Research Methodology
Research Reporting Standards and Instructions for Author
- PURPOSE
These standards establish minimum reporting requirements for manuscripts submitted to the Bulletin of the Carol I National Defence University. Their purpose is to improve transparency, methodological rigor, reproducibility, and scientific quality.
2. RESEARCH DESIGNS COVERED
The standards apply to:
• Quantitative research
• Qualitative research
• Mixed methods research
3. GENERAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
All manuscripts should include:
• Title
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Introduction
• Literature Review
• Research Questions/Objectives/Hypotheses
• Methodology
• Results/Findings
• Discussion
• Conclusions
• Limitations
• References
4. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH REPORTING STANDARDS
Authors should report:
• Sampling strategy
• Inclusion and exclusion criteria
• Participant characteristics
• Instruments and measures
• Reliability and validity evidence
• Statistical procedures
• Effect sizes and confidence intervals
• Missing data treatment
• Software used
5. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH REPORTING STANDARDS
Authors should report:
• Research design and approach
• Researcher positionality and reflexivity
• Recruitment and sampling procedures
• Data collection methods
• Coding and analytical procedures
• Evidence supporting findings
• Methodological integrity and trustworthiness
6. MIXED METHODS REPORTING STANDARDS
Authors should:
• Identify the mixed-methods design
• Justify integration of qualitative and quantitative data
• Describe sampling and data collection for both strands
• Explain integration procedures
• Present integrated findings
7. RESEARCH ETHICS
Studies involving human participants must include:
• Ethics committee approval
• Informed consent procedures
• Data protection measures
• Compliance with institutional and legal requirements
In some circumstances, authors may be required to submit evidence of ethics approval or a statement from the relevant ethics committee during the review process.
8. OPEN SCIENCE AND DATA AVAILABILITY
Authors are encouraged to deposit datasets, instruments, protocols, codebooks, and supplementary materials in trusted repositories such as OSF.
A Data Availability Statement should be included in all manuscripts.
9. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DISCLOSURE
Authors must disclose any use of generative artificial intelligence tools in the preparation of manuscripts.
AI tools cannot be listed as authors and remain the responsibility of human authors.
10. CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND FUNDING
Authors must provide:
• Conflict of Interest Statement
• Funding Statement
• Acknowledgement of institutional support where applicable
11. CHECKLIST FOR AUTHORS
Before submission, verify:
✓ Objectives clearly stated
✓ Methodology justified
✓ Sampling described
✓ Data collection explained
✓ Analysis transparent
✓ Ethical requirements addressed
✓ Findings supported by evidence
✓ Limitations discussed
✓ Implications identified
12. GUIDANCE FOR REVIEWERS
Reviewers should assess:
• Methodological rigor
• Transparency
• Ethical compliance
• Quality of evidence
• Relevance to defence, security, military studies, public administration, international relations, cyber security, intelligence studies, strategic communication, and related fields.
13. RECOMMENDED DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
'The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.'
14. RECOMMENDED AI DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
'The authors disclose the use of generative AI tools exclusively for language editing and formatting assistance. All scientific content, interpretation, and conclusions remain the responsibility of the authors.'
15. RECOMMENDED ETHICS STATEMENT
'The study was conducted in accordance with institutional ethical standards and applicable national regulations. Where required, ethics approval was obtained from the competent ethics committee.'
