Submissions

Author Guidelines

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

Godišnjak za psihologiju is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes original scientific research, meta-analysis, systematic reviews, review papers (a paper that contains an original, detailed, and critical review of a research problem or field in which the author has made a certain contribution), and scientific critique or debate (a discussion on a specific scientific topic based solely on scientific argumentation and scientific methodology) done by experts from all areas of psychology. Submitted papers should not have been previously published, nor submitted for publication to any other journals.

Signed Author Statement (Author checklist, Declaration of authorship and the Copyright notice form), which can be found at the end of these instructions, should also be sent when submitting the manuscript for the first time.

The editorial board of the journal adheres to the the Ethical Codex for publication of works and prevention of data misuse of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Niš and the Ethics code of the Serbian Psychological Association. Ethical Codex.

 The review process and publication

·       The submitted manuscripts will be reviewed by two independent and anonymous reviewers.

·       Based on the review results, the journal editorial board will make the decision on whether to publish the manuscript and will inform the author of its decision. The possible decisions could be: a) acceptance for the publication in the form it has been received; b) acceptance for the publication with minor revision; c) major revision required and d) rejection.

The text of the manuscript 

• Godišnjak za psihologiju publishes articles that demonstrate high-level English proficiency and adherence to academic writing standards. If deemed necessary, articles may be returned to the authors for language improvement, which could delay the publication process.
• The manuscript must be written in the Microsoft Word .doc format.
• Font: Times New Roman, size 11, line spacing single, B5 format.
• All papers should contain the page number, flush right, in the header of every page. Use the automatic page-numbering function of your word-processing program to insert page numbers in the top right corner; do not type page numbers manually. The title page is page number 1.
• The main body of the text (without the references and appendices) should contain no more than 30.000 characters with spacing, but the editorial board does reserve the right to publish longer manuscripts as well.
• Text preparation should be in accordance with the standards and rules defined in the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual, and the manuscript should contain a title and abstract with key words, as well as an (in stated/following order): Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgments, References and Appendices (optional) section.
• The objectives and hypotheses of the research should be presented at the end of the introduction section.
• Indent the first line of every paragraph 0.5 in/1.27 cm.
• Use a numbered list to display complete sentences or paragraphs in a series (e.g., itemized conclusions, steps in a procedure). Use a lettered or bulleted list rather than a numbered list if the items are phrases (if the order of the phrases is not relevant). When quoting the instruments used in the research, the response format should also be provided, with the answers provided being in Italic style (e.g., 1 - generally disagree; 2 - partially agree; 3 - neither agree, nor disagree…). The text should be proofread prior to submission.
• If the article in its previous version was presented at a conference as an oral presentation (under the same or a similar title), this information should be included in a separate note at the bottom of the first page of the article. A manuscript that has already been published in a journal cannot be published in another journal, even under a similar title and in a modified form.
• We strongly recommend that authors use Template for papers provided in addition to these instructions.
• Authors are required to adhere to scientific and ethical principles and standards in the preparation and publication of manuscripts, in accordance with international standards.
• Any use of generative AI or other artificial systems in the preparation of the manuscript must be disclosed. Although Godišnjak za psihologiju recognizes the usefulness of such systems, particularly for technical or routine tasks, authors must clearly indicate how these tools were used. Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the manuscript. The identification of AI-generated errors or unverified content (e.g., nonexistent references, misinterpretation of statistical results, meaningless text, or text consisting of empty or vague phrases) during peer review may result in rejection of the submission.

The title of the manuscript

• The title should be written in bold letters on the first page of the manuscript (all major words are capitalized), centered, size 12.
• The title should be as concise as possible, and such that it unambiguously allows the reader to conclude what the manuscript will be about.
• Beneath the title, the names of the authors and their affiliations should be stated. After the name of the first author, insert a footnote containing the email address of the corresponding author.

The abstract

• The length of the abstract should be between 150 and 250 words.
• The abstract should be written as a paragraph containing the most relevant information in the text (the aim of the research, the method, results, and conclusion).
• The abstract, as a rule, does not contain any references.
• After the abstract, the key words should be included in a new paragraph. Do not include more than five key words.
• At the end of the text, after the reference section, the title should be written in bold, centered in Serbian. Beneath the title, the names of the authors with their affiliations translated into Serbian, followed by the abstract with key words in Serbian. All the rules for writing the abstract in English also apply to writing the abstract in Serbian. If authors do not speak Serbian, the journal will provide the translation.

