Author Guidelines on Manuscript Formatting Requirements

All manuscripts submitted to the Journal must strictly comply with the formatting requirements specified below. Manuscripts that do not conform to these formatting standards may be returned to the authors for technical revision or rejected during the initial editorial screening (Desk Review) before being considered for peer review.

1. TITLE PAGE AND AUTHOR METADATA

To preserve the integrity of the double-blind peer review process, author-identifying information must be submitted as a separate Title Page file through the OJS submission system.

The Main Manuscript must not contain any information that could identify the author(s).

1.1. Manuscript Title

Concise (no more than 20 words), directly reflecting the research content, without abbreviations, without formulas.

1.2. Author Information

To minimize ambiguity arising from identical or similar author names and to ensure accurate indexing across international databases, all authors are strongly encouraged to register for and use an ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID).

ORCID serves as a persistent digital identifier that uniquely distinguishes researchers and automatically links all scholarly outputs to the correct author profile regardless of variations in name format.

International authors (Given Name + Family Name)

(Example: John Michael Smith, Maria Elena Garcia)

Vietnamese authors (retain the original Vietnamese name order - Journal's recommendation)

(Example: Nguyen Minh Ha, Le Huyen Ai Thuy, Kieu Anh Tai)

1.3. Author Affiliations

Each affiliation should include:

  • Department, Faculty, or School;
  • Institution or University;
  • City;
  • Country.

Example:

Faculty of Economics and Public Management, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

An author may indicate up to two institutional affiliations, provided that they accurately reflect the author's official affiliations at the time of manuscript submission. Authors are solely responsible for the accuracy and legitimacy of their affiliation information.

1.4. Corresponding Author

The corresponding author should be clearly identified by an asterisk (*).

The following information must be provided:

  • Full name;
  • Institutional affiliation;
  • Institutional (educational) email address;

Nguyen Minh Ha1*

1Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

*Corresponding Author, Email: ha.nm@ou.edu.vn

1.5. ORCID

All authors are required to provide their ORCID profile URL.

2. GENERAL FORMATTING

2.1. File Format

Manuscripts must be prepared using Microsoft Word in .doc or .docx format

2.2. Paper Size and Margins

  • Paper size: A4 (21.0 cm × 29.7 cm);
  • Left margin: 2.2 cm;
  • Right margin: 2.2 cm;
  • Top margin: 2.0 cm;
  • Bottom margin: 2.0 cm.

All pages should use uniform margins throughout the manuscript.

2.3. Font

Authors shall use one standard font consistently throughout the manuscript.

  • Times New Roman: 12 pt;
  • Arial or Calibri: 11 pt.

2.4. Line and Paragraph Spacing

  • Line spacing: The entire manuscript-including the main text, tables, figures, appendices, footnotes (if any), and references-must use Multiple = 1.07;
  • Paragraph spacing: Before 6.0 pt and After 0.0 pt, Authors should not insert blank lines between paragraphs by pressing the Enter key.;
  • First-line Indentation: The first line of every paragraph shall be indented 1.27 cm (0.5 inch) using either First Line Indent, or the Tab key. The use of multiple spaces for indentation is not permitted.

3. HEADING STRUCTURE

The manuscript must follow a clear heading hierarchy, with no more than 4 levels, in accordance with APA 7th edition (not counting the (Chapter/Main Section) level):

  1. Level 1 (Major Heading): Bold, Left-aligned, Title Case. The paragraph begins on the next line, with a first-line indent.
  2. Level 2 (Sub-heading): Bold Italic, Left-aligned, Title Case. The paragraph begins on the next line, with a first-line indent.
  3. Level 3: Indented, Bold, Left-aligned, sentence case (capitalize only the first letter), ending with a period. The paragraph begins immediately after the period, on the same line.
  4. Level 4: Indented, Bold Italic, Left-aligned, sentence case (capitalize only the first letter), ending with a period. The paragraph begins immediately after the period, on the same line.

4. ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS

4.1. Abstract

The article must include a structured abstract, written as a single paragraph of 150–250 words, with no citations and no unexplained abbreviations, and must fully cover the following (implicit) elements:

  • Purpose;
  • Research method;
  • Research findings/results;
  • Practical implications;
  • Originality/Novelty

4.2. Keywords

Keywords must be carefully selected to effectively support indexing and retrieval. Use 4–6 words or specialized phrases, in lowercase, separated by semicolons (;); avoid overly general terms, avoid repeating the full title, and arrange them in order of importance.

5. TABLES AND FIGURES

Tables and Figures must be embedded directly in the text, immediately after the paragraph in which they are first mentioned.

5.1 Numbering

Number consecutively using Arabic numerals (Example: Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, Figure 2).

5.2. Titles

  • Table/Figure number: Bold, placed on a separate line above the table/figure (Example: Table 1);
  • Table/Figure caption: Italic, Title Case, placed on the line immediately below the number (Example: Descriptive Statistics of Research Variables).

5.3. Table Formatting

Use only horizontal lines to separate column headers and summary rows. Vertical lines must not be used, in accordance with APA 7th edition standards.

5.4. Notes

Placed directly below the table/figure, font size 10 pt. If secondary data is used, the source must be clearly cited..

6. CITATIONS AND REFERENCES

The journal strictly applies the APA 7th edition citation system.

6.1. In-text Citation

  • Apply the (Author's surname, Year of publication) principle. Do not cite international works using the author's given name. Examples:
    • One author: (Nguyen, 2026) or Nguyen (2026) argues that…
    • Two authors: (Nguyen & Le, 2026)
    • Three or more authors: Use "et al." from the very first citation: (Nguyen et al., 2026).
  • Citing multiple sources at once: List in alphabetical order of the first author's surname, separated by semicolons (Kieu, 2025; Nguyen, 2026).

6.2. Reference List

  • Arrange in alphabetical order based on the first author's surname;
  • Apply a Hanging Indent of 1.27 cm from the second line of each reference onward;
  • Mandatory Scopus requirement: All references in Vietnamese or in a non-Latin script must be translated/transliterated into English, with the original language noted at the end (Example: [in Vietnamese]);
  • DOI: Every reference that has a DOI must display it as a full URL link (Example: https://doi.org/…).

Standard APA 7th edition format example:

Nguyen, M. H., Le, H. A. T., & Kieu, A. T. (2026). Open science development in emerging economies: A scoping review. Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of Science - Economics and Business Administration, 16(1), 45-60. https://doi.org/10.46223/HCMCOUJS.econ.en.XX.X.XXXX.2026