Doha International Family Institute Journal

Manuscripts submitted to the journal should be original work that has not been submitted or published anywhere (even in another language). All submissions are checked for plagiarism using iThenticate software.

Article processing charges:  APC are not applicable as Doha International Family Institute covers all submission and publication fees. 

Submit your paper: Email papers to [email protected] , Refer to Instructions for Authors guidelines please before submitting your files.

Article Types Accepted: 

• Empirical research: papers should clearly state their objective/ hypothesis, methods, results from the study, any interventions, conclusions, and recommendations, along with policy implications. 6000-8000 words.  
• Policy briefs: summary of information about research project suggesting possible policy options or arguing for a particular action/ intervention/ program. 3000-4000 words maximum.
• Desk Review Research: a secondary analysis or evidence derived from primary studies that have been selected and synthesized.
• Applied Research: this type of research plays an important role in solving everyday problems that often have an impact on life, work, health, and overall well-being.

Ethical Policy: Your submission to DIFI Journal is based on the quality and integrity of research. HBKU Press is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and adheres to COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers. We take publication ethics very seriously. Please read more at https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

Peer Review: Double, blind by external peer reviewers. 

Editorial Policy: For more details, please refer to https://www.qscience.com/editorial_policy. To facilitate the processing of your paper and peer review, please ensure that your submission complies with the following guidelines:

Integrity: an accurate, verifiable, and complete representation of how the study/work was done and the outcome.

Content quality: the quality of the methodology, completeness of data, and interpretation of results rather than (and perhaps instead of) positive or negative results alone.

Plagiarism: HBKU Press runs similarity checks on submissions, via iThenticate software, for similarity to previously published work. Please ensure to cite any source and paraphrase any cited text in your own words. By submitting your research, you accept that your work will be screened for plagiarism against previously published works.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We, at QScience, are committed to integrating AI tools responsibly in academic research. Our policy emphasizes the following:

• Human Oversight: AI tools can assist in improving readability, language, and research quality, but human oversight and control are essential. AI tools should not be listed as authors.
• Transparency: Authors must disclose the use of AI tools in their manuscripts to ensure transparency and maintain the integrity of the research.
• Ethical Practices: We stress the importance of ethical practices, safeguarding intellectual property, and ensuring the originality of the work.
• Guidelines and Prohibitions: Clear guidelines are provided on the responsible use of AI, including prohibiting the creation or alteration of images using AI unless part of the research design.

By adhering to these principles, we aim to balance the benefits of AI with the need to maintain high standards of research integrity and ethics.

Open Access:  All articles are published under the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licence. For more details: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, https://www.qscience.com/open_access

Copyright: The copyright is retained by the author(s). Authors grant HBKU Press a license to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher. The authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its original authors, citation details, and publisher are identified. Formal terms and conditions can be viewed at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Archiving: Articles are archived on multiple servers by archiving partners: Portico and CLOCKSS.

File Preparation:

Please refer to Instructions for Authors document for details. Manuscript files should be in Word and include the following:  

1) Title page file: article title, authors’ names, all authors affiliations, and email address of the corresponding author.

2) Manuscript file: abstract, keywords, main body of article, followed by the reference list (APA style). This file goes to peer-reviewers, so please do not reveal the authors names or affiliations.

3) Tables should be in text mode (using Word processing software), not as images. 

4) You will need an ORCID ID before submission, freely available at https://orcid.org. The ORCID ID is important because your article, if published, will be attached to your ORCID profile. It a reliable way to reduce the negative consequences of name changes.