Annals of Japan Association for Middle East Studies (AJAMES) Guidelines for Contributors

(Established in May 1992, Revised in June 2003, June 2005, November 2008, February 2011, December 2012, May 2015, October 2016, November 2017, and October 2020)

1. Frequency of Publication

The Annals of Japan Association for Middle East Studies (AJAMES) is published biannually, in January and July.

2. Manuscript Submission

Only registered members of the Japan Association of Middle East Studies (JAMES) may submit manuscripts to AJAMES ; however, non-members who have the qualifications described in article 10 may also submit manuscripts.

AJAMES accepts only unpublished manuscripts.

Authors may submit all or part of a doctoral thesis, on the condition that it has been substantially revised and rewritten, even if the original doctoral thesis is, or will be, accessible from an institution's digital repository. This does not apply to the "Doctoral Theses in Middle East Studies" described below (see article 4).

3. Language

Manuscripts may be submitted in any language. The author is responsible for ensuring that the manuscript is properly language edited.

4. Manuscript Categories

All submitted manuscripts must satisfy one of the following category descriptions and corresponding length requirements:

4.1) Article: The author must develop and present his/her arguments in a manuscript that makes an original and significant contribution to Middle East studies. Typical Articles will not exceed 16,000 words in English, a comparable word count in another language, or 32,000 characters in Japanese.

4.2) Research Note: The journal's Research Notes focus on intermediate or tentative arguments that present new interpretations or findings, provide discussions on facts and methodological issues, or posit hypotheses. Typical Research Notes will not exceed 10,000 words in English, an equivalent word count in another language, or 20,000 characters in Japanese.

4.3) Review: Reviews annotate specific research and make new contributions in the author's area of research. Typical Reviews will not exceed 10,000 words in English, an equivalent word count in another language, or 20,000 characters in Japanese.

4.4) Source Remarks: Source Remarks annotate and present descriptions of primary source materials. Typical Source Remarks will not exceed 10,000 words in English, an equivalent word count in another language, or 20,000 characters in Japanese.

4.5) Research Trend Analysis: Research Trend Analyses are based on ongoing research and elucidate trends in or present issues related to relevant research. Typical Research Trend Analyses will not exceed 4,000–8,000 words in English, an equivalent word count in another language, or 8,000–16,000 characters in Japanese.

4.6) Book Review: Book Reviews clearly present the content of specific studies, and the reviewers' opinions. Typical Book Reviews will not exceed 1,000–2,000 words in English, an equivalent word count in another language, or 2,000–4,000 characters in Japanese.

4.7) Doctoral Thesis in Middle East Studies: These manuscripts include English or other language summaries of doctoral theses in Middle East Studies submitted by members of JAMES.

4.8) Special Feature: Special Features include collections of manuscripts (Articles or　Research Notes) with a preface.

The length requirements provided above pertain to complete manuscripts and include titles, summaries, abstracts, main texts, footnotes, references, tables, and diagrams.

5. Submission Procedure

5.1) Submission deadlines for AJAMES are December 1 and June 1.

5.2) Manuscripts must be sent electronically, as email attachments, together with a completed "AJAMES Application Form," which can be downloaded from the JAMES webpage. This form requires that you provide your name, affiliation, contact numbers, the title of your manuscript, the type of manuscript you are submitting (see article 4), and other necessary information.

5.3) To facilitate our strict anonymous review (see article 7), please remove the author's name, affiliation, title, acknowledgements, notes, and references as well as other identifying information from the manuscript being submitted.

5.4) If the manuscript is an Article or Research Note (including those for Special Features), please submit the following information as well:

5.4.1) A title and summary that have been prepared in a language other than that of the main text; the length requirement is a minimum of 800 characters in Japanese, 500 words in English, or an equivalent word count in another language

5.4.2) An English abstract (approximately 200 words)

5.5) If uncommon characters and/or fonts not frequently used by most printers appear in the manuscript, we will ask the author to prepare and submit a printable copy after the manuscript has been accepted. Please contact the editorial committee for more information on the most viable printable styles.

6. Format

6.1) The manuscript should be typed horizontally.

