Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Editorial Policy

The following conditions govern all submissions to NJAP:

1. A manuscript submitted to NJAP must not have been previously published, nor may it be under concurrent consideration at any other journal, either in whole or in part.
2. Upon acceptance, the copyright of the published article transfers entirely to the NJAP Editorial Board. By submitting, authors grant the journal permission to publish and distribute the work in all current and future formats, platforms, and databases worldwide.
3. Every submitted manuscript is subjected to peer review prior to any publication decision.
4. All manuscripts are screened for textual similarity using Turnitin. Those with a similarity index above 35% are rejected outright; those between 20% and 35% are returned for revision before the review process continues.
5. No part of any NJAP publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form without prior written consent from the copyright holder.

The Editorial Office makes every effort to ensure that no misleading content appears in the journal. Responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of all data, results, and statements rests entirely with the authors. The Editorial Board and its agents accept no liability for any consequences arising from inaccurate or misleading information provided by authors.

Ethical Considerations

• All potential conflicts of interest — whether financial, personal, or professional — must be declared at the time of submission.
• Research involving human participants or animals must comply with applicable ethical standards and must have received the necessary approvals before the study was conducted.
• Any form of plagiarism is strictly prohibited and will result in rejection or retraction of the affected manuscript.

Manuscript Preparation

• Text editor: Microsoft Word (.doc / .docx) or LaTeX
• Submission format: PDF (generated from Word or LaTeX)
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt
• Spacing: Double spacing
• Layout: Single column — no multi-column formatting
• Page size: A4, with adequate margins on all sides
• Page numbering: Each page numbered individually
• Line numbering: Continuous, restarting on each page

Manuscript Structure

Manuscripts should follow the headings below, presented without section numbering:

1. Article Title
2. Authors and Their Full Addresses
3. Abstract (maximum 300 words)
4. Keywords (maximum of five)
5. Introduction
6. Materials and Methods
7. Results and Discussion
8. Conclusion
9. Acknowledgement (if applicable)
10. Conflict of Interest Statement
11. Sources of Funding (if applicable)
12. References

Title

The title should be concise and accurately describe the nature and content of the paper. If the work was presented, wholly or in part, at a scientific conference, this should be stated in a footnote on the title page.

Authors' Names and Affiliations

List each author by surname followed by initials, accompanied by the full institutional address where the work was conducted. The name, full postal address, and email address of the corresponding author must be clearly indicated.

Abstract

Provide a single-paragraph abstract of no more than 300 words, concisely covering the research background and objectives, the methodology employed, the principal results, the significance of those results, and the conclusions drawn.

Keywords

Provide a maximum of five keywords that accurately represent the subject matter of the paper, to facilitate indexing and discoverability.

Introduction

State the research problem, the aim of the work, and the relevant background literature with appropriate citations. The section must clearly identify the knowledge gap and articulate the contribution of the present study.

Materials and Methods

Provide sufficient procedural detail to allow independent replication. Only novel techniques require full description; established methods may be cited by reference. Include all relevant statistical procedures and justifications for the study design.

Results and Discussion

Present results concisely, using tables or figures where they improve clarity. The discussion should interpret the findings critically in the context of the existing literature and clearly address the significance and limitations of the study.

Conclusion

Summarise the principal findings, discuss their theoretical and practical implications, and provide recommendations for future research where appropriate.

Figures and Tables

• Only high-resolution, clearly legible figures are accepted. Minimum resolution: 300 DPI for photographs; 800 DPI for graphs, line drawings, and diagrams.
• Graphs should be prepared using CorelDraw or Microsoft Excel. Acceptable file formats: JPEG, TIFF, and MS Word.
• Number all illustrations consecutively using Arabic numerals in the order they appear in the text. Keep lettering on figures to a minimum; all essential details should be placed in the legend.
• Illustrations should be submitted in black and white, without background colour.
• Figures and tables must be embedded in the text at the point of first reference, with concise, self-explanatory captions.
• Tabular data must have clear, concise headings enabling the table to be interpreted independently of the main text. Data within columns must be consistent in significant figures.

Symbols, Formulae, and Equations

All symbols, formulae, and equations must be prepared with care. Follow the symbols recommended in the British Standard 1991. Use SI units throughout, as described in British Standards Publication PD 5686 (The Use of SI Units). All equations must be typeset using Microsoft Equation Editor or equivalent LaTeX commands.

References

Use the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style throughout. In-text citations:

• One or two authors: cited in full — e.g., (Michael, 2002) or (Ogbe & Segun, 2009)
• Three or more authors: (Haruna et al., 2005)

References must be listed in alphabetical order at the end of the manuscript, giving all author surnames followed by initials. Provide the full paper title (or an accurate English translation), the journal title in italics (abbreviated per Chemical Abstracts or Biological Abstracts; given in full if not listed there), volume in bold, first and last page numbers, year in parentheses, and DOI.

Reference Examples

Journal Article

Ayan, E., Berok, B., & Selega, G. H. (2003). Extraction of oil from wild melon seeds. Journal of African Science Technology, 2(2), 4–9. https://doi.org/xxxxx

Book

Dagogo, K., Edward, E. D., Kelle, C., & Madu, N. (2009). Biochemical fingerprinting: Simulated models of DNA and nucleic acids. ABU Press.

Book Chapter

Leach, J. (1993). Impacts of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) on water quality and fish spawning reefs of Western Lake Erie. In T. Nalepa & D. Schloesser (Eds.), Zebra mussels: Biology, impacts and control (pp. 381–397). Lewis Publishers.

Report

Makarewicz, J. C., Lewis, T., & Bertram, P. (1995). Epilimnetic phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass and species composition in Lake Michigan, 1983–1992. U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program. EPA 905-R-95-009.

Conference Proceedings

Stone, D. (2007). Signal transduction in bacteria. In Proceedings of the 2004 Markey Scholars Conference (pp. 80–89).

Thesis / Dissertation

Strunk, J. L. (1991). The extraction of mercury from sediment and the geochemical partitioning of mercury in sediments from Lake Superior [Master's thesis, Michigan State University].

Abbreviations and Units

Follow internationally accepted specifications, including the IUPAC-IUB manual of symbols and terminology for physico-chemical quantities and units. Use SI units throughout.

Submission Checklist

Before submitting, confirm that:

• The manuscript has not been previously published and is not currently under review elsewhere
• The submission file is a PDF generated from MS Word or LaTeX
• All cited works are included in the References section and citations are machine-readable
• DOI has been provided for all references where one is available
• All contributing authors have working email addresses and full affiliated organisation names and addresses
• All figures, tables, and illustrations are placed within the text at the appropriate points (not at the end)
• A list of five potential reviewers (name, title, institution, email) has been prepared for the online submission form
• The ₦5,000 submission fee has been paid and evidence of payment is ready for upload

Proofs

Page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author as a PDF file. All corrections must be returned within 48 hours. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to open proofs and is freely available at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

Publication

NJAP publishes quarterly — March, June, September, and December. Accepted papers are published online following final editorial processing, with an expected time from acceptance to publication of 1–2 months.

Important Notes for Authors

• Payment of the submission fee constitutes the author's acceptance of NJAP's terms and conditions, which may change without prior notice.
• Authors bear full legal responsibility for any copyright infringement or other legal violations arising from their submitted work.
• Authors must confirm that NJAP is accepted by their employer or funding authority before submission. The journal bears no responsibility in this regard.
• If NJAP is unable to publish accepted manuscripts for any legal reason, it reserves the right to withdraw acceptance without compensation for any fees paid.