Titles and subtitles 

• The paper title should be at the top of the first page (all major words are capitalized); the paper title and section titles (Method, Results, etc.) are written in bold, centered, size 12.
• Second and third level headings are written in bold, left alignment, size 11, all major words are capitalized.
• The names of the instruments are written in bold letters with a dot at the end, and other necessary data for the instruments are given below. Provide the full name of the instrument, abbreviation, and reference. Example: Inventory for the assessment of positive and negative affect (PANAS-X; Watson et al., 1988; for Serbian adaptation see Mihić et al., 2014).

Tables and figures

• A table shows numbers and textual information in rows and columns. A figure may be a chart, graph, photograph, drawing or any other illustration that is not a table. Tables and figures should be provided in Microsoft Word format.
• The tables should also be organized according to APA standards.
• The tables should be left-aligned.
• Each table should be labeled with the number, bold (e.g., Table 7) and the appropriate name, with the name being Italic style, and all major words capitalized (e.g. The Results of the Parallel Analysis). The number of the table and its name should be above the table having a left adjustment, and the title of the table is single line below the number of the table.
• The tables should not contain vertical lines
• The font in the Table should be 10 pt (unless the table needs to be reduced), and the line spacing should be 1 (Single).
• You should not bold the values in the table.
• If the representation of the p  value of a table represents an unobtrusive, statistically significant value, it can be marked by the stars, and it will be necessary to include their meaning below the table (e.g. Note. * p < .05; ** p < .01; *** p < .001).
• The data shown in the table should be aligned by points. You can find more information on formatting the table in the template.
• The distribution of the data in the tables should be achieved solely through organizing the cells and using the tools for working with tables. The use of formatting in the tables or using spaces and similar characters to achieve the desired distribution is not permitted.
• The text in the tables and figures can be in a language other than the language of the text only when that is justifiable based on the topic and content of the manuscript (for example a comparison of the test items in various languages, followed by an overview of how each item is translated into the two languages, etc.).

Example of the table formatting:

Table 1

Correlation Between Subjective Well-being and Loneliness

•  Figures should also be organized according to APA standards. Each figure should be labeled with the number, bold (e.g., Graph 5.) and the appropriate name, with the name being Italic style, and all major words are capitalized (e.g., Distribution of results in the experimental group). The number of the figure and its name should be above the figure having a left adjustment, and the title is a single line below the number of the figure. The abbreviations listed in the tables and figures should be explained below the table or figure. Each table and figure should be numbered sequentially. If the figure has been taken from another source, it is obligatory to cite the source in the caption.

Statistical data

• The displayed statistical data must be relevant and answer only the research analyses and results, avoiding irrelevant information.
• The same data should not be presented in both graph and table form.
• It is recommendable to use conventional means of concluding based on statistical data (for example, the levels of significance p (for example: .05, .01, .001). The results of the statistical tests should be given in the following form: F(5, 109) = 2.42, p < .05, and likewise for other tests (for example χ²(3, N = 323) = 3.44, p ˂ .01 or t(120) = - 33.63, p < .01).
• Statistical indicators should be in Italic style (e.g., F, r, p, N, M) except for Greek characters (α, β, χ, λ).
• If decimal numbers are decimal, two decimal places are required, unless the value of the statistical indicator is such that it requires guidance and treatment. Decimal numbers should be separated by a dot, instead of a comma. If the range of the value of the parameter is 0 to 1, 0 is not written before.

Citations and including references in the text

• Every quotation or claim which is not based on the research findings presented in the text should be accompanied by a reference provided in parentheses immediately following the quote in the following format: (Buttermore, 2009).
• If the text is a direct quotation from the source, that part of the text is enclosed in quotation marks; the page on which the quote can be found is also included in parentheses following the reference (for example, Rot, 1985, p. 56).
• For each quotation longer than 350 characters, it is necessary to provide written consent from the authors for publishing these quotes in the text.
• Citing at least one paper published in the journal Godišnjak za psihologiju is recommended to improve the manuscript suitability for publication.
• If the text has one or two authors, list author(s) in every citation (Tracy & Robins, 2004).
• If the text has three or more authors, cite only the last name of the first author and add the abbreviation “et al.”.
• If there are several sources cited in parentheses, they should be listed in alphabetical order based on the authors’ last names, and not in chronological order (for example, Beck et al., 1985; Clark & Wells, 1995; Ollendick & Hirshfeld-Becker, 2002; Rapee & Heimberg, 1997; Rapee & Spence, 2004; Schenker & Leary, 1982).

