MBEYA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

GUIDELINES TO AUTHORS: MUST JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND

DEVELOPMENT (MJRD)
e - ISSN 2683 - 6467 & ISSN 2683 – 6475 (p)

JULY, 2019

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 Mbeya University of Science and Technology Journal of Research and Development (mjrd)

1.0 GUIDELINE OBJECTIVES

These Guidelines describes the Mbeya University of Science and Technology (MUST) Journal of
Research and Development (MJRD) general procedures for managing the dissemination of
results from research and consultancy activities in the fields of Engineering and Technology,
Science, Social Sciences, Humanities and Business.

1.1 General Objective

The general objective of these Guidelines is to provide direction in planning, coordinating and
controlling all matters related to dissemination of research and consultancy results in the
University through a scholarly journal.

1.2 Specific Objectives

Articles published in MUST Journal of Research and Development (MJRD) shall follow timely
rigorous peer review process to bring the recent and novel scientific information at its best
possible mode. These Guidelines aim at achieving the following specific objectives:
(i) To Support fair and timely peer review process with valuable inputs from responsible
Editors and Reviewers.
(ii) To adhere to the guidelines and procedures designed to ensure fair and best practice
followed by subscribers.
(iii) To make constructive recommendations for improving the overall process along with
better production support and global dissemination of the information published in the
Journal.
(iv) To encourage and motivate scientific valuable researched information by striving towards
professional peer review and timely publication.

2.0 AUTHOR SUBSCRIPTIONS

(i) MJRD shall provide rapid biannual publication of free access online journal
articles in all areas related to Engineering, Technology, Science and Social Sciences.
(ii) MJRD shall welcome submission of manuscripts that meet the general criteria of
significance and scientific excellence. Papers will be published approximately six weeks
after submission.
(iii) As a member of Publisher International linking Association, MJRD will follow the
Creative Commons Attribution License and Scholars Open Access publishing policies.
(iv) The Author will submit manuscript at MJRD or send as an e-mail attachment to the
Editorial Office at MJRD through mjrd@mustnet.ac.tz or mjrdmust@gmail.com.
(v) A manuscript number will be e-mailed to the corresponding author within 72 hours
after submission for further correspondence.
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(vi) MJRD will post the published version of articles immediately after publication on
its website.
3.0 INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS
(i) An author shall be accountable for the presented data and information in their
respective article along with taking the responsibility of the significance.
(ii) The authors shall present genuine original outcome of their research, and an
appropriate and relevant citation while representing the data and documenting the
discussion.
(iii) Authors shall provide information which is comprehensible and reproducible.
Supporting information such as figures and tables provided by the authors should be
legible and must be reproducible technically.
(iv) An author shall not repeat any previous research data from themselves or anyone else
while submitting an original manuscript for a primary publication in any of the
journal. The reported scope of work should be based on proper citation from the other
publications influencing.
(v) Before submitting any article, authors should check the scope of the journal and in
case of any query they should contact the Editorial office.
(vi) Authors shall strictly adhere to the authorship criteria. All listed authors must have
made a significant contribution to the research presented in the manuscript and
approved all its claims.
(vii) Any person to be considered as an author of an original research article must
have contributed in any of the following ways: designed the study, executed the study
or conducted the experiments, have taken part in analyzing the data, supported in
documenting the article and drawing the conclusion, spearheaded the project as a
principal investigator. It is mandatory to include everyone who has made a significant
contribution towards the completion of the research work under consideration.
(viii) Any financial or personal interest that governs the findings or research in the
manuscript along with the details of financial support and its sources should be
revealed. Through the submission of an article, the respective author agrees that the
article is neither under consideration nor published in any other journal.

4.0 SUBMISSION OF AN ARTICLE

In order to reduce delays, authors should assure that the level, length and format of a
manuscript submission conform to MJRD’s requirements at the submission and each revision
stage.

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4.1 Formats for MJRD Submissions

MJRD accepts the following: Original articles, reviews, abstracts, addendums, article-
commentaries, book reviews, letters to the editor, scientific annual meeting abstracts,
conference proceedings, calendars, case-reports, corrections, discussions, meeting-
reports, product reviews, hypotheses and analyses.
4.2 Cover Letter
All submissions should be accompanied by a cover letter briefly stating the significance
of the research, agreement of authors for publication, number of figures and tables,
supporting manuscripts and any supplementary information. Also, current e-mail address
of corresponding author should be included to maintain communication.

