Requirements for Authors | Research and Innovation Institute

The Security and Defense Scientific Journal accepts for publication articles in Bulgarian and English with topics in the field of:

scientific research, analysis and forecasts in the field of security and defense;
defense and security technologies;
management of education, training, qualification and competence of human resources in the security and defense sector;
military history and lessons learned.

The materials must meet the requirement of originality – i.e. not already in print and not under in print in another periodical at the time of their submission.

To carry out double blind peer review of each of the articles received, the editorial board has attracted renowned scholars from the field of security and defense and related education, training, economic, military, social and other issues. The editor-in-chief, after checking the originality of the text, refers the proposed article to two reviewers for a blind anonymous review procedure. In the course of the evaluation, they fill in a review form (see mock-up of a review form), indicating in its final part an unequivocal opinion whether the proposed manuscript should be rejected or accepted (without amendments, with minor corrections and without re-review or with significant corrections and for re-review after introducing the recommended and necessary corrections).

In the event that one of the two reviewers has rejected the article, it is also submitted for evaluation to an arbitrator, whose positive evaluation is the necessary condition for continuing the procedure. The editorial board decides the final acceptance of manuscripts for publication. The editors also have the right to reject those of them that are not in line with the goals of the journal and do not meet the mentioned criteria. The editorial board is not responsible for errors made by the authors. A written recommendation from the supervisor should also be attached to the doctoral theses.

Upon acceptance of the manuscript for publication, the article or parts of it may not be published in other issues without the written consent of the editors of the Security and Defense Scientific Journal. Authors are free to post a link to their journal article on electronic academic networks (such as Academia.edu, ResearchGate, and similar).

The authors submit to the e-mail of the journal: sdjournal@nvu.bg three files:

I. Manuscript;

II. Identification file;

III. Declaration of Authenticity and Authorship by the author(s).

I. Manuscript

Manuscripts must be received at the journal's address by April 1 – for issue 1 (June), and by October 1 – for issue 2 (December), of the current year. They should be sent as a file in *.doc or *.docx format.

The file name consists of the number 1 (indicating that this is the manuscript), the first and last name of the author of the report, separated by an underscore.

Example: 1_Ivan_Ivanov.docx

II. Identification file.

The file name consists of the number 2 (indicating that this is the identification file), the first and last name of the report author, separated by an underscore.

Example: 2_Ivan_Ivanov.docx

In the identification file, the author's names, place of work, scientific degree, academic position, scientific interests, contact e-mail should be indicated. (The identification file you can download here).

III. Declaration of Authenticity and Authorship by the author(s)

When submitting the manuscript, it must be accompanied by a Declaration of Authenticity and Authorship by the author(s) (the declaration can be downloaded here). The declaration is filled in, signed by the author(s), scanned and sent to the e-mail of the journal. In co-authorship, co-authors may sign and submit separate declarations or all co-authors may sign and submit one declaration.

FORMATTING OF MANUSCRIPTS IS AS FOLLOWS:

Page format A4; the margins (distances) on each page should be: left – 3 cm, right – 3 cm, top – 2.5 cm, bottom – 2.5 cm.
Orientation – Portrait.
The line spacing should be Single. Font style Times New Roman (Unicode), font size 14 pts and Justified alignment.
Footnotes – on each page; Font style Times New Roman; font size – 10 pt and Justified alignment.
Indentation of the first line of a paragraph – 1 cm; distance from paragraph to adjacent ones (Before and After) for the entire text – 0.
Acceptable volume for the manuscript: for an article up to 20 pages, for a review or communication up to 5 pages in the specified format.
The pages should not be numbered!

Articles are laid out in the following order (the article layout template can be downloaded here):

Title of the articles in Bulgarian (if the article is in Bulgarian) – Times New Roman, Font Size: 16 рt, Font Style: Regular, Bold, Alignment: Centered; All Caps. A title in Bulgarian is not written for authors from other countries.
Title of the article in English – after two empty lines after the title in Bulgarian – Times New Roman, Font Size: 16 рt, Font Style: Regular, Bold, Alignment: Centered; All Caps. The title in English is also written for the authors from the Republic of Bulgaria.
Abstract of the article in Bulgarian (if the article is in Bulgarian) – after two empty lines after the title in English – up to 500 characters, Times New Roman 12 pt, Italic, Line Spacing: Single, Alignment: Justified. An abstract of the article in Bulgarian is not written for the authors from other countries.
Key words in Bulgarian (if the article is in Bulgarian) – after one empty line after the summary in Bulgarian – no more than 5 (five), Times New Roman 12 pt, Italic, Line Spacing: Single, Alignment: Justified. Key words in Bulgarian are not listed for authors from other countries.
Abstract of the article in English – after one empty line after the keywords in Bulgarian – up to 500 characters, Times New Roman 12 pt, Italic, Line Spacing: Single, Alignment: Justified. An abstract of the article in English is also written for the authors from the Republic of Bulgaria.
Key words in English – after one empty line after the abstract in English – no more than 5 (five), Times New Roman 12 pt, Italic, Line Spacing: Single, Alignment: Justified. Key words in English are also written for the authors from the Republic of Bulgaria.
Two blank lines after the keywords in English – Times New Roman (Unicode), with font size 14 pt.
The main body of the article – Times New Roman 14 pt, Alignment: Justified. The main body of the article should adhere to the following structure:

INTRODUCTION – to present the main ideas and/or goals of the author and the relevance of the topic;

EXPOSITION – the exposition can be structured in separate points and contain discussion, research, results and main conclusions;

CONCLUSION – conclusions should summarize the most important points and be supported by evidence.

Graphs, figures, diagrams and photographs should be formatted by insert – picture – from file – format picture – layout – in line whit text, captioning below the figure, centered, with consecutive numbers as follows: Figure 1. Title of first figure; Font – Times New Roman, font size – 14 pt, leaving a blank line between the figure title and the figure with line spacing – Single.
Tables - the tables are written above with "Table 1. Title of table one", Font – Times New Roman; Font size – 14 pt; A blank line is left between the table title and the table with line spacing – 1.
Equations and formulas – must be placed on a new line, indented, and separated from the rest of the text by extra space. If the formulas are very short, they can also be placed in the text, leaving extra space before and after them. If there are several equations and formulas, they should be numbered consecutively with numbers in round brackets placed at the far right of the line.

Example:

a²+ b² = c²

…(5)

Bibliographic citation and footnotes are done in APA style.

For more details see: APA Formatting and Style Guide

What follows are some general guidelines for the use of footnotes and basic rules for APA style citation.

Articles that do not meet the technical requirements are returned to the author for correction.

Footnotes

Footnotes are additional details listed at the bottom of the page relating to document content or copyright information.

Using footnotes to provide additional details can enrich the main text and strengthen the main argument of the article. Footnotes can also direct readers to an alternative source for more details on a topic. Although content footnotes can be helpful in providing additional context, avoid including complex information. Footnotes should detail a focused topic, and longer sections of text are more appropriate for body paragraphs.

Footnotes are indicated by numerical indexes with continuous numbering throughout the text. The index in the text is always written before the characters full stop, comma, semi-colon, colon, dash and after the characters question mark, exclamation point, quotation marks.

Footnotes should not be placed in headings, and no space is required between the footnote and the superscript.

Example:

In-text:

The systems approach to training has been the dominant training theory in NATO for ten years ³.

Below the line:

³ For more information on the systems approach to training, see: Berchev, D. & Stefanov, M. (March 2019) The Systems Approach to Training in the Military Educational System – aggregation of integration processes. KNOWLEDGE – International Journal, 30(6), 1457-1462. https://doi.org/10.35120/kij30061457B

Citation

For a work with one author:

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). A full reference for each source should appear in the bibliography at the end of the article.

If you are quoting directly from another work, you must include the page number at the end of the quotation in parentheses.

Example:

According to Jones (1998), "students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199).

Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers?

If you do not include the author's name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, year of publication, and page number in parentheses after the citation.

Example:

She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style" (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

Regardless of how they are cited, all sources cited in the text must appear in the bibliography at the end of the article.

For a work by two authors:

Cite both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite the work. Use "and" between author names in the text and use an ampersand (&) in parentheses.

Example:

- Narrative in text:

Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports...

