Writing Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Revised version: June 2026. 

A. Submission Requirements

  1. Cover Letter
  2. Title Page — containing complete author identities
  3. Main Manuscript without author identities (for blind review)
  4. Turnitin Similarity Report (maximum 20%)

Download Documents Template Here

Manuscripts may be written in Indonesian or English.

B. General Format

  • A4 paper (21 × 29.7 cm), 1-inch margins on all sides.
  • Title: maximum 20 words, Times New Roman 14, Title Case (except conjunctions), bilingual (Indonesian & English), without the research year.
  • Author names: Times New Roman 10, superscript numbers for affiliations.
  • Affiliation: Institution, City, Country (e.g., Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang, Indonesia). Faculty/study program optional.
  • Corresponding author: marked with an asterisk (*); email placed below the affiliation list.
  • Body text: Times New Roman 12.
Element Size
Title 14
Author names 10
Affiliation & email 10
Abstract & keywords 10
Body text 12

C. Abstract

  • Bilingual (Indonesian & English), Times New Roman 10, one narrative paragraph, maximum 200 words per language.
  • Contains: Introduction, Objective, Method, Results, and Conclusion (no sub-labels).
  • Keywords: minimum 3, maximum 5, comma-separated. Example: digital learning media, elementary school, primary education, science learning, think pair share.

D. Manuscript Structure

Core sections:

  1. INTRODUCTION — research theme, background, literature review, knowledge gap, and objectives.
  2. METHOD — research approach, population, sample, location, instruments, analysis techniques, and ethics statement. Primary-education examples: experiments with pupils, classroom action research, or surveys of elementary school teachers.
  3. RESULTS and DISCUSSION — may be separate or combined; number tables/figures with titles and sources, then interpret and compare with previous studies.
  4. CONCLUSION — summarizes main findings, implications, limitations, and recommendations.

Closing sections: CONFLICT OF INTEREST (required), AI USE STATEMENT (required), AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS/FUNDING/ACKNOWLEDGMENTS (if relevant), REFERENCES.

E. References

  • Minimum 20 references, 80% from journal articles (preferably with DOI, within the last 10 years).
  • Citation style: APA 7th edition, consistent between in-text citations and the reference list.
  • Use of Mendeley/Zotero is recommended.

Example: Alawiah, T., & Nur, Y. M. (2026). The effect of the Think Pair Share learning model on students' science achievement. Digital Pedagogy in Primary Education Journal, 1(2), 65–77. https://doi.org/10.65307/dppej.v1i2.161 — In-text citation: (Alawiah & Nur, 2026).

F. Template & Layout

  • Manuscripts must follow the DPPEJ Manuscript Template (not another journal's template).
  • Ensure tables and figures are numbered with titles and sources, and contain no broken reference fields.

G. Research Ethics Statement

  • Research involving human subjects or interventions (experiments with pupils, classroom action research, surveys/interviews of teachers or pupils) — must attach a valid Ethical Clearance from an institutional ethics committee, including its number. Because subjects are usually elementary-school children (minors), also include parental/guardian consent and school permission.
  • Case reports — must include written informed consent from the guardian and anonymize identities.
  • Literature/desk reviews — do not require ethics approval.

H. Review Process

Each manuscript undergoes blind review with at least one reviewer. A Turnitin similarity check is conducted before review: rejection, clarification, or proceeding to peer review. Authors may suggest reviewers, but the final decision rests with the editorial team.