Submissions

Author Guidelines

1. General information

1.1. Scientific journal “Laisvalaikio tyrimai” (trans. Leisure Time Research) is published twice a year:

• in June (submission deadline is March 1);
• in December (submission deadline is September 1).

1.2. All papers, submitted to the journal using the Template provided, should contain original research not previously published (except preliminary reports or conference thesis). The material published in the journal should be new, true to fact and precise, clearly and logically analysed and discussed as well as contributing to knowledge. The journal will publish other research as well, e.g. reviews of doctoral dissertations, manuals, monographs, and other scientific books.

1.3. Original articles (manuscripts) are up to 6–10 pages.

1.4. Articles are published in Lithuanian or English languages.

1.5. All papers undergo the regular review process by at least two members of the Editorial Board or by expert reviewers selected by the Editorial Board. After the review the articles can be returned to authors for corrections. Request to correct the article does not guarantee that the revised article will be accepted for publication. The authors are given one week for correcting the manuscript from the day when the article is returned to the author.

1.6. The manuscript should be submitted to the Executive Editor of the journal to the following e-mail: laisvalaikio.tyrimai@lsu.lt. The article should be submitted together with:

• Authors’ Copyright Statement for Submitted Articles proving that the article submitted is original and not previously published;
• Cover Letter (in Lithuanian or English) with the title of the article, the authors’ names and last names, ORCID iDs, places of employment and e-mails, Tel. including country code, research interests, scientific degrees and titles.

1.7. All papers received are registered.

1.8. The publisher maintains the right to reject articles which do not meet the requirements of the journal “Laisvalaikio tyrimai” (Leisure Time Research) for publication. Rejected papers are not returned to authors. The final decision about the publication is made by the Editorial Board.

1.9. There is no fee for the publication of articles.

 

2. Requirements for the structure of the article

2.1. The title of the article.

2.2. The authors’ names and last names, ORCID iDs, the names of the institutions indicating the city and the country. The e-mail and Tel. including country code of the corresponding author.

2.3. Abstract in the original language, briefly introducing the content of the article (about 250 words). The abstract should reveal the research problem, its relevance, research aims and objectives, provide original research findings, discussion, conclusions. The abstract should contain the following sections: Background. Aim. Methods. Results. Conclusions.

2.4. Keywords: from 3 to 5 informative, abstract-related words and / or phrases.

2.5. Introduction. It should contain a clear statement of the problem of the research, the extent of its solution, the arguments for the novelty of its solution, the most important papers on the subject, the aim, the object of the study.

2.6. Methods. The research participants, methods, apparatus, and procedures should be identified in sufficient detail. Methods of the research should be described, or references should be given for all non-standard methods used, devices (if any). Appropriate statistical analysis should be performed based upon the experimental design carried out. It is necessary to indicate the methods of mathematical statistics applied (statistical reliability, statistical power, confidence interval, effect size), and to explain the estimation of the sample size. Research involving human subjects should be carried out following the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

2.7. Results and discussion. Findings of the study should be presented concisely, consistently and logically, not repeating the chosen methods. The statistical significance and statistical power of the finding should be denoted. We recommend providing major original research statements (conclusions) that are supported by the data. The discussion of the findings should be structured into subsections.

2.8. Conclusions and perspectives. The conclusions provided should be formulated clearly and logically, based on research results. It is necessary to indicate the further perspectives of the research. After conclusions and perspectives, information about author contributions, funding, informed consent statement, acknowledgements, conflicts of interest must be provided.

2.9. References. There should not be more than 30 references for original investigations and 40 references for review articles. Referencing style – APA7 (see Reference examples).

2.10. Abstract in a language other than the language of the article (Lithuanian or English), briefly introducing the content of the article (about 250 words). The abstract should reveal the research problem, its relevance, research aims and objectives, provide original research findings, discussion, conclusions. The abstract should contain the following sections: Background. Aim. Methods. Results. Conclusions.

2.11. Keywords in a language other than the language of the article (Lithuanian or English): from 3 to 5 informative, abstract-related words and / or phrases.

 

3. Requirements for the preparation of manuscripts

3.1. The article (in Lithuanian or English) is submitted via e-mail: laisvalaikio.tyrimai@lsu.lt. Text Editor – Microsoft Word, the article must be typed using the provided Template. Format – A4 (21 cm x 29,7 cm), font – Times New Roman, font size for the main text – 12 pt, the main text must be 1.5 line spaced, the first line indent – 1.27 cm, margins – 2 cm on the left, right, top and bottom, text alignment – justified, words are not hyphenated. Pages are numbered in the bottom-right corner, beginning with Page 1.

3.2. The manuscript should be checked for errors. It is recommended that only standard abbreviation and symbols be used. All abbreviations should be explained in parentheses on their first occurrence in the text, giving the full written-out version of what they stand for. Non-standard special abbreviations and symbols need only to be defined at first mention. The results of all measurements and symbols for all physical units should be those of the System International (SI) Units. In the text of the article all numbers up to ten are to be written in words and all numbers starting from eleven on – in Arabic figures.

3.3. Abstracts and keywords are given at the beginning and the end of the articles in the appropriate languages.

3.4. Every table should have a short subtitle with a sequential number given above the table (the tables are numbered in the same sequence as that of references given in the text). All explanations should be in the text of the article or in a short note added below the table. The symbols and abbreviations given in the tables should coincide with the ones used in the text.

3.5. Figures are numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. The title of the figure shall be given below the figure. Additionally, a note can be added below the figure but above the title, if necessary. The figures should be presented in open file formats so that they could be edited.

3.6. List of references and citations in the text should follow the referencing style used by the American Psychological Association (APA7 style). Reference examples.

Most common reference examples:

Books (print and online)

Author, A. A. (year). Title of work (x ed., Vol. x).  Publisher. DOI or URL

Chapter in an edited book

Author, A. (year). Title of the book chapter. In A. A. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (x ed., pp. #–#). Publisher. DOI or URL

Journal and newspaper articles (print and online)

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (year). Title of the article. Name of the Periodical, volume number(issue number), pp. #–#. DOI

3.7. Literature references in the text are shown in brackets, with the author's last name and year of publication, for example: (Butkus, 1996), (Adamonienė et al., 2003).

3.8. References should be listed in alphabetical order taking account of the first author’s last name: first the references in Latin characters are given, then – in Russian (Cyrillic) characters. When three or more authors are named, list only the first one in the text of the article, adding “et al.”.

In the case when there are several references of the same author published in the same year, they must be marked by letters, e. g. 2013a, 2013b, etc. both in the text and in the reference list.

If there is a DOI (digital object identifier) number, then include that. Begin the DOI number with https://doi.org (according to the latest publication of the APA Style Guide to Electronic Resources).

If the resource was found online and does not have a DOI, end the reference with the precise URL needed to access the resource. Describing a Web source which is subject to change, the exact date of publication of the information should be given, with the month and day added to the year.