Your Paper Your Way
We now differentiate between the requirements for new and revised submissions. You may choose to submit your manuscript as a single Word or PDF file to be used in the refereeing process. Only when your paper is at the revision stage, will you be requested to put your paper in to a ‘correct format’ for acceptance and provide the items required for the publication of your article.
To find out more, please visit the Preparation section below.
Types of paper
This Journal publishes original research papers, review articles, short communications, letters, letters to the editor, news items, calendar inserts.
Research papers: Research papers should not exceed the maximum length of 40 equivalent pages (formatted to 1.5 spacing and 12-point font size), with each figure or table being counted as one equivalent page. Please place figures and tables at the end of the text. The number of references should be limited to 50. If the number of authors of a manuscript is more than 5, the corresponding author is required to justify the individual contributions of each co-author. Only those who have made major contributions should be listed as a co-author.
Review articles: Review articles will come from two channels: (i) editors can invite established researchers to contribute review articles on specific topics, and (ii) authors can submit a proposal to the Editor with an updated CV if he/she intends to write a review article of current interest. A proposal should include the general introduction to the topic, justification of interest to a specific research community, and an outline of materials to be presented. After the proposal is granted by the Editor, authors can then prepare for full review articles. The length of review articles should be limited to 80 equivalent pages (formatted to 1.5 spacing and 12-point font size), with each figure or table being counted as one equivalent page.
Short communications: Short communications will be limited to maximum length of 12 equivalent pages.
The Comment article type is solely for publications that correct or criticize papers by other author. Each Comment should:
(i) contain an abstract and clearly state the paper to which it refers;
(ii) be limited to the scientific knowledge in the paper which it criticizes or corrects, and should not be a general discussion of the topic;
(iii) be written free from polemics or personal attacks.
A Reply to a Comment must also conform to these requirements. A Corrigendum by the authors of the original paper with appropriate acknowledgment is preferred whenever it is appropriate in place of a Comment and Reply. The editorial procedure for Comments is usually as follows:
- A Comment is sent to the author(s) whose work is being criticized. The author(s) should provide a Reply which will be sent back to the author(s) of the Comment for possible revision (if any).
- After appropriate exchanges between the two parties involved, the Comment will be sent to at least two anonymous referees for peer-review.
- If the recommendation from the anonymous referees is to accept the Comment, the author(s) whose work is being commented on will be asked to submit the Reply for possible publication. This Reply will also be reviewed by the same referees.
- The Comment and Reply are usually published in the same issue. If, however, the Reply is unduly delayed, it may be published in a later issue.
Contact details for submission
Submission address:
Papers should be submitted using the online submission system. Papers appearing in conference proceedings or in collections of conference papers, as well as papers that are rejected after the first-round of review will not be considered for publication. Papers will be reviewed and assessed by independent referees
Submission checklist
You can use this list to carry out a final check of your submission before you send it to the journal for review. Please check the relevant section in this Guide for Authors for more details.
Ensure that the following items are present:
One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
All necessary files have been uploaded:
Manuscript:
• Include keywords
• All figures (include relevant captions)
• All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
• Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided
• Indicate clearly if color should be used for any figures in print
Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable)
Supplemental files (where applicable)
Further considerations
• Manuscript has been ‘spell checked’ and ‘grammar checked’
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet)
• A competing interests statement is provided, even if the authors have no competing interests to declare
• Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed
• Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements