Instruction to Authors

Instructions to Authors

Planning Malaysia welcomes original, rigorous and ethically conducted manuscripts that fall within the journal's approved aims and scope. Submission indicates that all authors have approved the manuscript, agree to its submission, and accept the journal's editorial and publication policies.

4.1 Submission route

Manuscripts must be submitted through the Planning Malaysia Open Journal Systems (OJS) portal. Submission by personal email is not the normal route. The editorial office email may be used for technical assistance or where the Editor-in-Chief has authorised an exceptional contingency procedure. Each submission will receive a unique manuscript identification number, which must be quoted in all correspondence.

Submission Link

4.2 Languages and manuscript quality

Manuscripts must be written in clear academic English. Authors are responsible for language accuracy. The journal may return a manuscript for language improvement before peer review, but language-editing services do not guarantee acceptance. Titles, abstracts, keywords, author names, affiliations and references must be provided in Roman script; non-Roman-script titles may also be supplied as supplementary metadata where relevant.

4.3 Article types

  • Original Research Article: Reports original empirical or analytical research with a clear question, appropriate method, results, discussion and contribution.
  • Case Study: Provides systematic analysis of a project, policy, place, organisation or intervention and draws transferable lessons rather than offering a purely descriptive account.
  • Conceptual or Theoretical Article: Develops, integrates or critically extends concepts, frameworks or theory and explains its contribution to planning or the built-environment literature.
  • Policy or Practice Article: Offers evidence-based analysis of policy, regulation, professional practice or implementation, with a clear method and implications beyond a single institutional report.
  • Systematic, Scoping or Evidence-Synthesis Review: May be considered when it follows a recognised, transparent review method and makes a substantive original contribution. Purely narrative or descriptive literature summaries are normally unsuitable.
  • Brief Report or Technical Note: Presents a concise methodological, technical, data or practice contribution, subject to the same ethical and review standards.
  • Editorial, Commentary, Book/Software Review or Publisher Notice: Published only at the Editor-in-Chief's discretion. The review status will be stated on the item; these categories are not necessarily externally peer reviewed.

The journal should publish article-specific word limits. Recommended starting limits are 5,000-8,000 words for original articles and case studies; 4,000-7,000 words for conceptual/policy articles; and 6,000-9,000 words for systematic or scoping reviews, excluding references and supplementary files. The current 15-page typeset limit may be retained only if it can be applied consistently and does not compromise methodological transparency.

4.4 Files required at initial submission

  • Title page. Article title; short title; all authors' full names; institutional affiliations and countries; email addresses; ORCID iDs where available; corresponding author; CRediT contributor roles; acknowledgements; funding; conflicts of interest; ethics/consent details; data availability; and AI-use declaration.
  • Anonymous manuscript. A clean manuscript without author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, document properties or other direct identifiers. Self-citations should be phrased neutrally and should not reveal identity unnecessarily.
  • Cover letter. A brief explanation of fit, originality and contribution; confirmation of exclusive submission and author approval; disclosure of related manuscripts, preprints or conference versions; and any requested reviewer exclusions with reasons.
  • Figures and supplementary files. High-quality editable tables and figures, permissions where required, data/code/material files or repository links, reporting checklists, and ethics documents when requested.

Checklist

4.5 Manuscript preparation

  • Title. Specific, informative and no longer than necessary. Avoid unsupported claims, unexplained abbreviations and promotional language.
  • Abstract. Normally 200-250 words, stating the purpose/problem, method, principal findings, contribution and key implications. It must accurately reflect the article and should not contain citations unless essential.
  • Keywords. Provide four to six terms that are specific, searchable and not merely repetitions of the title.
  • Main text. Use headings appropriate to the article type. Empirical articles normally include Introduction, Literature/Conceptual Context, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Limitations and Implications. Alternative structures are permitted where justified.
  • Methods. Describe design, sampling, instruments, variables, analytical procedures, software, validation, ethics and limitations in sufficient detail for evaluation and, where feasible, replication.
  • Tables and figures. Number consecutively, provide self-contained captions and sources, cite each in the text, and ensure accessibility and legibility in colour and grayscale. Do not manipulate images or maps in a misleading manner.
  • References. Use the current edition of APA style. Every in-text citation must appear in the reference list and every reference must be cited in the text. Include DOI links where available and verify all bibliographic details.
  • Supplementary material. Label and describe each file. Supplementary content that supports the scholarly claims may be sent to reviewers and forms part of the editorial record.

PMJ Template

4.6 Scope, originality and prior dissemination

The manuscript must be original and must not be under consideration by another journal. Substantial overlap with the authors' published or submitted work must be disclosed and properly cited. A conference paper, thesis chapter, report or preprint may be developed into a journal article only where the relationship is disclosed, copyright permits reuse, and the journal submission adds substantial new value. Posting a preprint is not treated as prior journal publication, but authors must identify the preprint and update it with the article DOI after publication where possible.

4.7 Authorship and contributorship

Authorship is based on substantive scholarly contribution and accountability, not status, seniority, funding, supervision alone or administrative position. Every author must have made a substantial contribution; participated in drafting or critical revision; approved the submitted and final versions; and agreed to be accountable for their contribution and to cooperate in resolving integrity questions.

Planning Malaysia does not impose an arbitrary maximum number of authors. Where a manuscript has many authors, the CRediT statement must clearly explain each contribution. Individuals who do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their permission. Gift, guest, honorary and ghost authorship are prohibited.

Any author may serve as corresponding author, regardless of academic rank, provided that the person accepts responsibility for communication, confirms all authors' approval, maintains current contact details, submits required declarations and coordinates responses before and after publication.

Requests to add, remove or reorder authors after submission require a written explanation and signed agreement from all affected authors. Changes after acceptance are exceptional and may delay publication. Authorship disputes that cannot be resolved by the authors may be referred to their institutions.

4.8 Research ethics and informed consent

Research involving human participants, personal data, vulnerable groups, interviews, surveys, observation, images or identifiable locations must comply with applicable law and recognised ethical standards. Authors must state the approving or exempting ethics body, approval/reference number and date, and describe informed-consent procedures. Where consent was waived, the basis must be stated. Identifying information must not be published without explicit permission unless a compelling lawful and ethical justification exists.

For research involving animals, hazardous materials, culturally sensitive knowledge, Indigenous/local communities, geospatial privacy or security-sensitive infrastructure, authors must provide the applicable approvals, permissions and safeguards. The editor may request supporting documentation and may reject work that does not meet ethical requirements.

4.9 Data, materials, code and reproducibility

Articles reporting original data must include a Data Availability Statement. Authors should deposit non-sensitive data, code, instruments and protocols in a trusted repository and cite the persistent identifier. Where sharing is restricted by consent, privacy, law, security, commercial agreement or Indigenous/community governance, the restriction and access conditions must be explained. A statement that data are available on reasonable request must identify the custodian and any conditions.

Authors must preserve the underlying records for an appropriate period and supply relevant data or documentation to the editor when necessary for verification, subject to legal and ethical restrictions. Fabrication, falsification, selective omission and misleading presentation are prohibited.

4.10 Conflicts of interest and funding

Every author must disclose financial and non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence the work. These may include employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership, grants, litigation, patents, political or ideological interests, personal relationships, academic competition, professional roles and institutional affiliations. If no conflict exists, state: The authors declare no competing interests.

All funding and in-kind support must be identified, including grant numbers. Authors must state the funder's role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation and the decision to submit. If the funder had no role, state this explicitly.

4.11 Use of artificial intelligence and AI-assisted tools

Generative AI or AI-assisted tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot accept responsibility, approve the work or respond to integrity concerns. Authors remain fully responsible for every part of the submission.

Authors who use AI tools for writing, translation beyond routine spelling/grammar support, literature processing, coding, data generation or analysis, image creation or modification, or any other substantive task must disclose the tool name and version, purpose, extent of use, and human verification in the Methods, Acknowledgements or a dedicated AI Use Declaration, as appropriate. Authors must verify accuracy, originality, references, permissions, confidentiality and potential bias. Fabricated citations, undisclosed synthetic data, deceptive images and uploading confidential or personal data to unauthorised AI services are prohibited.

4.12 Citation integrity

References must be selected for scholarly relevance, accuracy and balance. Authors are not required to cite Planning Malaysia or any particular editor, reviewer or journal unless the work is genuinely relevant. Excessive self-citation, citation cartels, irrelevant citation padding and citation requests intended to manipulate metrics are prohibited. Editors may ask authors to remove or justify inappropriate citations.

4.13 Similarity screening and plagiarism

Submissions may be screened using similarity-detection software. The journal does not determine plagiarism from a single overall percentage. Editors assess the source, extent, location, attribution and context of each significant match, including quotations, methods, references, preprints and legitimate text recycling. Suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication or undisclosed text recycling will be handled under the journal's misconduct procedure and relevant COPE guidance.

4.14 Reviewer suggestions and exclusions

Authors may suggest suitably qualified reviewers and may request the exclusion of particular individuals with a brief reason. Suggestions are advisory only. Suggested reviewers must be independent and must not have a recent collaboration, supervisory relationship, close personal relationship, financial interest or other conflict with the authors. The editorial office verifies reviewer identity and may select other reviewers. Authors must not contact reviewers or attempt to influence the review process.

4.15 Peer review and editorial decisions

Eligible scholarly manuscripts are assessed under the double-anonymous peer-review procedure described on the Peer Review Policy page. Submission does not guarantee external review or acceptance. Editors may reject a manuscript before review where it is outside scope, insufficiently original, methodologically inadequate, ethically problematic, poorly prepared or unlikely to be made suitable through reasonable revision.

4.16 Fees, open access, copyright and licence

There is no submission fee or peer-review fee. The current Article Processing Charge is RM1,500 for accepted articles. The journal must state whether waivers or discounts are available, who is eligible, when to apply and how decisions are made. Fee or waiver status must not influence editorial decisions, and editors and reviewers involved in the scholarly decision should not be informed of an author's ability to pay where operationally possible.

Authors retain copyright and grant Planning Malaysia the right of first publication. Recommended open-access licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). If the journal elects to retain another Creative Commons licence, such as CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, the exact licence and permitted uses must be stated consistently on this page, the author agreement, each article PDF/HTML and the deposited metadata. The website footer's copyright notice for the website must be distinguished from article copyright.

Publication Fee

4.17 Corrections and author responsibilities after publication

Authors must promptly inform the editor of material errors or integrity concerns discovered after submission or publication and cooperate with any correction, expression of concern, retraction or investigation. Changes that affect the scholarly record will be published transparently and linked to the original article; the journal will not silently replace the version of record.