6.2) Manuscripts should be completed in the following order: title, name(s) of author(s) (to be included in the final draft before publication), table of contents, main text, footnotes, acknowledgements (as needed), and references (as needed). Sections of the main text should be numbered using Roman numerals (I, II, III), subsections using Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3), and subheads under subsections using Arabic numerals in parentheses ((1), (2), (3)).

6.3) Articles or Research Notes (including those for Special Features) should also include the title in a second language, separate from the main text.

6.4) Transcriptions of Arabic or Persian to Latin alphabets are at the author’s discretion, and he/she should ensure that they adhere to international standards such as those accepted by various encyclopedias and the International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES). The transcription method must be consistent throughout each manuscript.

6.5) Authors should indicate where the tables and diagrams are to appear in their manuscripts. Tables and diagrams will be published as the authors have submitted them. They should be numbered serially, with titles, pages, sources, footnotes, and other information provided by the author, as deemed necessary.

6.6) AJAMES lists footnotes and references. For details on how to list footnotes, references, and other information, please refer to the "AJAMES Style Guide," which can be downloaded from the JAMES webpage.

7. Manuscript Review Procedures

The editorial committee designates referees to review submitted manuscripts. Decisions regarding acceptance for publication, and the selection of specific volumes for publication, are made by the editorial committee through anonymous reviews by referees, in a manner consistent with the following criteria:

a) The manuscript complies with AJAMES ' "Guidelines for Contributors" and "AJAMES Style Guide"

b) The manuscript meets AJAMES ' goals and quality standards

c) The manuscript title appropriately reflects the content of the manuscript

d) The manuscript is original in relation to the prior research, and makes a significant contribution to Middle East studies

e) The manuscript has an adequate line of argument, appropriate text representations, citations, transcripts, and footnotes

f) The manuscript summary is written in a language different from that of the main text, an English abstract appropriately summarizes the manuscript content, and the manuscript length satisfies AJAMES ' requirements

Authors will receive written notification of the acceptance or non-acceptance of their submissions as well as information regarding the volume in which accepted manuscripts will be published. Following a review, we may ask authors to revise their manuscripts as deemed necessary. Regardless of whether a manuscript is accepted or not, submitted manuscripts will not be returned, and cannot be withdrawn by the author.

8. Proofreading

Authors are required to proofread only the first draft of their manuscripts, to correct typographical errors and other minor mistakes, and not to make major additions or revisions. The editorial committee will be responsible for subsequent proofreading requirements.

9. Offprints

The author will receive an electronic format off-print. The author should observe the JAMES rule concerning the electronic off-print.

10. Manuscript Submissions by Non-Members

10.1) Individuals who are not members of JAMES may also submit manuscripts if the following requirements are met:

a) The author is a resident of a country other than Japan, or is a non-Japanese person

b) The author has not previously published Articles or Research Notes in AJAMES

10.2) Authors must pay a publishing fee of 5,000 JPY per manuscript to the JAMES as soon as their manuscript is accepted for publication. (No fee will be charged if the manuscript is not accepted for publication.)

10.3) Should their manuscript be accepted for publication, members of associations belonging to the Asian Federation of Middle East Studies Associations (AFMA) may submit manuscripts without meeting the requirements outlined in 10.1, and are exempt from the publishing fee described in 10.2.

10.4) As a rule, manuscripts submitted by non-members should be written in English.

11. Supplementary Note

AJAMES publishes summaries of doctoral theses in Middle East Studies submitted by association members. Summaries must be prepared in a language other than Japanese. The length requirement for these submissions is 1,000–2,000 words in English or an equivalent word count in another language.

Papers published in AJAMES are also available from the electronic library operated by the National Institute of Informatics (NII). Therefore, JAMES assumes that authors who submit manuscripts to AJAMES also consent to their online publication.

Editorial Committee

c/o KONDO Nobuaki (Prof.)
ILCAA, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
3-11-1 Asahicho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8534 JAPAN
E-mail: ajames-editor[at]james1985.org

• AJAMES_application_form (Microsoft Word file. 19kb)
• AJAMES Style Guide (PDF file. 151kb)