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Author Guidelines

Contents

Authors must read through and follow the journal’s Policies and Ethics and well as the following criteria carefully before submitting their manuscript for publishing.

Article Types

IQJAP seeks to publish experimental and theoretical research results of outstanding significance in the form of original research articles, review articles, conference papers, and perspective/commentary articles. It is the author's responsibility to define his/her/their article as the appropriate type and comply with the corresponding general criteria described below. Failure to do so might result in acceptance delays or rejection.

  1. Empirical research articles: Articles represent in-depth original research in any architectural/planning discipline and are classified as primary literature. They are generally structured into an introduction and hypothesis, background, methods, results, interpretation of findings, and a discussion of possible implications and conclusions/recommendations. Articles should be 4000-6000 words and a maximum of 15 pages (excluding abstracts but including tables, figures, appendices and references).

  2. Review article: Review articles give an overview of existing literature in a field, often identifying specific problems or issues and analyzing information from published work on the topic with a balanced perspective. They are considered secondary literature and can be a particularly efficient way for early career researchers to begin publishing. They are generally structured into an introduction and aims, background study, methods, discussion including interpretation of findings, and conclusions. Articles should be 4000-6000 words and a maximum of 15 pages (excluding abstracts but including tables, figures, appendices and references).

  3. Conference papers: Conference papers that fall into one of the above types of articles, namely Original research articles and Review articles, could also be accepted in IQJAP. These papers should have been orally presented in an eligible academic conference within a year from the submission date to IQJAP and be 2500-6000 words long (excluding abstracts but including tables, figures, appendices and references).

  4. Perspective/Commentary articles: Both types are considered secondary literature and should be no more than 3000 words in length and no more than ten pages (excluding abstracts but including tables, figures, appendices and references) to be accepted for submission in IQJAP. Generally, perspective articles are scholarly reviews of fundamental concepts or prevalent ideas in a field that present a personal point of view critiquing widespread single notions or multiple related notions about a lot. At the same time, commentaries are short articles that draw attention to or present criticism of a previously published article, book, or report, explaining why it interested them and how it might be illuminating for readers.

    Authors are urged to be succinct; long papers with many tables and figures may require reductions before being processed or accepted for publication.

Writing Format and Structure

The original manuscript should be formatted with single line spacing using Simplified Arabic font for articles written in Arabic or Times New Roman font for articles written in English. The text must be in a single-column format on A4 paper with 1" (2.54cm) margins. All manuscript pages must be numbered at the bottom centre of each page.

Authors are strongly encouraged to prepare their manuscripts using the provided template to ensure consistency and compliance with journal standards. The template is designed to facilitate correct formatting and streamline the review and publication process. Download the manuscript template here: English Manuscript Template, Arabic Manuscript Template

The typical structure of an article is described in the Article Types section. It generally contains the following sections: Title page (Contains Article Title, Author(s) data, Abstract, and Keywords), Introduction, Material and methods (Experimental or Methodology and methods), Results, Discussion (Results and discussion can be combined in one section), Conclusion, Acknowledgment(s), and References. For double-blind peer review, authors should prepare two separate files during submission:

  1. Separate Title Page File: The title page should be a single page in a separate file. A translation of the title page in the opposite language, i.e. English if the main manuscript is written in Arabic and vice versa, should be included either at the end of the page or on the next page within the same file if space is limited. Both the Title Page and the translation should include the following:

    1. Title: The title should be brief, concise, and descriptive and no longer than 250 characters. It should not contain any literature references or compound numbers, or non-standardized abbreviations. It should be placed in the page's upper centre and written in bold (16 PT) font.

    2. Authors and affiliations: Supply given names, middle initials, and family names for complete identification. Use superscript lowercase letters to indicate different affiliations, which should be as detailed as possible and must include department, faculty/college, University, a city with zip code or P.O. Box and country. Author(s) names and affiliations should be written in bold (14 PT) font.

    3. Corresponding author: Should be indicated with an asterisk "*", and contact details (Tel., fax, and email address) should be placed in a footnote.

  2. Main Manuscript File: The main manuscript should not contain any identifying author information, including names, affiliations, acknowledgements, or references to funding.

    The manuscript should include the title, abstract, body, references, tables, and figures, formatted according to the journal's guidelines.

    1. a) Title: The title should be identical to the one provided on the separate title page.

    2. b) Abstract: Provide an abstract of no more than 400 words. The abstract should briefly describe the purpose of the study, how the investigation was performed, the most important results and the principal conclusions that were drawn from the results, respectively. References should be avoided, but if essential, cite the author(s) and year(s). Nonstandard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided but, if necessary, be defined at first mention within the abstract. The abstract should be written in regular (12 PT) font.

