Author Guidelines

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

JCICM publishes both Research Papers and Review Papers/Notes.

The entire process is online through a manuscript management system. When manuscripts are submitted they go through two main stages of assessment:

• Preliminary suitability appraisal and Plagiarism check.
• Peer review by independent, anonymous referees.

1. Submission

All submissions should be made online to jcicm@unilag.edu.ng

Effective communication

The paper should be written and arranged in a style that is succinct and easily followed. Simple language, short sentences and a good use of headings all help to communicate information more effectively. Discursive treatment of the subject matter is discouraged. Figures should be used to aid the clarity of the paper. The reader should be carefully guided through the paper. Writers are encouraged to be reader- focused.

2. Manuscripts
3. Length: while there is no limit on length, papers should normally be between 5,000 - 8,000 words in length including references and appendices. Longer, more discursive papers are welcomed where the topic and approach warrants a longer paper. To be clear about the distinction, these are referred to as Extended Papers. These papers will be expected to deal with real theoretical contributions, and draw on wider literature than usual papers. Short papers or notes should not be longer than 5,000 words.
4. The manuscript must be in English language. It must be typed double spacing on one side of A4 paper only, with 1-inch margin round. The pages should be numbered sequentially. The manuscript should be arranged under headings and sub-headings. There should be no loose addenda or notes or other explanatory material.
5. Title page: the cover/first page of the manuscript must contain the full title, the affiliation(s) and address (es) of the author(s), a word count, and the name and address of the author who will be responsible for correspondence and correcting proofs. Please refer to the template provided.
6. Abstract: an abstract and up to five keywords for the purposes of indexing should be included. The abstract must not exceed 250 words. The abstract must be written in prose form to indicate the problem, the purpose, procedure, products/results and policy/recommendations.
7. Keywords: keywords must be carefully selected to facilitate readers’ search. Author(s) must ensure that the first page of the paper includes the title, the abstract and the keywords, but not authorship, affiliation or address details.
8. Illustrations: any illustrations (Photographs, charts, tables, etc.) should not be included in the text, but separately. Photographs, standard forms and charts should be referred to as ‘Figure 1’, ‘Figure 2’, etc., numbered in the order in which they are referred to in the text.
9. Tables: Tables should be included at the end of the manuscript or uploaded as separate files. Tables should not be included in the main body of the text. They should be referred to in the text as ‘Insert Table 1’ here. The author should thereafter indicate the order in which the tables will appear at the end of the manuscript (e. g. ‘Table1’, ‘Table 2’ etc.)
10. Measurements: metric units should be used; if other units are used then metric equivalents should be given in parentheses.
11. References: the Journal accepts American Psychological Association (APA) 6th Edition. Author(s) are advised to consult the template as guide and comply with the provisions accordingly.
12. Evidence of Joint Contribution including specific areas of interest to be indicated and signed by all Authors for papers with more than one Author.
13. Proofs

Proofs will be sent by e-mail attachment as a PDF file to the corresponding author for correction. Amendments at proof stage are difficult and expensive to make; any alterations to the original text are strongly discouraged. Rapid publication will be helped if authors provide good copy, and return their proofs as quickly as possible.

4. Reprints

Corresponding authors will receive free online access to their article through jcicm@unilag.edu.ng

5. Copyright

It is a condition of publication that authors assign copyright or license the publication rights in their articles, including abstracts, to Department of Quantity Surveying, University of Lagos. This enables us to ensure full copyright protection and to disseminate the article, and of course the Journal, to the widest possible readership in print and electronic formats as appropriate. Authors are severally and jointly responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.