Manuscript Preparation

General requirements

All manuscripts must be prepared using the current IJDRM manuscript template. Authors must retain the page size, margins, formatting styles, heading hierarchy, numbering system, caption format, and other technical elements defined in the template. Submissions that do not comply with the template or these instructions may be returned to the authors for technical correction before editorial assessment or peer review.

The main manuscript must be submitted as an editable Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx). A PDF file may be submitted as supplementary material, but PDF-only submissions are not accepted as the principal manuscript file. Figures should be embedded near their first citation in the manuscript, although the Editorial Office may request separate high-resolution source files during technical assessment or after acceptance.

Authors must comply with recognized principles of publication ethics and research integrity, including:

• originality of the submitted work;
• accurate, complete, and transparent reporting;
• appropriate authorship and acknowledgement of contributors;
• disclosure of funding and conflicts of interest;
• compliance with ethical and legal requirements;
• protection of participants and confidential information;
• accurate citation of sources;
• retention of research data, instruments, coding records, and analytical files for verification where ethically and legally permissible.

Manuscripts that contain fabricated or falsified data, plagiarism, duplicate publication, manipulated citations, unverifiable references, inappropriate image manipulation, or undisclosed conflicts of interest may be rejected or subject to appropriate post-publication action.

Article types and indicative length

IJDRM normally considers the following article types:

• Original Research Article: normally up to 8,000 words;
• Review Article: normally 6,000–10,000 words;
• Short Communication: normally 2,500–4,000 words;
• Case Study: normally 4,000–7,000 words;
• Perspective or Commentary: normally 2,000–4,000 words.

Word limits normally exclude the title page, abstract, keywords, reference list, tables, figure captions, appendices, and supplementary materials.

These limits are indicative rather than absolute. Manuscripts will not be rejected solely because they exceed the recommended word or character count. Longer submissions may be considered when the subject matter, research design, methodological complexity, dataset, analysis, theoretical framework, or scientific contribution reasonably requires additional space.

Authors should briefly explain substantially extended manuscripts in the cover letter. Where appropriate, the Editorial Office may request reasonable shortening, restructuring, or technical revision, but exceeding the recommended length does not constitute an automatic ground for rejection.

Title page and author information

The title page must include:

• article type;
• full manuscript title;
• short running title, where requested;
• full names of all authors;
• complete institutional affiliations;
• institutional addresses;
• email addresses;
• ORCID iDs, where available;
• corresponding-author details;
• Author Contributions Statement;
• Funding Statement;
• Acknowledgements;
• Conflicts of Interest Statement;
• other declarations required for the specific study.

Author names must be presented exactly as they should appear in indexing and bibliographic services. Academic titles and professional ranks should not be included in the author byline or affiliations.

Superscript Arabic numerals should be used to connect authors with their affiliations. The corresponding author should be identified by an asterisk and one reliable email address.

Abstract

The abstract must be presented as a single, continuous, unstructured paragraph of no more than 350 words.

It should briefly and accurately present:

• the background and research problem;
• the principal aim or research question;
• the research design and methods;
• the setting, sample, participants, or data source;
• the main analytical approach;
• the most important results;
• the principal conclusion;
• the scientific, practical, operational, or policy implications.

The abstract must not contain:

• subheadings;
• citations;
• footnotes;
• tables;
• figures;
• equations;
• bullet points;
• information or conclusions that do not appear in the main manuscript.

All numerical values, claims, and conclusions reported in the abstract must be consistent with the main text. Authors must not claim causality when the research design supports only association or descriptive interpretation.

Keywords

Authors must provide 6–10 specific keywords or short phrases, separated by semicolons.

Keywords should accurately reflect:

• the principal hazard or risk;
• the methodological approach;
• the study population;
• the geographical or institutional setting;
• the main theoretical concepts;
• the central practical or policy issues.

Authors should avoid unnecessarily repeating the exact words already used in the manuscript title.

Recommended manuscript structure

Original Research Articles should normally follow this structure:

1. Title page
2. Abstract
3. Keywords
4. Introduction
5. Methods or Materials and Methods
6. Results
7. Discussion
8. Conclusions
9. Author Contributions
10. Funding
11. Institutional Review Board or Ethics Statement
12. Informed Consent Statement
13. Data Availability Statement
14. Use of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies, where applicable
15. Acknowledgements
16. Conflicts of Interest
17. Appendices, where applicable
18. References
19. Supplementary Materials, where applicable

The structure may be adapted for qualitative, mixed-methods, modelling, legal, historical, theoretical, conceptual, or policy-oriented studies when justified by the research design.

The Results and Discussion sections may be combined when this is methodologically appropriate and improves the clarity of the manuscript. However, the presentation of empirical findings must remain clearly distinguishable from their interpretation.

Review Articles must provide a critical, analytical, and clearly organized synthesis of the relevant literature. They should not consist merely of a descriptive catalogue of previous studies.

Systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and meta-analyses must report, where applicable:

• protocol or registration information;
• databases and other sources searched;
• complete search dates;
• full search strategy;
• eligibility criteria;
• inclusion and exclusion criteria;
• screening and selection procedures;
• quality or risk-of-bias assessment;
• data-extraction procedures;
• synthesis or meta-analytic methods;
• a flow diagram consistent with the applicable reporting guideline.

 

International reporting and transparency standards

Authors must follow the reporting guideline most appropriate to the study design, including, where applicable:

• PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses;
• STROBE for observational studies;
• CONSORT for randomized or controlled trials;
• COREQ or SRQR for qualitative research;
• CARE for case reports;
• other recognized discipline-specific reporting standards.

The applicable reporting checklist should be completed and submitted when requested.

Authors must provide sufficient methodological information to permit replication or rigorous critical assessment. This includes, where applicable:

• research design and rationale;
• geographical, institutional, social, or hazard setting;
• exact study or data-collection period;
• target population and sampling frame;
• sampling strategy and recruitment procedures;
• inclusion and exclusion criteria;
• sample-size justification;
• response rate;
• variables, constructs, outcomes, predictors, and operational definitions;
• data sources and instruments;
• instrument development, translation, adaptation, validation, and pilot testing;
• data-collection procedures;
• quality-control procedures;
• treatment of missing data, non-response, and outliers;
• statistical, qualitative, geospatial, modelling, documentary, or legal-analysis procedures;
• software names, versions, packages, and relevant analytical parameters;
• validation, robustness, triangulation, or sensitivity analyses.

Ethical approval and informed consent

Research involving human participants, interviews, surveys, experiments, personal data, identifiable records, or vulnerable groups must comply with applicable legal requirements and recognized ethical standards.

The manuscript must state:

• the name of the approving ethics committee or institutional review board;
• the approval or reference number;
• the approval date, where available;
• how informed consent was obtained;
• how privacy, confidentiality, and data protection were ensured.

When formal ethical review was not required, authors must provide a clear legal, institutional, or methodological justification.

For minors or participants unable to provide full consent, the manuscript must explain how assent and consent from a parent, guardian, or authorized representative were obtained.

Data availability and research transparency

Every research article should include a Data Availability Statement explaining where and under what conditions the supporting data, code, instruments, interview guides, protocols, or other materials may be accessed.

Acceptable statements may indicate that:

• the data and analytical code are openly available in a recognized repository;
• the data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request;
• access is restricted because of ethical, privacy, confidentiality, security, contractual, or legal limitations;
• no new data were created or analysed.

Restrictions on access must be clearly and specifically explained.

Funding, author contributions, and conflicts of interest

Authors must identify every source of financial or material support and provide grant numbers where applicable.

The Funding Statement should explain the funder’s role in:

• study design;
• data collection;
• analysis;
• interpretation;
• manuscript preparation;
• the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

When the funder had no role, this must be stated explicitly.

An Author Contributions Statement should identify the contribution of each author. The use of the CRediT taxonomy is recommended.

Every manuscript must include a Conflicts of Interest Statement. Authors must disclose financial and non-financial relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or publication process. When no conflict exists, authors should state:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Symbols, abbreviations, units, and equations

• Define every abbreviation at first use in the abstract and again at first use in the main text.
• Avoid unnecessary abbreviations in the title and keywords.
• Define every mathematical symbol, variable, index, and notation at first use.
• Include a separate List of Symbols only when the manuscript contains numerous or technically complex symbols.
• Use SI units wherever possible.
• Use terminology, notation, and measurement units consistently throughout the manuscript.
• Variables should normally be italicized; measurement units and mathematical functions should not be italicized.
• Prepare equations using an editable equation editor, such as the Microsoft Word equation tool or MathType.
• Do not submit equations as images.
• Number only equations that are cited elsewhere in the manuscript.
• Numbered equations should use consecutive Arabic numerals aligned with the right margin.

 

Tables

Tables must be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals in the order in which they are first cited in the manuscript.

Citation in the main text

Every table must be explicitly cited in the main text before it appears. Authors must use the exact table designation, such as:

Table 1 presents the demographic characteristics of the respondents.

As shown in Table 2, preparedness differed significantly between the study groups.

The regression results are presented in Table 3.

Authors must not use vague expressions such as:

• “the table below”;
• “the following table”;
• “the table above.”

The designation Table 1, Table 2, and so forth must appear explicitly in the relevant sentence.

Table title and placement

The table number and title must appear above the table on the same line, using the following format:

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for preparedness dimensions

The title should be concise, informative, written in sentence case, and sufficiently clear for the table to be understood without consulting the main text.

Tables must:

• be submitted as editable Word tables;
• not be inserted as images or screenshots;
• avoid vertical rules;
• avoid unnecessary horizontal lines;
• use consistent decimal places;
• align comparable numerical values;
• define all abbreviations, symbols, units, and statistical indicators;
• explain significance levels in a note below the table;
• be placed as close as practicable to their first citation in the text.

A table note should follow the table where necessary:

Note. M = mean; SD = standard deviation; CI = confidence interval; OR = odds ratio.

A source statement should be included only where applicable:

Source: Authors’ calculations.

Source: Adapted from Author (2024), with permission.