- In parentheses at the end of the sentence:

(Wegener & Petty, 1994)

For a work by three or more authors:

Give only the first author's name followed by "et al." in every citation, even the first, unless it would create ambiguity between different sources.

Example:

- Narrative in text:

Kernis et al. (1993) suggest...

- In parentheses at the end of the sentence:

(Kernis et al., 1993)

Organization as an author:

Write the full name of the group or organization in the first citation and place the abbreviation next to it in parentheses. If the group or organization is cited again, include only the abbreviation. If there is no abbreviation associated with it, write the full name of the organization each time.

Example:

- First citation in APA style for organization with abbreviation:

(World Health Organization [WHO], year)

World Health Organization (WHO, year)

- APA style subsequent in-text citations for organization with abbreviation: (WHO, year) or WHO (year).

Two or more works in the same brackets:

When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, arrange them in the same order as they appear in the bibliography (i.e., alphabetically), separated by semicolons.

Example: (Berndt, 2002; Harlow, 1983)

For authors with the same last name:

To avoid confusion, use first initials with the last names.

Example: (E. Johnson, 2001; L. Johnson, 1998)

For two or more works by the same author in the same year:

If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the bibliography. Use lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.

Example:

Research by Berndt (1981a) revealed strong correlations. However, a parallel study (Berndt, 1981b) resulted in inconclusive findings.

List of cited and used literature

The list of cited and used literature is indicated after the text of the article and begins after the title LITERATURE, in one empty line after the conclusion – Times New Roman (Unicode), font size 14 pt.

It provides the information the reader needs to locate and retrieve each source that is cited in the main text. Any source that is cited in the relevant document must appear in the list of sources used. Likewise – every description in the list must be cited in the text.

Cyrillic sources are listed first, then Latin. Cited literary sources that are in Cyrillic in an English language publication must be presented in Latin letters through transliteration, according to the transliteration rules according to the Transliteration Law of Bulgaria. Cyrillic sources can be transliterated into Latin at the following site: https://2cyr.com

Article in Print Journal

SCHEME on citation:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number (issue number), pages.

Example:

Съботинов, В. (2019). Развитието на Европейската общност след Студената война и взаимоотношенията ѝ със САЩ. Геополитика (2), 76-77. // Sabotinov, V. (2019). Razvitieto na Evropeyskata obshtnost sled Studenata voyna i vzaimootnosheniyata i sas SASHT. Geopolitika (2), 76-77.

Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(3), 5–13.

Article in Electronic Journal

When citing an electronic journal article, include the DOI if it is related to the article.

SCHEME on citation:

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Example:

Baniya, S., & Weech, S. (2019). Data and experience design: Negotiating community-oriented digital research with service-learning. Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement, 6(1), 11–16. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284316979

DOI may not always be available. In these cases, use the URL. Many academic journals provide stable URLs that function similarly to DOIs. These are preferable to plain URLs copied and pasted from the browser's address bar.

Example:

Denny, H., Nordlof, J., & Salem, L. (2018). "Tell me exactly what it was that I was doing that was so bad": Understanding the needs and expectations of working-class students in writing centers. Writing Center Journal, 37(1), 67–98. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26537363

Review

SCHEME on citation:

Author, A. (year). Review Title [Book Review Book Title, by A. A. Author & V. V. Author] Periodical Title, Volume Number (Issue Number), Pages.

Example:

Baumeister, R. F. (1993). Exposing the self-knowledge myth [Review of the book The self-knower: A hero under control, by R. A. Wicklund & M. Eckert]. Contemporary Psychology, 38(5), 466–467.

Basic format for books

SCHEME on citation:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher Name. DOI (if available)

Example:

Stoneman, R. (2008). Alexander the Great: A life in legend. Yale University Press.

Edited book, no author

SCHEME on citation:

Editor, E. E. (Ed.). (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher. DOI (if available)

Example:

Leitch, M. G., & Rushton, C. J. (Eds.). (2019). A new companion to Malory. D. S. Brewer.