    3. c) Keywords: Authors are asked to provide (4 to 7) keywords, separated with commas ",". These keywords are used for indexing purposes and should be written in regular (12 PT) font.

    4. d) The body of the Manuscript: The body of the article is the most important part of an article. It should be written in regular (12 PT) font using boldface, italics, subscripts, and superscripts to identify titles, subtitles, quoted text and details where appropriate. Use continuous title numbering throughout the Body of the Manuscript using the following style:

      • Title 1
      • 1.1. Second Title 1
      • 1.1.1. Third Title 1
      • 1.1.2. Third Title 2
      • 1.2. Second Title 2
      • 2. Title 2

    All figures, diagrams, tables and photos should be numbered and appear in their corresponding places within the body of the manuscript. All citations should be written in English using APA Referencing System according to "CBE Style Manual Committee, 1983". i.e. using the Author's Name, followed by the Year of Publication, and finally, the Page Number between two brackets like (Kahachi, 2013, p. 120). If there is more than one author of the cited work, use the First Author's name followed by "et al." (Kahachi et al., 2017, p. 15).

    In general, the Body of the Manuscript consists of the following parts:

    1. a) Introduction: The author(s) should strive to define the significance of the work and the justification for its publication. Any background discussion should be brief and restricted to pertinent material.

    2. b) Material and methods (Experimental or Methodology and methods): Authors should be as concise as possible in experimental descriptions. The experimental section must contain all of the information necessary to guarantee reproducibility. Previously published methods should be indicated by a reference, and only relevant modifications should be described. All vendor details, including company, city, and country, should be mentioned for chemicals, reagents, strains, etc. For statistical analysis, please state the appropriate test(s) and a hypothesized p-value or significant level (for example, 0.05).

    3. c) Results: The study results should be clear and concise. Restrict the use of tables and figures to depict data essential to the study's message and interpretation. Do not duplicate data in both figures and tables. The results should be presented logically in the text, tables and illustrations.

    4. d) Discussion: This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. Include in the discussion the implications of the findings and their limitations, how the findings fit into the context of other relevant work, and directions for future research.

    5. e) Conclusion(s): The main conclusion(s) of the study should be presented in a short conclusion statement that can stand alone and be linked with the goals of the study. State new hypotheses when warranted. Include recommendations when appropriate. Unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the obtained data should be avoided.

  3. Acknowledgements: Please acknowledge individuals/companies/institutions who have contributed to the study, as well as entities providing financial support.

  4. References:
    References should be listed at the end of the manuscript in alphabetical order. The references must be described in APA (7th edition) style. Journal names should be given in full and should not be translated. Titles of papers should be given in their original language and they should be followed by a translation into English in the square brackets. Capitalize only the first word in a paper title, except for proper nouns and element symbols. See below the examples of references:

    • Journal Article:

      Author's Last name, First name initial. Middle name initial. (Year published). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number (issue number), page range. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxxx OR URL

      M. Hameed Al-Delfi, A., & S. Salman, A. (2022). Investigating the Impact of Educational Space Design in Fostering Social Distancing: A Case Study of the University of Technology Buildings, Iraq. Journal of Sustainable Architecture and Civil Engineering, 31(2), 39–57. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.sace.31.2.30746
      Salim, B. H., Abdulhussain, L. A., & Salman, A. S. (2025). Ethical Considerations of Technical Sustainability in Architectural Production. Iraqi Journal of Architecture and Planning, 24(2). https://doi.org/10.36041/iqjap.2025.153129.1110
      Wang, J. (2021). Vision of China’s future urban construction reform: In the perspective of comprehensive prevention and control for multi disasters. In Sustainable Cities and Society (Vol. 64). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2020.102511

    • Book:

      Author's Last name, First name initial. Middle name initial. (Year published). Title of book. Publisher.

      La Roche, P. (2017). Carbon-neutral architectural design. CRC Press.
      Voss, K., & Musall, E. (2012). Net zero energy buildings: international projects of carbon neutrality in buildings. Walter de Gruyter.
      Bennetts, H., Radford, A., & Williamson, T. (2003). Understanding sustainable architecture. Taylor & Francis.

      Editor, First name initial. Middle name initial. (Ed.). (Year published). Title of edited book. Publisher.

      Stagner, J.A., & Ting, D.S-K. (Eds.). (2021). Green energy and infrastructure: securing a sustainable future. CRC press.

