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PMWJ Author Guidelines

 

Introduction

The PM World Journal (PMWJ) is the world’s first truly hybrid journal serving the global field of project, program and project management (PPM).  We publish peer review papers by academic and professional researchers, as well as works by practitioners and professionals on many different aspects of PPM. The guidelines below provide information on how to successfully create and submit a manuscript for publication in the PMWJ.

We offer easy and uncomplicated opportunities for program and project management (P/PM) experts, practitioners and researchers to share their experience, knowledge or research.  All articles and papers submitted for publication in the PMWJ should be original and shall not have been simultaneously submitted for publication elsewhere.  All manuscripts should be emailed to Editor@pmworldjournal.com

What We Publish

We publish a wide range of articles, papers and contents each month, by authors in many countries. In so doing, the PMWJ has become one of the world’s most diverse and international publications serving the project management field, with each edition often including works by authors in 15-20 different countries. Because our mission is to support global knowledge sharing, we welcome works for publication by researchers, professional leaders and practitioners at all levels in any industry anywhere in the world. Since 2012, the PMWJ has published more than 5,500 works by 2,100+ different authors in over 90 countries. For a description of the various categories and types of works we publish, click here.

Prospective authors should decide on the type of article, paper or other work to offer for publication before finalizing or submitting a manuscript.

Ethics and Fairness

We strictly adhere to Ethics in Publishing guidelines; read our ethics policies for authors here.

How we Publish

To understand our review and publishing processes for both peer reviewed papers and other submittals, click here.

Open Source, Copyrights, Data Protection

The PMWJ is a Diamond/Platinum Open Source publication, free for authors to publish and free to readers. To read our policies regarding copyright, open source publishing, reproduction and related topics, click here.

To read our approach and policies related to data protection and privacy, click here.

Keep it Simple – Key Pointers

Here are some of the main points we look for; most are further explained below:

    • All submittals must be in MS word files or equivalent
    • Language: English (American or British, or variations thereof as practiced in Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa and other countries)
    • Authors: All submittals must be accompanied by author names, photos and locations; for peer reviewed papers, authors should include affiliations, if any
    • Originality All works must be original and free of plagiarism with all information originally produced by others correctly cited and referenced (see below)
    • Use of AI: Artificial Intelligence (AI) cannot be used for creation of content, only for research and editorial purposes; all use of AI should be explained (see below)
    • Font Type: Preferred fonts: Aptos, Arial, Calibri, Georgia, Times New Roman (others may be allowed – check with PMWJ Managing Editor)
    • Font size: 15pt or 16pt for Title, 12 or 14pt for headings, 12pt (bold) for sub-headings, 12pt for body, 11 pt for captions, 10 pt for footnotes, 11 pt for References
    • Line separation: 1.15 lines only; NO 1.5 or 2 line separations.
    • Capitalization: Capitalize only first letters of key words in Titles, Subtitles, bullet and exhibits
    • No special formatting, PLEASE – we reformat or otherwise confirm that all papers for publication are consistent with our standard formats (see below)
    • headers or footers – please do not use headers or footers – they will be replaced with our standard (see below) unless work has already been formatted in our standard.
    • Minimal use of bold type in text, only in headings, sub-headings and key words in lists.
    • Single column – no fancy formatting for newsletters PLEASE!
    • No Automated References or End Notes; use automated footnotes but references at the end of the paper should not be automatically generated as this causes us formatting problems
    • No Section Breaks
    • No Horizontal Pages, even for tables and illustrations. These cause us formatting problems.
    • References: List at the end of manuscripts; must be complete and accurate, with live links (URLs) for those resources wherever possible
    • Length: For length of various types of manuscripts, refer to What We Publish No manuscripts should be more than 10,000 words or 20 pages, not counting references.
    • File Size: 5MB or less.
    • All submissions and communications to be with the PMWJ managing editor via Editor@pmworldjournal.com.

Formatting

Paper size: We publish works in either A4 (8.27” x 11.69”) or Letter (8.5” x 11”), matching the size of original manuscripts.

