SITJAR - Recent Articles

The Southern Institute of Technology Journal of Applied Research (SITJAR) specialises in applied research in the vocational and educational sector. Thus topic areas might include: administration and management; teaching and learning; curriculum development; new technologies; policy; innovations; and discipline specific research. Papers can use any research methodology and will include appropriately reviewed performances and exhibitions, for example, in the arts.

One of the unique aspects of SITJAR is that articles can be published in the journal as they are accepted. This ‘seamless' publication regime means that articles can be disseminated more quickly. SITJAR is also a double blind, peer refereed online journal that is freely accessible. SITJAR also accepts Special Editions which generally consist of a series of articles related to a specific subject in the vocational and educational fields of study.

I would like to thank the Editorial Board of SITJAR for their continued work in reviewing papers. I would also like to thank the management team at the Southern Institute of Technology for continuing to support the effort in making SITJAR a reality.

Dr Jerry Hoffman
Editor SITJAR

The Southern Institute of Technology Journal of Applied Research (SITJAR) is a double blind, peer refereed online journal that is freely accessible. Papers are published continuously rather than in editions or volumes.

The focus of the journal is on applied rather than pure research concerning any aspect of the vocational education and training (VET) sector. Thus, topic areas might include: administration and management; teaching and learning; curriculum development; new technologies; policy; place and role of the VET sector; innovations; and discipline specific research. We welcome papers using any research methodology. Thus, submissions may include appropriately reviewed performances and exhibitions, for example, in the arts.

The journal aims to provide a place for researchers to publish high quality research that can be accessed quickly and easily by people who might want to use the findings in a timely manner. Manuscripts, ideally between 3000 and 5000 words, and reviews of between 1000 and 2000 words, should be sent in electronic format (Word Document) to the Editor, Dr Jerry Hoffman at jerry.hoffman@sit.ac.nz .

The guidelines for manuscript formatting are provided below and must be followed.

All articles are subject to a double-blind refereeing process. To ensure a blind review authors should provide their details on a separate cover page to the manuscript along with the title of the paper. Any information such as references and first-person comments should be removed from the text and reference list to avoid recognition (use xxxxxxxxx to blank out relevant parts or names and keep a copy of the completed manuscript so the relevant information can be retrieved later).

Manuscript text formatting and style guidelines

1. The usual length of a SITJAR article is 3000 to 5000 words, including the abstract (100-200 words), tables and references. Reviews are usually between 1000 and 2000 words. Manuscripts that exceed this length are unlikely to be accepted. Pages should be numbered, centre at the foot of the page.
2. The preferred spelling standard is Australian English, as per The Macquarie Dictionary.
3. Before submitting, the authors must ensure that the manuscript is free from spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and typographical errors. Using a spell-checking facility, may not be sufficient and you may need manually to check your manuscript.
4. The manuscript should be formatted as follows:
   • Page setup: Page size = A4; Orientation = Portrait; All margins = 2.5 cm.
   • Manuscript title: Times New Roman, 16-point, left aligned, sentence case (initial caps and essentials only), followed by one blank line.
   • Abstract: Start the abstract with the sequence "Abstract: " (without the quotes, in 12-point bold face), followed by a 100 to 200-word abstract that contains a concise summary of the article, including its motivation/rationale, problem/s addressed, approach, results and findings/conclusions. The purpose of the abstract is to entice potential readers into reading the full article. Indent the abstract 1 cm from left and right margins. Leave a blank line both before and after abstract, but do not insert any line breaks immediately after the "Abstract:" sequence.
   • Keywords: Include the sequence "Keywords: " (without the quotes, in 12-point bold face), followed by up to six terms (separated by semicolons) that will assist users of search engines and/or online databases in locating your article. As with the abstract, leave a blank line both before and after the keywords list, but do not insert any line breaks immediately after the "Keywords:" sequence.
   • First-level heading: Times New Roman, 12 point, bold, followed by one blank line, left aligned, sentence case. No numbering.
   • ° Second-level heading: Times New Roman, 12 point, bold, followed by one blank line, left aligned, sentence case. No numbering.
   • ° Third-level heading: Times New Roman, 12 point, italics, not followed by a blank line, left aligned, sentence case. No numbering.
   • Running (body) text: Times New Roman, 12 point, left aligned, single spaced. Blank lines before and after headings and paragraphs are to be sized the same as text lines, i.e. 10 point (Times New Roman). Insert a blank line after each paragraph. The use of "spacing before" and "spacing after" paragraphs should be avoided.
5. Italics (not bold or underline) should be used to emphasise text. Such text emphases should be used sparingly, and preferably only where expected by convention, such as in the case of titles of books and journals and for proprietary names (e.g. of software packages like Excel).
6. Where bulleted and numbered lists are used, the text therein should be in Times New Roman, 10 point, left aligned, single spaced, no indents except a hanging indent of 0.5 cm.
7. Website URLs should not be embedded into the text of the manuscript. Instead, they should be included in reference list entries in accordance with APA guidelines (see the referencing guidelines below). A corresponding author-date citation should be inserted at the appropriate point within the text.
8. An Acknowledgements section may optionally be included to record appreciation to individuals and/or organisations for assisting or supporting the authors' work. If needed, this section should be placed after the main text and before the references. It should begin with a first-level heading that reads "Acknowledgements" (without the quotes).
9. Clear and inclusive language should be used. Contributors should bear in mind that they maybe addressing a diverse audience. Jargon should be avoided where possible and the choice of terms should be clearly defined. Sections in the manuscript should be clearly subtitled following American Psychological Association (APA) protocols.
10. All notes and references used in the text must follow the APA 7^th edition quidelines. References should be indicated in the manuscript by giving the author's name, with the year of publication in parentheses, e.g. Smith (1997) or (Smith, 1997) as appropriate. All references cited in the text should be listed in full at the end of the paper in the standard form.  Tables, figures and captions to illustrations should be completely understandable independent of text. Tables should be numbered by Roman numerals and figures by Arabic numerals. All figures must be able to be transmitted in electronic format.
     

Contributors will be notified of the selection outcome after review. Papers are accepted on the understanding that they are not considered for publication elsewhere. Final decisions on all content and presentations of articles remain the prerogative of the journal editor.