The format of the compulsory cover letter forms part of your submission and is located on the first page of your manuscript and should always be presented in English. You should provide all of the following elements:

• Article title: Provide a short title of 50 characters or less.
• Significance of work: Briefly state the significance of the work being reported on.
• Full author details: Title(s), Full name(s), Position(s), Affiliation(s) and contact details (postal address, email, telephone and cellular number) of each author. 
• Corresponding author: Identify to whom all correspondence should be addressed to.
• Authors’ contributions: Briefly summarise the nature of the contribution made by each of the authors listed, along the lines of the following:  J.K. was the project leader, L.M.N. and A.B. were responsible for experimental and project design. L.M.N. performed most of the experiments. P.R. made conceptual contributions and S.T., U.V. and C.D. performed some of the experiments. S.M. and V.C. prepared the samples and calculations were performed by C.S., J.K. and U.V. wrote the manuscript.
• Possible reviewers: Authors are encouraged to provide the names and full contact details (including email) of two or three potential referees to evaluate the work (referees should not be people with whom the researcher has recently collaborated or published).
• Summary: Lastly, a list containing the number of words, pages, tables, figures and/or other supplementary material should accompany the submission.

Submission language: English (UK), Afrikaans

Title: The article’s full title should contain a maximum of 95 characters (including spaces).

Abstract

• Do not cite references in the abstract.
• Do not use abbreviations excessively in the abstract.
• The abstract should be written in English.
• The abstract should be no longer than 300 words and must be written in the past tense. The abstract should give a succinct account of the objectives, methods, results and significance of the matter. The structured abstract for an Original Research article should consist of seven paragraphs labelled as follows:
  • Orientation: A brief theme sentence to orientate the reader about the overall issue or problem area addressed in this article.
  • Research purpose: The main research aim or purpose of the study is stated.
  • Motivation for the study: The rationale or motivation for the study is provided.
  • Research design, approach and method: The research design, approach and method is briefly explained with specific reference to the target population and the sample size.
  • Main findings: The main results/findings of the study is summarised.
  • Practical/managerial implications: A summary of the practical or managerial implications is briefly stated.
  • Contribution/value-add: A concluding statement indicates the contribution or value-add of the study in addressing gaps or contradictions in the literature.

Introduction (first-level heading) The author(s) provide a provocative and thought-provoking introduction to the theoretical discourse/debate that will attract the attention of potential readers. In this section the author(s) provide the context or background to the discourse or argument by high-lighting or emphasizing specific aspects relevant or contributing to the discourse or debate. The context or setting of the problem provides the décor against which
the problem unfolds. Wherever possible, relevant literature should be cited to provide support for your arguments. (Refer to the quantitative or qualitative guidelines on writing the introduction section).

• Purpose of the study (second-level heading): Against the background or context (explained earlier), in which this debate/discourse unfolds, the purpose of the study should be stated clearly and convincingly (but briefly) in this section of the manuscript.
• Current theoretical perspectives  (second-level heading): A complete and a high-level, critical review of the current literature should be provided that illustrates the different theoretical perspectives/ controversies/ limitations on the theory/methodology in a clear,
  comprehensive and in a balanced (objective) way. The review should reflect a high quality of scientific argumentation and logic in the identification of the limitations/deficiencies in existing theory/methodology. The arguments around these deficiencies/limitations should be presented in a coherent/systematic manner. Existing theoretical perspectives on these problem/issues should be fully and clearly presented. 
• Problem statement and research objectives (including preliminary literature review) (second-level heading): When introducing the problem it should convince the reader that the problem is relevant and topical. The decision to address a particular research problem can either be triggered by some need identified in practice, some theoretical problem or by some incompatibilities in opposing academic/theoretical viewpoints. Theoretical or practical evidence should be provided to verify the existence of the problem. The evidence should be focused and specific, yet sufficiently extensive on a theoretical level to warrant further research. Care should be taken not to create straw dolls (pseudo-problems) that might come apart at a later stage. The
  researchability of the problem from a practical and ethical point of view should be considered. A high-level, preliminary literature review should substantiate the existence of the problem. It should also indicate the extent of one’s knowledge on each of the sub-problems or sub-goals of the study. A clear void in existing knowledge must be indicated. This preliminary literature review will not only indicate the current extent of knowledge, but it will also indicate the potential contribution of the resolution of the problem.
  The problem statement needs to be formulated carefully so that it includes all major variables/ constructs. It is good practice to state a central research goal/objective. The research goal/objective can then be sub-divided into specific research questions or sub-goals. That will dissect the problem into ‘chewable chunks’. These ‘chunks’ should, when combined again, revert to the problem statement, the central goal, and the research question(s). This is only a device to check whether there are any visible gaps or limitations in the problem statement.
• Rationale or value-add of the study (second-level heading): A convincing motivation for the study should be presented. The problem should be substantial or comprehensive in nature and a pressing need must exist to address the problem. Evidence should be presented
  on the extent and actuality of the problem (e.g. in wellbeing terms) and what impact it would have on, for example, world one, world two or world three knowledge if corrective action is not taken.