    • E-book:

      Author's Last name, First name initial. Middle name initial. (Year published). Title of work. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxxx or URL

      Underwood, J., & Isikdag, U. (Eds.). (2009). Handbook of research on building information modeling and construction informatics: Concepts and technologies: concepts and technologies. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60566-928-1

    • Chapter in a book:

      Chapter author's Last name, First name initial. Middle name initial. (Year published). Title of chapter. In F. M. Last name of Editor (Ed.), Title of book (p. x or pp. x-x). https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxxx or URL

      Van Nederveen, S., Beheshti, R., & Gielingh, W. (2009). Modelling concepts for BIM. In J. Underwood, & U. Isikdag (Eds.), Handbook of research on building information modeling and construction informatics: Concepts and technologies (pp. 1-18). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60566-928-1
      Morales, M. (2005). Using new technology. In J. Reyes (Ed.), The Great Book of Teaching (pp. 135-150). Important Books.

    • Conference proceedings:

      Author's Last name, First name initial. Middle name initial. (Year published). Title of contribution. In Title of the conference (pp. x-x). Publisher. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxxx or URL

      Salman, A. S., & Hameed, T. M. (2021). Flexibility in sustainable architecture output Resistance to epidemics. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 779(1), 12034. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/779/1/012034

    • Website

      Author's Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Day published). Title of article or page. Site Name. URL

      Vinnitskaya, I. (2012). Ground Zero Master Plan / Studio Daniel Libeskind. In Arch Daily. https://www.archdaily.com/272280/ground-zero-master-plan-studio-daniel-libeskind%3E ISSN 0719-8884

      Title of article or page. (Year published). Site Name. URL

      Biophilic design initiative. (2022). International Living Future Institute. https://living-future.org/biophilic-design/

  5. Appendices:

    the Iraqi Journal of Architecture and Planning encourages authors to limit the number of appendices in their articles. However, in the case that there is a necessity for adding appendices to the article, it should be placed at the end of the manuscript with their reference(s) in their corresponding footnote section. It is important to understand that all the pages used by the appendices will be counted towards the total number of pages of the manuscript.

Units and abbreviations

All measurements and data should be given in SI units (Meters, Kilogram, seconds…etc.) or other internationally accepted units in parentheses throughout the text. Figures and Tables should use conventional units, with conversion factors given in legends or footnotes.

The preferred forms for some of the more commonly used abbreviations are mp, bp, C, K, min, h, mL, μL, g, mg, μg, cm, mm, nm, mol, mmol, μmol, M, mM, μM, ppm, HPLC, TLC, GC, 1H NMR, GCMS, HRMS, FABHRMS, UV, IR, EPR, ESR, DNase, ED50, ID50, IC50, LD50, im, ip, iv, mRNA, RNase, rRNA, tRNA, CPM, Ci, dpm, Vmax, Km, k, t1/2.

All nonstandard abbreviations should be defined following the first use of the abbreviation.

Language

Manuscripts must be written in either English or Arabic language clearly and concisely. Any author who is not fluent in the language used in the manuscript is urged to seek assistance with manuscript preparation before submission. In addition, to avoid unnecessary errors, the authors are strongly advised to use their word processing software's "spell-check" and "grammar-check" functions.

Reviewers are not expected to correct grammatical errors, and any deficiency in this area may detract from the paper's scientific content and result in acceptance delays or rejection.

Ensuring Unbiased Review

The Iraqi Journal of Architecture and Planning uses a Double-blind reviewing process, meaning that author name(s) and reviewer name(s) are concealed throughout the review. To facilitate this, the author(s) must ensure that their manuscript is prepared so that they do not reveal their identities to reviewers, either directly or indirectly. Therefore, authors should do the following checks on all sections of the manuscript before submission (except the title page and acknowledgement, as they will remain hidden from reviewers):

  1. Please remove any identifying information, such as authors' names or affiliations, from your manuscript before submission.
  2. Use the third person to refer to work the authors have previously published. For example, write 'Black and Hart (2015) have demonstrated' rather than 'we/the authors have previously demonstrated (Black & Hart, 2015)'.
  3. Make sure that figures and tables do not reference author affiliations.
  4. Exclude acknowledgements and any references to funding sources. Use the title page, which is not sent to reviewers, to detail these and to declare any potential conflicts of interest to the Editor.

Choose file names carefully, and ensure the file's 'Properties' are also anonymized. If you are using Office 2007 or later, consider using the Document Inspector Tool prior to submission.

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