4.3 Article Preparation Format

4.3.1 Manuscript Title

The title should be limited to 25 words or less and should not contain abbreviations. The
title should be a brief phrase describing the contents of the paper.
4.3.2 Author Information
Complete names and affiliation of all authors, including contact details of corresponding
author (Telephone, Fax and E-mail address).

4.3.3 Abstract
The abstract should be informative and completely self-explanatory, briefly present the
topic, state the scope of the experiments, indicate significant data, and point out major
findings and conclusions. The abstract should summarize the manuscript content in 300
words or less. Standard nomenclature should be used and abbreviations should be
avoided. The preferable format should accommodate a description of the study
background, methods, results and conclusion. Following the abstract, a list of keywords
(3-5) and abbreviations should be included.

4.3.4 Text
Introduction: The introduction should set the tone of the paper by providing a clear
statement of the study, the relevant literature on the study subject and the proposed
approach or solution. The introduction should be general but focused enough to attract a
reader’s attention from a broad range of scientific disciplines.

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Materials and Methods: This section should provide a complete overview of the design
of the study. Detailed descriptions of materials or participants, comparisons, interventions
and types of analysis should be mentioned. However, only new procedures should be
described in detail; previously published procedures should be cited and important
modifications of published procedures should be mentioned briefly. Capitalize trade
names and include the manufacturer's name and address.

Results and Discussion: The results section should provide complete details of the
experiment/ analysis that are required to support the conclusion of the study. The results
should be written in the past tense when describing findings in the authors
‘experiments/analysis. Previously published findings should be written in the present
tense. Results and discussion should be combined. Speculation and detailed interpretation
of data should not be included in the results but discussed.

Tables: These should be used at a minimum and designed as simple as possible. We

strongly encourage authors to submit tables as .a separate document. Tables are to be
typed double-spaced throughout, including headings and footnotes. Each table should be
on a separate page, numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and supplied with a
heading and a legend. Tables should be self-explanatory without reference to the text.

Figures: The preferred file formats for photographic images as JPEG. If you have created
images with separate components on different layers, you should send the Photoshop
files. All images must be at or above intended display size, with the following image
resolutions: Line Art 800 dpi, Combination (Line Art + Halftone) 600 dpi, Halftone 300
dpi. Image files must also be cropped as close to the actual image as possible.

Acknowledgement: This section includes acknowledgment of people, grant details,

funds, etc.
References: Only published or accepted manuscripts should be included in the reference
list. Meetings abstracts, conference talks, or papers that have been submitted but not yet
accepted should not be cited. All personal communications should be supported by a
letter from the relevant authors.
MJRD uses Harvard Referencing approach which follows the following format: Last
name, First Initial. (Year published). Title. City: Publisher, Page(s). For example;

a) Reference List Citations for a Book with One Author

Last name, First initial. (Year published). Title. Edition. (Only include the edition if it is
not the first edition), City published: Publisher, Page(s).
For example; one author and first edition:
Msambichaka, J. (2005). Bridge Construction Models. University of Dar es Salaam
press: 250 pages.
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b) Reference List Citations for a Book with Two or More Authors

When creating a citation that has more than one author, place the names in the order
in which they appear on the source. Use the word “and” to separate the names.
Last name, First initial “and” Last name, First initial. (Year published). Title. City:
Publisher, Page(s). For example;
Vermaat, M., Sebok, S., Freund, S., Campbell, J. and Frydenberg, M. (2014).
Discovering computers. Boston: Cengage Learning, pp.446-448.

c) Reference List Citations for Chapters in Edited Books

When citing a chapter in an edited book, use the following format:
Last name, First initial. (Year published). Chapter title. In: First initial. Last name,
ed., Book Title, 1st ed.* City: Publisher, Page(s). For example;
Bressler, L. (2010). My girl, Kylie. In: L. Matheson, ed., The Dogs That We Love, 1st
ed. Boston: Jacobson Ltd., pp. 78-92.
d) Reference List Citations for Multiple Works By The Same Author
When there are multiple works by the same author, place the citations in order by
year. When sources are published in the same year, place them in alphabetical order
by the title. For example;
Brown, D. (2003a). Deception point. New York: Atria Books, pages.
Brown, D. (2003b). The Da Vinci code. New York: Doubleday, pages.
e) Reference List Citations for Print Journal Articles
The standard structure of a print journal citation includes the following components:
Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article title. Journal, Volume (Issue),
Page(s). For example;
Dismuke, C. and Egede, L. (2015). The Impact of Cognitive, Social and Physical
Limitations on Income in Community Dwelling Adults with Chronic Medical and
Mental Disorders. Global Journal of Health Science, 7(5), pp. 183-195.