Download TEMPLATE for A4 manuscript here

Download TEMPLATE for Letter-sized manuscript here

For all works, contents should include:

    • Title – 5-10 words (with subtitle after colon if needed)
    • Author Name(s)
    • Abstract (if Featured Paper) – 250 words or less
    • Introduction
    • Body of Manuscript, with as many subsections as needed
    • Conclusion
    • References, if any, listed alphabetically (see guidelines below)
    • Author Profile(s) – names, photos, location, bio, contact email address (if desired)

For research papers for which peer reviews will be conducted, contents may include the following:

    • Title – 5-10 words (with subtitle after colon if needed)
    • Author Name(s) – with affiliations if desired)
    • Abstract – 250 words or less
    • Key words – Ten or less
    • Introduction
    • Literature Review
    • Research Questions
    • Objectives – for the research
    • Hypotheses to be Tested (where appropriate)
    • Approach / Methodology (including use of AI, if any)
    • Results – supported by tables, charts and figures where these enhance understanding
    • Discussion – Analysis of results and relationship to the literature
    • Conclusions – Significance of the findings including recommendations, if any
    • Acknowledgements, Declarations, Disclaimers, Disclosures (if any)
    • Notes (if any)
    • References – listed alphabetically by author (see guidelines below)

For all types and categories, see examples in the current edition of the PMWJ here, or PMWJ Archives, or in the PM World Collection in the PM World Library.

Plagiarism, Citations, Footnotes, References

Potential Plagiarism: All works submitted for publication in the PMWJ are subjected to checks for potential.  We follow established ethics in publishing guidelines, including those related to plagiarism. Accordingly, all data, images, figures, text or theories by others shall be properly attributed . Please review our Ethics polices, including for plagiarism, here.

Citations: All information included in a manuscript that was originally created by others should be cited in the text, as well as included in the list of References at the end of the manuscript (prior to author profiles).  Citations can either be made directs, for example, Smith, et al (2020), or parenthetically (Smith, 1999; Jones, et al, 2020).

Footnotes: Footnotes should be used sparingly to support data, tables, figures, exhibits and some text.  MS Word generated Footnotes are preferred, should be sequentially numbered, and in 10pt font – see above). All references included in footnotes should also be included in the References at the end of the manuscript.

References: All cited works  should be included in a list of “References” at the end of the manuscript, with all papers and any other submittals where works by others is cited or used are listed. References should generally follow the Harvard Refencing System, be arranged first alphabetically, then chronologically for each author if necessary. More than one reference from the same author in the same year should be identified by the letters “a”, “b”, “c”, etc. placed after the year of publication. Below is our preferred format for references:

    • Author last name, initials (year). Title, name of publication, vol #, issue #, month (or other identifiers, if appropriate).

Example: Smith, A. B. (2025). How to write for the PMWJ, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue IX, September; or Smith A. B. (2025a),  Smith. A. B. (2025b),  etc.

Other styles are also acceptable, for example:

    • Smith, A. B., Jones, S., T. (2024). How to enjoy writing for the PMWJ, Journal of Happiness in the PM Profession, 152, 51-59.
    • Wright, D. J., 2010, Book about Writing Styles, 9th, XYZ Publishers, London.
    • Johnson, I. M. (2026). Learning Faster Than Light, Journal of Space Age Publishing, 28(1), 4-26. https://doi.org/11.1011/jsap.1757
    • Worthy, U. R., 1990. How to Prepare for the Future, in: Jetson, H.I., (Ed), Book of Advice for Older Actors, New Age Publishing, New York, pp. 234-260.

References may not be needed for Articles, Commentaries, Reports, Personal Stories, book reviews or other submittals in which the work of other authors is not used or mentioned.