List of references

• The reference list should be on a new page after the text. Place the section label “References” in bold at the top of the page, centered.
• Order the reference list entries alphabetically by author.
• Complete biographical data for all the quotations should be cited in accordance with APA guidelines (7th edition) (http://www.apastyle.org/), and in the section titled References.
• All the references included in the text must also be included in the list of references (and vice versa).
• Text formatting in the reference list: Times New Roman, 11 pt., Line spacing: single; Paragraph alignment: Justify, Paragraph Indentation: Hanging, indent of 0.5 in/1.27cm (meaning that the first line of the reference is flush left and subsequent lines are indented 0.5 in. from the left margin.).
• Title of the paper or the book which are not in English should be translated into English (for example, Stojiljković, S. (1998). Ličnost i moral. [Personality and morality.] Institut za pedagoška  istraživanja.).
• Referring to secondary sources or citing them (for example, Gray, 1982; as cited in Smederevac et al., 2014) should also be avoided.
• If an author is cited multiple times, the publications are included based on the year of publication, that is (if there are any co-authored works) according to the last name of the co-author.
• If more than one work of the same author published in the same year is being cited, the years need to be marked out in letters a, b, c, for example (1995a), (1995b), both in the text itself and in the reference section.

Instructions and examples of citing in reference lists

 ·        Books (monographs) are cited in the following manner:

Palmore, E. (1999). Ageism: Negative and positive. Springer.

In-text example: (Palmore, 1999); Palmore (1999)

Stojiljković, S. (1998). Ličnost i moral. [Personality and morality.] Institut za pedagoška istraživanja.

In-text example: (Stojiljković, 1998); Stojiljković (1998)

 ·        Chapters in a book or proceedings are cited in the following manner:

Widiger, T. A. (2005). Classification and diagnosis: Historical development and contemporary issues.  In J. E. Maddux & B. A.         Winstead (Eds.), Psychopathology: Foundations for a contemporary understanding (pp. 63-83). Erlbaum

In-text example: (Widiger, 2005); Widiger (2005)

·        Journal articles are cited in the following manner:

        Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2004). Putting the self into self-conscious emotions: A theoretical model. Psychological Inquiry, 15(2), 103-125. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1502_01                 

 In-text example: (Tracy & Robins, 2004); Tracy & Robins (2004)

 ·        Webpage on a website - Author Surname, Initial(s) or Organization Name. (year). Title of webpage.  Site Name. URL

Department of Education and Training. (2016). Improving Australian and European mobility. https://www.education.gov.au/news/improving-australian-and-european-mobility

 In-text example: (Department of Education and Training, 2016); Department of Education and Training (2016)

 If there is no information about the year of publication, the abbreviation n.d. should be given in parentheses.

DevelopmentWA. (n.d.). Elizabeth Quay. https://www.mra.wa.gov.au/projects-and-places/elizabeth-quay

 In-text example: (DevelopmentWA, n.d.); DevelopmentWA (n.d.)

• Citing unpublished manuscripts (for example, abstracts from scientific conferences, unpublished papers, etc.) is not recommended. If it is impossible to avoid, complete data regarding the source should be provided, based on the following general format:

 Unpublished dissertation or thesis

Author, A. (year). Title of the master’s or doctoral dissertation [Unpublished master’s or doctoral dissertation]. The name of the institution.

 Published dissertation or thesis

Author, A. (year). Title of the master’s or doctoral dissertation [Master’s thesis or Doctoral dissertation, The name of the institution]. Date base/Archive. URL.

 Gao, W. (2018). Fuel properties and thermal processing of bio-oil and its derived full mixtures.  [Doctoral dissertation, Curtin University]. espace. https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/75545

In-text example: (Gao, 2018); Gao (2018)

Appendix

·        The appendix should include only those descriptions of material which would be of use to the readers for understanding, evaluating, or reproducing the research.

Footnotes and abbreviations.

·    Footnotes should be avoided, except when necessary (for example, citing that the work originated as part of a project, etc.). Abbreviations should also be avoided, except for standard and frequent terms. Abbreviations which are included in tables and figures should be explained.

In addition to these instructions, the authors can also use the TEMPLATE for preparing their submissions.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at godisnjak.psi@filfak.ni.ac.rs