Information For Authors

The Indian Journal of Open Learning is Approved by the University Grants Commission and is Listed in the UGC-CARE List.

Interested in submitting to this journal? Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process.

Guidelines for Authors

The authors are requested to get the plagiarism check for the article to be submitted. The authors are also requested to upload the plagiarism report and Originality Certificate while uploading the article.

Indian Journal of Open Learning invites scholarly articles, research papers, short notes based on research and experience, and book reviews for publication in the field of open and distance education including correspondence and multimedia education, educational technology and communication, independent and experiential learning and other innovative forms of education.  

The editors invite original, scholarly articles and research papers within the aim and scope of the journal. Articles, etc. that have not been published previously or submitted elsewhere, and that are not under review for another publication in any medium (e.g. printed journal, conference proceedings, electronic or optical medium) should be submitted to the Chief Editor, Indian Journal of Open Learning (IJOL). Copyright clearance for materials used in the article should be obtained by the author(s). It will be assumed that submission of an article to this journal implies that all the foregoing conditions are applicable.

In line with the objectives of the Journal, the editors seek scholarly articles and research papers (3000-6000 words normally, 8000-10000 words in exceptional cases), short notes based on research and experience, etc. (1500-3000 words) and book reviews (within 1500-2000 words) for publication. 

All articles and papers received for publication undergo the process of blind peer-review. Authors may be required to revise their work in the light of the suggestions made by the referees and to accept the amendments made by the editors.

Authors are also invited to submit books on open and distance education, education technology and communication media in education and related fields for review, to the Chief Editor.

COPYRIGHT: Indira Gandhi National Open University and authors of individual papers.

Peer Review: All contributions submitted will be subjected to peer review. To allow anonymous refereeing, please submit author(s) identification, affiliation, etc., in a separate sheet (not in the main text of the article).

Format: Papers (3000-6000 words normally, 8000-10000 words in exceptional cases), short communications (1500-3000 words) on new ideas/new areas of work/innovations/action research/ongoing investigations/conference/seminar and workshop outcomes, and book reviews (1500-2000 words) should be neatly typed in MS word format and on one side of A4 size paper with double spacing and a wide margin to the left. Kindly upload your paper at http://journal.ignouonline.ac.in

Organisation: The general organisation of research papers should be as follows: Abstract, Keywords, the nature and scope of the study should be stated first, then the details of methods, materials, tools, procedures and/or equipments used; followed by findings, discussion and conclusion. Appendices may be used to amplify details where appropriate. Scholarly papers should have introduction, main sections and sub-sections, and conclusion.

Tables and Figures should be typed in separate sheets and their position in the text should be indicated clearly. Please supply camera ready copy of all figures as these shall not normally be redrawn.

Footnotes to the text should be avoided, but where used should be numbered consecutively and presented as endnotes.

Citations of other works should be limited to those strictly necessary for arguments. Short quotations should be included in the text within inverted commas (“ ”) and quotations of more than 30 words should be placed in a separate paragraph indented from the main body of the text. However, all quotations should be accompanied by precise references, in author date style. Copyright of others’ works in the text, wherever applicable, shall be obtained by the authors.

References should be as per recent APA style and should be indicated in the text by giving the name of the author(s), with the year of publication in parentheses. If more than one paper by the same author(s) from the same year are cited, a, b, c, etc., should be put after the year of publication. All references should be alphabetically listed at the end of the paper in the following standard format:

Books: Evans, T., Haughey, M. and Murphy, D. (2008). International handbook of distance education. London: Emerald.

Journal Articles: Scanlon, E. (2012). Open educational resources in support of science learning: Tools for enquiry and observation. Distance Education, 23(2), 221-237.

Book Chapters: Ram Reddy, G. (1988). Distance education: what, why and how. In B.N. Koul, et al. (Eds.), Studies in distance education. New Delhi: AIU and IGNOU.

Conference Papers (online): Panda, S. (2000). Mentoring, incentives and rewards in research as professional development. Invited keynote address at Conference on Research in Distance & Adult Learning in Asia, Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Retrieved from www.ouhk.edu.hk/cridal/cridala/conf/messages/14/panda.pdf

Dissertations: Mishra, A. (2008). Evaluation of undergraduate Physics programme of IGNOU and implications for learners. (Doctoral thesis). IGNOU, New Delhi.

OFFPRINTS: A copy of the Journal would be supplied to the first author and all the co-authors. All the articles are also freely available online in PDF format on IJOL website.