Research design (first-level heading)
The methods should include:

• Research approach (second-level heading): This section serves to explicate the specific theoretical perspective or school of thought (such as philosophical analysis; literature review; conceptual (or word) analysis; and theory (or model) building) followed in the study:
  
  • If applicable, state the perspective or school of thought that serves as departure point for the article. Motivate the reason(s) for this perspective.
  • If specific presuppositions support the perspective, these should also be stated.
• Research method (second-level heading): Specify which of the following non-empirical methods* have been used and why this method was chosen. Also indicate where and how this method was used in the study:
  The application of any of these research methods takes the form of a substantive/thorough literature analysis which follows a specific method/approach.  Please note that research articles are treated in this instance as sources of data and the literature as data.
  • Targeted body of literature (third-level heading): Explain which search portal(s) were targeted and why.
  • Gathering the data (third-level heading): Explain the process and the criteria for selection and inclusion of the data.
  • Analysis of the data (third-level heading): Explain the process followed to make sense or to categorise the data.
  • Presentation of the data (third-level heading): Explain briefly how the data will be presented.

Results (first-level heading)
This section provides a synthesis of the obtained literature grouped or categorised according to some organising or analysis principle.  

Tables may be used or models may be drafted to indicate key components of the results of the study.

• Organise the results based on the sequence of Tables and Figures you will include in the manuscrip.
• The body of the Results section is a text presentation of the key findings which includes references to each of the Tables and Figures.
• Statistical test summaries (test name, p-value) are usually reported parenthetically in conjunction with the biological results they support, use SI unit.
• Present the results of your experiment(s)/research data in a sequence that will logically support (or provide evidence against) the hypothesis, or answer the question, stated in the Introductio.

All units should conform to the SI convention and be abbreviated accordingly. Metric units and their international symbols are used throughout, as is the decimal point (not the decimal comma).  
 

Ethical considerations (first-level heading)  
Articles based on the involvement of animals must have been conducted in accordance with relevant national and international guidelines. Approval must have been obtained for all protocols from the author's institutional or other relevant ethics committee and the institution name and permit numbers provided at submission.

• Potential benefits and hazards (second-level heading: What risks to the subject are entailed in involvement in the research? Are there any potential physical, psychological or disclosure dangers that can be anticipated? What is the possible benefit or harm to the subject or society from their participation or from the project as a whole? What  procedures have been established for the care and protection of subjects (e.g. insurance, medical cover) and the control of any information gained from them or about them?  
• Recruitment procedures (second-level heading): Was there any sense in which subjects might be ‘obliged’ to participate – as in the case of students, prisoners, learners or patients – or were volunteers being recruited? If participation was compulsory, the potential consequences of non-compliance must be indicated to subjects; if voluntary, entitlement to withdraw consent must be indicated and when that entitlement lapses. 
  
• Informed consent (second-level heading): Authors must include how informed consent was handled in the study.  
• Data protection (second-level heading: Authors must include in detail the way in which data protection was handled.

