GUIDE FOR AUTHORS
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
Telephone number of corresponding author
All necessary files have been submitted as attachment:
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
Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements
MANUSCRIPT TYPES:
Science Focus publishes the following types of papers:
•Original Articles
•Review Articles
•Case Reports
•Short communications
•Images
Manuscript structure and style
Manuscripts should be prepared using a word-processing package and save in .doc or .docx format. The font type and font size should be Times New Roman 11 points. The manuscript should be double-spaced and should include page numbers.
The manuscript should include the below items and organized in the following order.
1. Cover letter
2. Title page
3. Abstract and 3-6 Key words
4. Main Text with the following sections: Abbreviation, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgement (optional), Disclosure of Funding, Disclosure of any Conflict of interest.
5. Figure and table legends followed by figures and tables
6. References
Specifications for each article type
Total number of words specified below comprises words on the title page, abstract, keywords, main text, figure and legends and tables. All manuscripts must adhere to the following specifications.
Original Article
•Authors: unlimited
•Abstract (structured): 250 words (sections should be: Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusions) •Figures/tables combined: 10
•References: 40
•Total number of words: 4000
Review Article (a review article should not include unpublished cases/data)
•Authors: 8 maximum
• Summary (unstructured): 300 words
•Figures/tables combined: 10
•References: 80
•Total number of words: 6000
Case Report
•Authors: 5 maximum
• Abstract (unstructured): 200 words
•Figures/tables combined: 6
•References: 10
•Total number of words: 1000
Images
•Authors: 4 maximum
•Abstract: none
•Figures: 1 (A total of 6 figure parts is permitted)
•Total number of words: 200
•No Video is allowed
Letters to the Editor (should comment on recent Science Focus articles only).
•Authors: 4 maximum
• Abstract: none
• Figures/tables: none
• Videos: none
• References: 6
•Total number of words: 1000
The main manuscript should be organized as follows: Title page (1st page) all the author details should be included here only and NOT IN THE MAIN MANUSCRIPT Subdivision - numbered sections Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text'. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.
Abbreviations A list of abbreviations used should be included before the introduction. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
Introduction State the objectives of the work or investigation and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.
Material and methods Provide in details to allow the work to be reproduced by an independent researcher. Use of abbreviations renders the text difficult to read; abbreviations should be limited to SI units of measurement and to those most commonly used. Generic names of drugs and equipment should be used throughout the manuscript, with brand names (proprietary name) and the name and location (city, state, country) of the manufacturer in brackets when first mentioned in the text. Methods that are already published should be summarized, and indicated by a reference. If quoting directly from a previously published method, use quotation marks and also cite the source. Any modifications to existing methods should also be described.When reporting on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Helsinki Declaration (1964, amended most recently in 2008) of the World Medical Association. Manuscripts should include a statement that the patients written consent was obtained and any information should be as anonymized as much as possible. Authors should indicate that the design of the work has been approved by local ethical committees or that it conforms to standards currently applied in the country of origin.The name of the authorizing body should be stated in the paper. Manuscripts should include a detailed statistic method and explain the method chosen.
Results
Results should be clear and concise. They should be presented either in tables and figures, and briefly commented on in the text, or in the text alone. Repetition of results should be avoided! The full set of raw data must be available at any time should reviewers or editors request these for more in-depth review during the review process and/or after publication.
Discussion:
This should discuss and interpret the results and significance of the work. It should be clear and concise. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature. The importance of the study and its limitations should be discussed.
Conclusions A short and concise conclusion for the investigation should be included. Repetition of results and discussion should be avoided!
Acknowledgement
Acknowledgements and details of non-financial support must be included at the end of the text before the references and not in footnotes. Personal acknowledgements should precede those of institutions or agencies. Disclosure of any funding to the study Any funding and conflict of interest should be disclosed. List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to funder's requirements:
Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institutes of Peace [grant number aaaa].It is not necessary to include detailed descriptions on the program or type of grants and awards. When funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research institution, submit the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.If no funding has been provided for the research, please include the following sentence:This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Disclosure of any conflict of interest Any funding and conflict of interest section should be disclosed.
Figure and table legends A list with legends for each figure and table must be included.
Figures and Tables
NO figures and tables are allowed in the main text. All figures and tables must be included in the manuscript file, as part of the text, not as images. All figures and tables should start on separate pages and be accompanied by a title, and footnotes (use superscript a,b,c.) where necessary. The figures and tables should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals. Abbreviations and their full definitions should be listed in alphabetical order at the bottom of the table. Limit the use of words. Please be certain that the data given in each figure and table is correct. All figures and tables must be cited in the text. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells. Math formulae
Please submit math equations as editable text and not as images. Present simple formulae in line with normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).
Footnotes
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article. Many word processors can build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Otherwise, please indicate the position of footnotes in the text and list the footnotes themselves separately at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.
References
Authors are responsible for checking the accuracy of all references. Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either 'Unpublished results' or 'Personal communication'. Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication. Web references As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.
Data references
This journal encourages you to cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript by citing them in your text and including a data reference in your Reference List. Data references should include the following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year, and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so we can properly identify it as a data reference. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article. References in a special issue Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added to any references in the list (and any citations in the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.
Reference style Text:
All citations in the text should refer to:
1. Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;
2. Two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;
3. Three or more authors: first author's name followed by 'et al.' and the year of publication. Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references can be listed either first alphabetically, then chronologically, or vice versa.
Examples: 'as demonstrated (Allan, 2000a, 2000b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1999)…. Or, as demonstrated (Jones, 1999; Allan, 2000)…
Kramer et al. (2010) have recently shown …'
List:
References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically
if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters 'a', 'b', 'c', etc., placed after the year of publication. Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2010. The art of writing a scientific article. J. Sci. Commun. 163, 51–59.
Reference to a journal publication with an article number: Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2018.
The art of writing a scientific article. Heliyon. 19,
Reference to a book:
Strunk Jr., W., White, E.B., 2000. The Elements of Style, fourth ed. Longman, New York.
Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 2009. How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: Jones, B.S., Smith , R.Z. (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281–304. Reference to a website:
Cancer Research UK, 1975. Cancer statistics reports for the UK. http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/ aboutcancer/statistics/cancerstatsreport/ (accessed 13 March 2003).
Reference to a dataset: [dataset] Oguro, M., Imahiro, S., Saito, S., Nakashizuka, T., 2015. Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions. Mendeley Data, v1. https://doi.org/10.17632/ xwj98nb39r.1.