Submissions

Author Guidelines

General Submission Requirements

1. All manuscripts submitted for publication must be in English. Submissions should be made through the journal's online submission system. A submission implies that the work has not been previously published, is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and has been approved by all listed authors. The journal verifies the originality of all submissions using plagiarism-detection software before review.
2. Manuscripts will be considered on the understanding that they represent original contributions to knowledge in social and management sciences.
3. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have approved the submitted version and agreed to its submission to SSMS.
4. By submitting a manuscript, all listed authors confirm that they meet the authorship criteria as defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and take collective responsibility for the work. Changes to authorship after submission are not permitted without written justification and editorial approval.

Manuscript Organisation

1. All research articles should be organised into the following sections: (i) Abstract of no more than 250 words summarising the research question, methodology, principal findings, and contribution; and a minimum of four keywords; (ii) Introduction, covering the research question, objectives, and a literature review identifying the key gap the paper addresses; (iii) Data and Methodology; (iv) Results and Discussion; (v) Conclusions and Policy Implications. Subsections should carry clear and distinct subheadings.
2. Data and methods papers, research notes, and systematic reviews may follow a different organisational structure appropriate to the article type, provided the structure is clearly signalled to the reader.

Formatting

1. Manuscripts should be submitted as Microsoft Word files (.docx). The text should be typed in Times New Roman, size 12, single-spaced, with margins of at least one inch on all sides. Page numbers should appear on every page. Line numbers should be included to assist reviewers.
2. Word limits by article type are as follows: research articles, 7,000–8,000 words including references; data and methods papers, up to 6,000 words; research notes, up to 4,000 words; systematic reviews, up to 10,000 words. Authors should indicate the total word count on the title page.
3. The title page should include: the title of the manuscript; the full name, institutional affiliation, and email address of each author; identification of the corresponding author; any funding acknowledgements; and a declaration of conflicts of interest. The title page should be submitted as a separate file to facilitate blind review. No author-identifying information should appear in the main manuscript file.

Tables and Figures

1. Tables should be numbered sequentially and carry a descriptive title above the table. The source of data should be stated in a note below the table. Tables should be editable and formatted without heavy borders or shading. They should not be submitted as images.
2. Figures and graphs should be submitted in editable format, not as embedded images, and should be legible in black and white. Each figure should carry a number and a descriptive caption below. All tables and figures should be cited in the main text.

Footnotes and Appendices

Footnotes should be used sparingly and numbered consecutively throughout the manuscript. Mathematical derivations and supplementary technical material should be placed in appendices. Each appendix and each table should carry its own set of footnotes.

References

SSMS follows the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition referencing style for all in-text citations and reference lists. References should be managed using electronic referencing software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote. All references cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and all entries in the reference list must be cited in the text.

Common citation formats are as follows:

Journal article:
Ahmed, S., & Khan, M. R. (2021). Labour market transitions and household welfare in rural Pakistan. Journal of Development Economics, 152, 102–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2021.102xxx

Book:
Sen, A. (1999). Development as freedom. Oxford University Press.

Book chapter:
Ravallion, M. (2016). Poverty measurement. In B. Atkinson & F. Bourguignon (Eds.), Handbook of income distribution (Vol. 2, pp. 697–834). Elsevier.

Working paper/report:
World Bank. (2023). Pakistan poverty assessment 2023 (Report No. 123456). World Bank Group. https://doi.org/10.1596/xxxxx

Thesis or dissertation:
Malik, A. (2022). Fiscal decentralisation and public service delivery in Pakistan [Doctoral dissertation, University of Oxford]. Oxford University Research Archive.

Ethical Requirements

1. Authors must disclose at the time of submission any conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise, that could influence the work. Funding sources must be acknowledged in the title page.
2. Authorship must comply with the criteria defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All authorship questions must be resolved before submission.
3. Empirical and computational papers must include a Data Availability Statement specifying where the data used in the study can be accessed, or explaining any restrictions on access.
4. Use of generative artificial intelligence in the preparation of the manuscript must be disclosed in the acknowledgements section, specifying the tool used and the nature of its use. AI tools may not be listed as authors.
5. The journal adheres to the publication ethics guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Fees

1. There are no submission fees. Upon acceptance of a manuscript following peer review, an article processing charge (APC) applies to cover the costs of open access publishing, including editorial management, copyediting, typesetting, DOI registration, platform hosting, and long-term digital preservation. The applicable APC will be communicated to the corresponding author at the time of the acceptance decision. Payment is due prior to production and publication.
2. Authors from low- and lower-middle-income economies as classified by the World Bank may apply for a full or partial waiver by contacting ssms@sp-research.org prior to submission. Waiver decisions do not influence editorial outcomes.