When a table is reproduced or adapted from another source, authors must provide an appropriate source note, cite the original source in the reference list, and obtain written permission where required.

Figures, graphs, maps, and photographs

Figures, including graphs, diagrams, maps, photographs, and other visual materials, must be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals in the order in which they are first cited.

Citation in the main text

Every figure must be explicitly cited in the main text before it appears. Authors must use the exact figure designation, such as:

Figure 1 illustrates the geographical distribution of the surveyed municipalities.

The conceptual framework is presented in Figure 2.

As shown in Figure 3, the level of perceived risk increased across age groups.

Authors must not use expressions such as:

• “the figure below”;
• “the graph below”;
• “the following image”;
• “the figure above.”

The designation Figure 1, Figure 2, and so forth must appear explicitly in the text.

Figure caption and placement

The figure, graph, map, or photograph must appear first. Its number and caption must be placed below the visual on the same line, using the following format:

Figure 1. Distribution of preparedness scores by study area

The caption should be concise, descriptive, written in sentence case, and sufficiently informative for the visual to be understood without consulting the main text.

When applicable, source information may be incorporated into the caption:

Figure 2. Spatial distribution of surveyed municipalities. Source: Authors’ elaboration based on official geospatial data.

Figure 3. Conceptual framework of institutional resilience. Adapted from Author (2023), with permission.

Figures must:

• contain clearly labelled axes;
• identify units of measurement;
• include readable legends;
• explain categories, symbols, and error indicators;
• remain legible after resizing;
• use consistent terminology and labels;
• avoid unnecessary three-dimensional effects;
• avoid decorative backgrounds and excessive visual elements;
• not rely on colour alone to communicate information;
• be placed as close as practicable to their first citation.

Maps should include, where applicable:

• a legend;
• scale;
• north arrow;
• coordinate reference system or projection;
• data source;
• date of the underlying data;
• sufficient geographical context.

Photographs must be relevant, ethically obtained, technically clear, and legally authorized for publication. Identifiable persons must not be shown without appropriate consent.

The recommended minimum resolution at final publication size is:

• 300 dpi for photographs and colour images;
• 600 dpi for line art and combined line-and-halftone figures.

Editable vector formats are preferred for diagrams, graphs, and charts.

Avoiding duplication

Authors should not present the same information in both a table and a figure unless the duplication is scientifically necessary and clearly justified.

The main text should summarize and interpret the most important patterns, differences, or relationships. It should not repeat every numerical value already presented in a table or figure.

Footnotes

Footnotes should be avoided whenever possible.

When essential, footnotes must:

• be brief;
• be numbered consecutively;
• use superscript Arabic numerals;
• contain supplementary clarification rather than routine bibliographic information.

Footnotes must not be used for standard citations or references.

References and in-text citations

IJDRM uses the APA 6th edition author–date citation system.

In-text citations must not be numbered or presented as superscripts.

Examples:

• one author: (Author, 2024);
• two authors: (Author & Author, 2024);
• three to five authors, first citation: (Author, Author, Author, & Author, 2024);
• three to five authors, subsequent citation: (Author et al., 2024);
• six or more authors: (Author et al., 2024);
• narrative citation: Author and Author (2024);
• direct quotation: (Author, 2024, p. 17);
• source without page numbers: (Author, 2024, para. 6).

The reference list must:

• appear under the heading References;
• be arranged alphabetically by the surname of the first author;
• not be ordered according to the first appearance of sources in the text;
• not use numerical reference labels;
• apply a 0.5-inch or 1.27 cm hanging indent;
• include every source cited in the manuscript;
• contain no uncited entries, except where expressly permitted;
• include complete and accurate bibliographic information;
• include a DOI or URL where required;
• be checked against the original publication or an authoritative bibliographic database.

Every in-text citation must correspond to an entry in the reference list, and every reference-list entry must be cited in the manuscript.

Use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies

Generative AI tools and AI-assisted systems may not be listed as authors because they cannot:

• assume responsibility for the work;
• approve the final manuscript;
• disclose conflicts of interest;
• verify the accuracy of findings;
• respond to questions concerning research integrity.

Authors must disclose substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies for activities such as:

• drafting or paraphrasing text;
• translation;
• literature screening;
• coding or programming;
• data analysis;
• generation or modification of images;
• preparation of tables or figures;
• other substantive research or writing tasks.

The disclosure must identify:

• the tool and provider;
• the version or access date, where relevant;
• the specific purpose for which it was used;
• the parts of the manuscript or research workflow affected;
• how the authors verified accuracy, originality, references, data protection, and potential bias.

Routine spelling, grammar, and reference-formatting tools that do not generate substantive content normally do not require disclosure.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, originality, ethical compliance, and final content of the manuscript.

Recommended statement:

Use of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies: During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [tool, provider, and version] for [specific purpose]. The authors reviewed and verified all generated output, corrected inaccuracies, checked all references against the original sources, and accept full responsibility for the final content.

When no substantive generative AI was used:

Use of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies: The authors did not use generative AI or AI-assisted technologies to produce substantive content, conduct the analysis, or generate the reported results.