f) Reference List Citations for Journal Articles Found on a Database or on a

Website
When citing journal articles found on a database or through a website, include all of
the components found in a citation of a print journal, but also include the medium
([online]), the website URL, and the date that the article was accessed.
Structure:
Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article Title. Journal, [online], Volume
(Issue), pages. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year]. For example;
Mtui, G. (2015). Establishing Correlation between Genetics and Nonresponse. Journal
of Postgraduate Medicine, [online] 61(2), p. 148. Available at:
http://www.proquest.com/products-services/ProQuest-Research-Library.html
[Accessed 8 Apr. 2019].

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g) Reference List Citations for Print Newspaper Articles

When citing a newspaper, use the following structure:
Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article title. Newspaper, Page(s).
For example;
Weisman, J. (2015). Deal Reached on Fast-Track Authority for Obama on Trade
Accord. The New York Times, p.A1.

h) Reference List Citations for Websites

When citing a website, use the following structure:
Last name, first initial (Year published). Page title. [Online] Website name. Available
at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year]. For example;
Mms.com, (2015). M&M'S Official Website. [Online] Available at:
http://www.mms.com/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2015].

i) Reference List Citations for eBooks and PDFs

When citing eBooks and PDFs, include the edition, even if it’s the first edition, and
follow it with the type of resource in brackets (either [eBook] or [pdf]). Include the URL
at the end of the citation with the date it was accessed in brackets.

Use the following structure:

Last name, First initial. (Year published). Title. Edition. [Format] City: Publisher, page(s).
Available at: URL [Accessed Day Month, Year]. For example;
Zusack, M. (2015). The Book Thief. 1st ed. [eBook] New York: Knopf. Available at:
http://ebooks.nypl.org/ [Accessed 20 Apr. 2015].

j) Reference List Citations for Conference Proceedings

Conference proceedings are academic papers or presentations that are created or used for
the purpose of a meeting or conference. Use the following structure to cite a conference
proceeding.

If published online:
Last name, First initial. (Conference Year). Title of Paper or Proceedings. In: Name or
Title of Conference. [Online] City: Publisher of the Proceedings, pages. Available at:
URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year].

If not published online:

Last name, First initial. (Conference Year). Title of Paper or Proceedings. In: Name or
Title of Conference. City: Publisher of the Proceedings, pages. For example;
Fox, R. (2014). Technological Advances in Banking. In: American Finance Association
Northeast Regional Conference. Hartford: AFA, p. 24.
k) Reference List Citations for Court Cases
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Mbeya University of Science and Technology Journal of Research and Development (mjrd)

To cite a court case, use the following format:

Case name [Year published] Report abbreviation Volume number (Name or abbreviation
of court); First page of court case. For example;
Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. [2015]12-1226 (Supreme Court of the United
States);
l) Reference List Citations for Dissertations
Use the following structure to create a citation for a dissertation:
Last name, First initial. (Year published). Dissertation title. Academic Level of the
Author. Name of University, College, or Institution. For example;
Shaver, W. (2013). Effects of Remediation on High-Stakes Standardized Testing. PhD.
Yeshiva University.

m) Reference List Citations for Print Encyclopedia Articles

Use this format to cite an encyclopedia:
Last name, First initial. (Year published). Article title. In: Encyclopedia title, Edition.
City published: Publisher, page(s). For example;
Harding, E. (2010). Anteaters. In: The International Encyclopedia of Animals, 3 rd ed.
New York: Reference World, p 2.

n) Reference List Citations for Government Publications

Use the following format to cite the government publications:
Government Agency OR Last name, First Initial., (Year published). Title of Document or
Article. City published: Publisher, Page(s). For example;
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, (2012). Bicycle PA Routes. Harrisburg:
PENNDOT, p 1.
o) Reference List Citations for Reports
When citing a report, use the following format:
Last name, First Initial. OR Corporate Author (Year published). Title. [Online] City
published: Publisher, Pages used. Available at: URL [Accessed Day Mo. Year]. For
example;
Certify, (2015). First Quarter, 2015 Business Expense Trends. [Online] Portland: Certify,
p.2. Available at: http://www.certify.com/CertifySpendSmartReport.aspx [Accessed 8
Apr. 2015].

