference list. Only published works or works formally accepted for publication should ordinarily be included. Personal communications and unpublished materials should be cited in the text only when necessary.

Use the following general format: Author(s). Title of article. Full Journal Name year;volume(issue):page range. DOI. When a work has more than three authors, list the first three followed by et al., unless otherwise required by the journal’s template.

Data Fabrication and Falsification

Falsification involves manipulating or omitting research materials, media samples, survey responses, interview records, images, data, processes, or results so that the research is not accurately represented. Fabrication involves inventing data, sources, participants, interviews, observations, or findings and reporting them as genuine. Both practices constitute serious research misconduct and are strictly prohibited.

Submission Requirements

1. Cover Letter: Confirm that the manuscript has not been published previously and will not be submitted to another journal while it is under consideration by ATJMS. Authors must disclose any related papers derived from the same research project or dataset.
2. Title Page: Include the article title, authors’ full names, affiliations, the institution where the study was conducted, a short running title, and complete contact information for the corresponding author. To support double-blind peer review, identifying information must not appear in the anonymized manuscript file.
3. Tables and Illustrations: Tables and illustrations must be cited and numbered in the order in which they appear. Visual materials should be included only when they improve understanding of the research. Captions must explain the content sufficiently, and sources or permissions must be provided for reproduced material.
4. Supplementary Materials: Research instruments, coding sheets, interview protocols, audiovisual files, datasets, and other relevant supporting materials may be submitted for publication with the online article, subject to ethical, legal, and editorial requirements.
5. Acknowledgements: Technical, financial, institutional, or material assistance that does not qualify for authorship should be acknowledged at the end of the manuscript.

Human and Animal Rights

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable institutional and national ethical requirements and with internationally recognized ethical principles. Ethical approval and informed consent must be obtained and reported whenever required. Research involving animals, where relevant, must comply with applicable animal-welfare standards. Authors must protect the privacy and confidentiality of participants, interviewees, online-community members, and identifiable individuals represented in media content.

Authorship

Only individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the conception, design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, drafting, or critical revision of the study should be listed as authors. Other contributors should be acknowledged appropriately. The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript, agreed to its submission, and accepted responsibility for their contributions.