Edited book with an author or authors

SCHEME on citation:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (E. Editor, Ed.). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Example:

Malory, T. (2017). Le morte darthur (P. J. C. Field, Ed.). D. S. Brewer. (Original work published 1469-70)

A translation

SCHEME on citation:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (T. Translator, Trans.). Publisher. (Original work published YEAR) DOI (if available)

Example:

Plato (1989). Symposium (A. Nehamas & P. Woodruff, Trans.). Hackett Publishing Company. (Original work published ca. 385-378 BCE)

Note: When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should appear with both dates: Plato (385-378/1989)

Edition other than the first

SCHEME on citation:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (# edition). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Example:

Belcher, W. (2019). Writing your journal article in twelve weeks: A guide to academic publishing success (2nd ed.). University of Chicago Press.

Article or chapter in an edited book

SCHEME on citation:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. pages of chapter). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Note: When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references. List any edition number in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by a comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).

Example:

Armstrong, D. (2019). Malory and character. In M. G. Leitch & C. J. Rushton (Eds.), A new companion to Malory (pp. 144-163). D. S. Brewer.

Multivolume work

SCHEME on citation:

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (Vol. #). Publisher. DOI (if available)

Example:

David, A., & Simpson, J. (Eds.). (2006). The Norton anthology of English literature: The Middle Ages (8^th ed.,Vol. A). W. W. Norton and Company.

Dissertation abstract

SCHEME on citation:

Last name, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation. Dissertation Abstracts International, Vol., Page.

Example:

Angeli, E. L. (2012). Networks of communication in emergency medical services. Dissertation Abstracts International, 74, 03(E).

Dissertation or master’s thesis, published

SCHEME on citation:

Last name, F. M. (Year). Title of dissertation/thesis (Publication No.) [Doctoral dissertation/Master’s thesis, Name of Institution Awarding the Degree]. Database or Archive Name.

Example:

Angeli, E. L. (2012). Networks of communication in emergency medical services (Publication No. 3544643) [Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Note: If the dissertation or thesis is not published in a database, include the URL of the site where the document is located.

Conference proceedings

SCHEME on citation:

Last name, F. M., & Lastname, F. M. (Eds.). (Year). Title of Proceedings. Publisher. URL (if applicable)

Example:

Huang, S., Pierce, R., & Stamey, J. (Eds.). (2006). Proceedings of the 24^th annual ACM international conference on the design of communication. ACM Digital Library. https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1166324&picked=prox

Webpage or piece of online content

If the page lists an individual author, cite their name first.

SCHEME on citation:

Last name, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

Example:

Price, D. (2018, March 23). Laziness does not exist. Medium. https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01

If the resource was written by a group or organization, use the name of the group/organization as the author. Additionally, if the author and site name are the same, omit the site name from the citation.

SCHEME on citation:

Group name. (Year, Month Date). Title of page. Site name. URL

Example:

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. (2019, November 21). Justice served: Case closed for over 40 dogfighting victims. https://www.aspca.org/news/justice-served-case-closed-over-40-dogfighting-victims

If the page's author is not listed, start with the title instead. Additionally, include a retrieval date when the page's content is likely to change over time (like, for instance, if you're citing a wiki that is publicly edited).

SCHEME on citation:

Title of page. (Year, Month Date). Site name. Retrieved Month Date, Year, from URL

Example:

Tuscan white bean pasta. (2018, February 25). Budgetbytes. Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://www.budgetbytes.com/tuscan-white-bean-pasta/

If the date of publication is not listed, use the abbreviation (n.d.).

SCHEME on citation:

Author or Group name. (n.d.). Title of page. Site name (if applicable). URL

Example:

National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). Mental health conditions. https://www.nami.org/Learn-More/Mental-Health-Conditions

E-books

SCHEME on citation:

Last name, F. M. (Year). Title of book [eBook edition]. Publisher. URL

Online lecture notes and presentation slides

When citing online lecture notes, be sure to provide the file format in brackets after the lecture title (e.g. PowerPoint slides, Word document).

SCHEME on citation:

Lastname, F. M. (Year, Month Date). Title of presentation [Lecture notes, PowerPoint slides, etc]. Publisher. URL

Example:

Smith, C. (2017, October 13). AI and machine learning demystified [PowerPoint slides]. SlideShare. https://www.slideshare.net/carologic/ai-and-machine-learning-demystified-by-carol-smith-at-midwest-ux-2017