Exhibits, Images, Figures, Data

Appropriate graphics are encouraged to explain or illustrate results or data without lengthy prose.  A few guidelines are provided here:

    • Number: Maximum 5-7 figures preferred; exceptions at the discretion of the PMWJ Managing Editor (note: figures and graphics often increase the file size of manuscripts too much)
    • Captions: All exhibits, images and figures must have captions that identify or describe the information in the exhibit, figures or table. Such information should be in the caption, not in the exhibit itself. Captions should be placed beneath the image or table.
    • File types: Images and figures should be in ., and reduced in size to 1000 pixels wide or smaller (may be reduced further by editor to better fit manuscript or to reduce file size of the entire manuscript)
    • Text in illustrations should be minimized, all figures and symbols should be explained.
    • Tables can include editable text or images but may be edited or replacements requested by PMWJ editors. Table notes should be just below the body table. Where possible, tables should not break across pages but where this is unavoidable, the first row, known as the header, must repeat.
    • Placement: Exhibits, Images and Figures should be included in the manuscript near the text associated with those images or exhibits, not at the end of the manuscript.
    • Numbering: Exhibits, Images and Figures should be numbered consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the manuscript.
    • Citations: Data used in the text should be fully cited, with appropriate references in the List of References.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies should only be used to improve readability and language. AI should always be used with human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit results, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased.  AI and AI-assisted technologies cannot be listed as authors or co-authors, or cited as an author, since authorship implies responsibility and accountability.  To better understand our position on AI, please refer to our publishing policies regarding use of AI here.

Author Agreement

All authors who submit works for publication in the PMWJ must sign a PMWJ Author Agreement.  Here are the options:

Author Agreement for Single Author of new work submitted for publication

Author Agreement for Multiple Authors of new work submitted for publication.

Author Agreement for “All Works Submitted for Publication in the PMWJ”, for repeat authors or authors of article series in multiple editions of the PMWJ.

Authors can download the appropriate Author Agreement, print, sign, scan and email a signed Author Agreement with original manuscript submittal or wait for one to be provided by the PMWJ Managing Editor.

Submission Guidelines

To understand our review and publishing processes, please review How We Publish here.

Authors submitting material for publication in PMWJ should consult, How We Publish: Authors should take the following steps:

    • Study our author guidelines, publishing policies and processes, including ethics policies and requirements
    • Decide on what to submit – research paper, article, commentary, report, etc.
    • Review our standard formatting requirements for the type of manuscript selected
    • For Initial submission
      • Draft Manuscript in PMWJ format
      • Author and co-Author background summaries, photos and locations
      • Request for peer review, if appropriate.
    • Following initial PMWJ editorial review and response from PMWJ Managing Editor, who will email to author an Author Agreement (if not yet received), results of potential plagiarism and AI checks, and template (if needed):
      • Sign and return Author Agreement (if not already done)
      • Review results of PMWJ potential Plagiarism check
      • Review results of PMWJ potential AI content check
      • Revise manuscript as needed and resubmit to PMWJ editor
    • Reviews and resubmissions
      • For peer reviewed papers or others as directed by PMWJ editor, revise manuscript as needed to respond to reviewer comments or editorial recommendations
      • Resubmit paper to managing editor
    • Repeat revisions to paper and resubmit to Managing Editor, if needed
    • Upon receipt of final formatted and accepted manuscript from PMWJ Editor
      • Accept or revise final formatted version received from PMWJ editor
      • Return approval or approved version to PMWJ editor for publication

Before You Publish

To help ensure your work is submitted and accepted in timely and successful manner, please refer to the checklist under Before You Submit here.

PMWJ Archives in PM World Library

All works published in the PMWJ are archived in the PM World Library where they can be found and searched in the PM World Collection.  This enables readers to locate papers easily and offers maximum exposure for authors.  PW World Journal contents are also  indexed by EBSCO each month, which enables wide academic access to papers and authors.

Every author of work published in the PMWJ, including co-authors will have an Author Showcase webpage created in the PM World Library where author photo, bio and location will be posted, as well as live links to the author’s works archived in the library.  Author profile pages can be found in alphabetical order (by last name) in the Author Showcase in the library.

Citations are also created for many PMWJ works archived in the PMWL and posted under related topics elsewhere in the library, for example in Basic PPM Processes and Topics or Advanced / Hot Topics in PPM.

For clarification or additional information, contact Editor@pmworldjournal.com.