p) In-Text Citations Overview

Use in-text citations to indicate the specific parts of the paper that are paraphrased or
quoted directly from a source. Each in-text citation generally displays the last name of the
author and the year the source was published. The in-text citation is usually located at the
end of the quoted or paraphrased sentence.
i. In-Text Citations for One Author

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The author’s last name and the year that the source was published are placed in the
parentheses.
For example; “... … he turned toward her with a rush of emotion” (Fitzgerald, 2004).

ii. In-Text Citations for Two Authors

When a source has two authors, place both authors’ names in the order in which
they appear on the source, with the word “and” separating them.
For example; …………… a strong emotional charge (Lazzari and Schleiser, 2011).

iii. In-Text Citations for Three or more Authors

Only use the first listed author’s name in the in-text citation, followed by “et al.” and
the publishing year. For example;
It can be said that “……………………. of future illness” (Potter et al., 2013).
For example; Potter et al. (2013) explain that ………………………………………….

5.0 MJRD PAPER LAYOUT

General Instructions
All manuscripts must be in English. These guidelines include complete descriptions of the
fonts, spacing, and related information for producing your proceedings manuscripts. Please
follow them.
a) 2.5 cm margins on all sides
b) Easily readable font - Times New Roman recommended, 12pt. size
c) Single-space the entirety of the paper in 15 pages or less.
d) Page numbers in the footer, aligned to the centre
e) Title of the paper in sentence case, 25 words or less, in the header on each page of the
body (the ‘running head’), aligned to the left
f) The paper should typically include four major sections - Title Page, Abstract, Main Body
(Introduction, Statement of the problem, Methodology/Materials, Results and Discussion,
Conclusion and recommendations) and References.
g) If infographics (tables, charts) to be used in the narrative you should also add Appendices
as a separate section at the end of the paper.
h) Define abbreviations and acronyms the first time they are used in the text, even after they
have been defined in the abstract. Abbreviations such as SI does not need to be defined.
Do not use abbreviations in the title or heads unless they are unavoidable.

5.1 Paper title

The paper Title should not be more than 25 words (12pt, Times New Roman, Title case,
single line spacing: before: 0pt, after: 0pt). 1Name of 1st Author, 2Name of 2nd Author, 3Name
of 3rd Author:
1Designation of 1st Author, 2Designation of 2nd Author, 3Designation of 3rd Author.

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1Name of Department of 1st Author, 1Name of organization of 1st Author, City, Country.

5.2 Abstract (Maximum of 300 words)

An abstract should be summarized in one paragraph of 300 words or less, the major aspects
of the entire paper in a prescribed sequence that includes: (1) the overall purpose of the study
and the research problem(s) investigated; (2) the research design of the study; sampling
plan/techniques, sample size, geographical location and instruments for data
collection/experiments; and (3) major findings or trends found as a result of the study,
conclusion(s) and recommendation(s) of the study.

5.3 Introduction
The author should provide an overview of the situation worldwide and narrow it to the focal
point of the purpose of the research and indicate his intention of doing research.

5.4 Statement of the Problem

A research problem should be a definite or clear expression [statement] about an area of
concern, a condition to be improved upon, a difficulty to be eliminated, or a troubling
question that exists in scholarly literature, in theory, or within existing practice that points to
a need for meaningful understanding and deliberate investigation.

5.5 Methodology /Materials /Experiments procedures

The methodology section should outline the plan and method that informs the reader how
the study is conducted. This includes Universe of the study, sample of the study, Data and
Sources of Data, study’s variables and analytical framework.

5.6 Results and Discussion

Interpret findings obtained and suggest possible reasons for and compare results with other
scholarly studies. Results should reflect specific objectives and hypotheses or research
questions raised and their corresponding scientific answers.

5.7 Conclusion and Recommendations

Make conclusion based on key findings obtained for each specific objective. Therefore, at
least one recommendation has to be made based on conclusion to reflect stakeholders of
interest.

5.8 References
List every reference cited in the text in an alphabetical order.

5.9 Contacts
MUST Journal of Research and Development
Mbeya University of Science and technology
P. O. Box 131 Mbeya, Tanzania

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 Mbeya University of Science and Technology Journal of Research and Development (mjrd)

Tel: +255 25 2502861

Fax: +255 25 2502302
Send your manuscript in MS word through:
Email: mjrd@mustnet.ac.tz or mjrdmust@gmail.com
Website: http//www.mustnet.ac.tz/web

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