Trustworthiness (first-level heading)
This refers to the findings of the study being based on the discovery of human experience as it was experienced and observed by the
participants.

• Reliability (second-level heading): Reliability is the extent to which an experiment, test, or any measuring procedure yields the same result on repeated trials. Without the agreement of independent observers able to replicate research procedures, or the ability to use research tools and procedures that yield consistent measurements,  researchers would be unable to satisfactorily draw  conclusions, formulate theories, or make claims about the generalisability of their research.    
• Validity (second-level heading): Validity refers to the degree to which a study accurately reflects or assesses the specific concept that the researcher is attempting to measure. While reliability is concerned with the accuracy of the actual measuring instrument or procedure, validity is concerned with the study's success at measuring what the researchers set out to measure. Researchers should be concerned with both external and internal validity. External validity refers to the extent to which the results of a study are generalisable or transferable. Internal validity refers to (1) the rigor with which the study was conducted (e.g. the study's design, the care taken to conduct measurements, and decisions concerning what was and wasn't measured) and (2) the extent to which the designers of a study have taken into account alternative explanations for any causal relationships they explore. In studies that do not explore causal relationships, only the first of these definitions should be considered when assessing internal validity.  

 
Discussion (first-level heading)   
This section normally contains the following four elements.  It is suggested that sub-headings are used in this section:

• Outline of the results (second-level heading: Restate the main objective of the study and reaffirm the importance of the study by restating its main contributions; summarise the results in relation to each stated research objective or research hypothesis; link the findings back to the literature and to the results reported by other researchers; provide explanations for unexpected results.  
• Practical implications (second-level heading): Reaffirm the importance of the study by restating its main contributions and provide the implications for the practical implementation your research.  
• Limitations of the study (first-level heading): Point out the possible limitations of the study and provide suggestions for future research.
   Recommendations (second-level heading): Provide the recommendations emerging out of the current research.

 
Conclusion (first-level heading)
This should state clearly the main conclusions of the research and give a clear explanation of their importance and relevance, with a recommendation for future research (implications for practice). Provide a brief conclusion that restates the objectives; the research design; the results and their meaning.

Acknowledgements (first-level heading)
If, through your study, you received any significant help in conceiving, designing, or carrying out the work, or received materials from someone who did you a favour by supplying them, you must acknowledge their assistance and the service or material provided. Authors should always acknowledge outside reviewers of their drafts and any sources of funding that supported the research.

• Competing interests (second-level heading): A competing interest exists when your interpretation of data or presentation of information may be influenced by your personal or financial relationship with other people or organisations that can potentially prevent you from executing and publishing unbiased research. Authors should disclose any financial competing interests but also any non-financial competing interests that may cause them embarrassment were they to become public after the publication of the manuscript. Where an author gives no competing interests, the listing will read ‘The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationship(s) which may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this paper.’  
  
• Authors' contributions (second-level heading)*: This section is necessary to give appropriate credit to each author, and to the authors' applicable institution. The individual contributions of authors should be specified with their affiliation at the time of the study and completion of the work. An ‘author’ is generally considered to be someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a published study.  Contributions made by each of the authors listed, along the lines of the following (please note the use of author initials):

J.K. (University of Pretoria) was the project leader, L.M.N. (University of KwaZulu-Natal) and A.B. (University of Stellenbosch) were responsible for experimental and project design. L.M.N. performed most of the experiments. P.R. made conceptual contributions and S.T. (University of Cape Town), U.V. (University of Cape Town) and C.D. (University of Cape Town) performed some of the experiments. S.M. (Cape Peninsula University of Technology) and V.C. (Cape Peninsula University of Technology) prepared the samples and calculations were performed by C.S., J.K. (Cape Peninsula University of Technology) and U.V. wrote the manuscript.

References (first-level heading)
Begin the reference list on a separate page with no more than 60 references. The SA Journal of Industrial Psychology uses the APA referencing style, details of which can be downloaded from the journal website. Note: No other style will be permitted.