Thank you for considering submitting your work to the Journal of Forensic Science & Innovation (JOFI). To ensure a smooth submission process and maintain the quality, originality, and integrity of our publication, please adhere to the following guidelines:

Scope: JOFI welcomes original research articles, review papers, technical notes, case studies, and policy analyses related to forensic science and interdisciplinary forensic research. Submissions should contribute to the advancement of forensic investigation, evidence analysis, emerging technologies, scientific methodologies, and innovation in forensic science.

Scope of JOFI (Journal of Forensic Investigation)

•  Forensic Science and Interdisciplinary Forensic Research
•  Forensic Investigation and Crime Scene Examination
•  Forensic Evidence Collection, Preservation, and Analysis
•  Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
•  Forensic Biology, Serology, and DNA Profiling
•  Forensic Physics and Ballistics
•  Questioned Document Examination and Handwriting Analysis
•  Digital Forensics and Cybercrime Investigation
•  Emerging Technologies and Artificial Intelligence in Forensic Science
•  Scientific Methods and Innovative Techniques in Forensic Analysis
•  Fingerprint, Impression, and Trace Evidence Analysis
•  Forensic Anthropology, Odontology, and Criminalistics
•  Forensic Medicine and Death Investigation
•  Forensic Psychology, Criminology, and Behavioural Analysis
•  Forensic Case Studies and Real-World Investigations
•  Technical Notes, Method Validation, and Quality Assurance in Forensic Laboratories
•  Legal and Policy Aspects of Criminal Investigation
•  Interdisciplinary Research, Technological Innovations, and Novel Approaches in Criminal Investigation

Submission Format: Manuscripts should be prepared in Microsoft Word format (.docx) and submitted electronically through the journal's online submission system. Authors should provide all relevant editable source files during submission and revision.

Article Types & Word Limits

Article Types	Maximum Main Text Lengths
Original Research Article	8,000 words
Review Article	10,000 words
Technical Note/Method Validation	4,000 words
Case Study	4,000 words
Policy Analysis / Commentary	6,000 words

Word limits exclude the title page, abstract, references, tables, figure captions, and supplementary material.

Page size: A4 size only

Title: 14pt, Times New Roman, Bold, Title Case, Centre Align

Text Column: Single

Texts Body Align:  Justified

Page Margins:  1" on all sides

Font: Use Only Times New Roman for whole paper

Figure caption: Font size- 12”, Sentence case and Write below the figure, position-center

Table Caption: Font size- 12”, lower case and Top of the table, position-center

Paragraph: No Paragraph Indentation”

Line Spacing: 1.15

Before: 0” After: 0”

Header 0.5" Footer 0.5"

Originality: All submissions must be original work that has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their work and avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, and inappropriate text recycling. Any violation of the journal's publication ethics policy may result in rejection or other appropriate action.

• Plagiarism: The similarity index of submitted manuscripts must be less than 10%. Reports generated through Drillbit and Turnitin must be submitted as required by the journal.
• AI-Generated Content: Manuscripts must contain no AI-generated content. Authors must ensure that all submitted content is original and written by the authors themselves.
• Submission of Documents: The plagiarism/similarity report, AI detection report, duly completed Copyright Transfer Form, and AI Declaration Form must be submitted after the manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Peer Review Process: All submitted manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process. Author identities should remain anonymous in the manuscript submitted for review. Research manuscripts will normally be evaluated by at least two referees, who will assess the significance, originality, methodology, clarity, and scientific quality of the work.

Ethical Guidelines: Authors must adhere to ethical standards in research and publishing, including proper attribution of sources, honest reporting of results, disclosure of conflicts of interest, and compliance with applicable ethical requirements for research involving human participants, animals, biological materials, or sensitive forensic data. Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and inappropriate manipulation of data or images are not permitted.

Copyright: Authors must obtain appropriate permission for figures, tables, text, photographs, or other material previously published elsewhere. Evidence of permission should be provided when submitting the manuscript. Publication and copyright arrangements will be governed by the journal's applicable publishing policy.

Submission Checklist: Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure that it meets all requirements outlined in the submission checklist, including appropriate formatting, originality, inclusion of necessary sections, accurate references, ethical declarations, author information, and required supporting materials. For detailed submission instructions and formatting guidelines, refer below:

Submission Instructions:

Online Submission: All manuscripts should be submitted electronically through the journal's designated online submission system. Authors should upload the manuscript and all required files according to the instructions provided during submission.

Manuscript Preparation: Prepare your manuscript according to the following formatting guidelines. Authors should follow APA 7th edition guidelines for manuscript preparation and references.

Formatting Guidelines:

Title Page: Include a separate title page containing the title of the manuscript, author(s) name(s), affiliation(s), corresponding author's contact information, email address, ORCID ID where available, acknowledgements, funding information, and applicable declarations.

Abstract: Provide an abstract of 150–250 words summarizing the key objectives, methodology, major findings, and conclusions of the study. The abstract should not contain undefined abbreviations or unspecified references.

Keywords: Include 4–6 keywords that accurately reflect the content of the manuscript and assist with indexing.

Main Text: Organize the manuscript into appropriate sections such as Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and References. The structure may be adapted according to the type of manuscript. Ensure clarity, coherence, and logical flow throughout the text.

References: Follow APA 7th edition citation and referencing guidelines. References cited in the manuscript should be included in the reference list, arranged alphabetically by the surname of the first author. Journal names and book titles should be italicized, and DOI information should be included whenever available.

Figures and Tables: If applicable, include figures and tables within the manuscript. Figures and tables should be clearly numbered, cited consecutively in the text, and provided with appropriate titles or captions. Figures should be of suitable quality and resolution for publication.

Supplementary Material: Any supplementary material, including datasets, additional figures, tables, videos, audio files, animations, or other supporting material, should be submitted as separate files where appropriate and clearly labeled and cited within the manuscript.

Additional Guidelines:

Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise, and scientifically appropriate English with correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word format.

Use a clear and consistent font and formatting throughout the manuscript.

Use italics where appropriate for emphasis and scientific terminology.

Use automatic page numbering for manuscript pages.

Use appropriate formatting tools for tables and mathematical equations rather than manually creating them with spaces or other unsuitable methods.

Use no more than three levels of headings where possible.

Use standard abbreviations and symbols, and define non-standard abbreviations at their first occurrence.

Follow APA 7th edition guidelines throughout the manuscript.

Authors should provide appropriate funding, competing interests, ethics, consent, data availability, and author contribution statements, wherever applicable.

Original research articles should include a Data Availability Statement explaining how the data supporting the research findings can be accessed, or explaining applicable restrictions where the data cannot be publicly shared.

Authors should ensure that all listed authors have made appropriate contributions to the research, approved the final manuscript, and agree to be accountable for the work.

10. Submission Checklist

☐ Correct article type, scope, and word limit.

☐ Editable .docx manuscript with page numbers and continuous line numbering.

☐ Separate title page and anonymized review manuscript.

☐ Abstract of 150–250 words and 4–6 keywords.

☐ APA 7th edition citations and references checked for accuracy.

☐ Tables, figures, captions, permissions, and supplementary files complete.

☐ Ethics, consent, data availability, funding, competing interests, author contributions, and AI-use declarations included where applicable.

☐ All authors have approved the manuscript and submission.

11. Contact

For submission questions, contact the JOFI Editorial Office through the journal’s official website or online submission system.