Submissions

Author Guidelines

Authors are encouraged to submit complete, original and previously unpublished scientific or technical research works, which are not under reviews in any other journals and/or conferences. Significantly expanded and updated versions of conference presentations may also be considered for publication. In addition, the Journal will publish reviews as well as opinions and reflections in a special section.

Submissions for the Journal are accepted at any time. If meeting the general criteria and ethical standards of the scientific publication, they will be rapidly forwarded to peer−review by experts of high scientific competence, carefully evaluated, and considered for selection. Once accepted by the Editorial Board, the papers will be edited and published as soon as possible.

When preparing a manuscript for the Journal, please strictly comply with the guidelines, as well as with the ethical standards of scientific publishing. The Editorial Board retains the right to reject without comment or explanation manuscripts that are not prepared in accordance with these guidelines and/or if the appropriate level required for scientific publishing cannot be attained.

1 – GENERAL

The text should be cohesive, logically organized, and thus easy to follow by someone with common knowledge in the field. Do not include information that is not relevant to your research question(s) stated in the introduction.

Only contributions submitted in English will be considered for publication. If English is not your native language, please arrange for the text to be reviewed by a technical editor with skills in English and scientific communications. Maintain a consistent style with regard to spelling (either UK or US English, but never both), punctuation, nomenclature, symbols etc. Make sure that you are using proper English scientific terms. Literal translations are often wrong. Terms that do not have a commonly known English translation should be explicitly defined in the manuscript. Acronyms and abbreviations used must also be explicitly defined. Generally, sentences should not be very long and their structure should be relatively simple, with the subject located close to its verb. Do not overuse passive constructions.

1.1 Ethical policy 

The ethic aspects in the submitted papers are completely on the author(s), and the publisher and/or editors cannot bear any responsibility on them. The Editorial board can, however, reject further processing or publishing of the paper if any conflict of ethical issues is indicated.

Do not copy substantial parts of your previous publications and do not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at a time. Clearly distinguish your original results and ideas from those of other authors and from your earlier publications – provide citations whenever relevant.

For more details on ethics in scientific publication consult the Guidelines, published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): <https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines>.

If it is necessary to use an illustration, diagram, etc. from an earlier publication, it is the author’s responsibility to ensure that permission to reproduce such an illustration, diagram, etc. is obtained from the copyright holder. If a figure is copied, adapted or redrawn, the original source must be acknowledged.

Submitting the contribution to the Journal, the author(s) confirm that it has not been published previously, that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere and − once accepted and published − it will be disseminated and make available to the public in accordance to the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY-NC 4.0), in English or in any other language. In all the cases, the author must take into account the signed Licensing Agreement and provide information for the appropriate citation of the paper. The publisher retains the right to publish the paper online and in print form, and to distribute and market the Journal containing the respective paper without any limitations. 

2 – STRUCTURE OF THE MANUSCRIPT

In the Journal, we are publishing primarily Original scientific papers, Research papers, Case studies, Review papers and also Technical papers. Classification of the paper for publication in the Journal is under the responsibility of the Editorial Board. In the guidelines, the typical structure (IMRaD – Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) of the Research paper is shown, however, a different structure may be appropriate for some papers. The submitted Research paper should include all the data, descriptions and instructions needed to follow, and if required, to repeat the experiment to obtain the same or comparable results and conclusions.

2.1 Preliminary

Title: Should be concise and unambiguous and must reflect the content of the article. Information given in the title does not need to be repeated in the abstract (as they are always published jointly), although some overlap is unavoidable. Avoid general description terms such as study, research, analysis, etc.

Authors: The authors are all persons who contributed substantially to study planning, experimental work, data collection or interpretation of results and wrote or critically revised the manuscript and approved its final version. When more than one author is listed, the first author is considered as the author who contributed the most to the results and writing the paper and also as the corresponding author if not otherwise stated. Due to the varying rules at different institutions (first, lead, corresponding author, alphabetical order etc.) the sequence of the authors in the paper is kept the same as submitted.

Enter full names (first and last), followed by the institutional addresses, as well as the e−mail addresses. Addresses of the authors with double affiliation (two institutions) should be clearly marked.

Separately enter complete details of the corresponding author – full mailing address, telephone number, and e−mail. Editors will communicate only with the corresponding author.

Abstract: Should not exceed 500 words. Avoid any abbreviations, paragraphs, and numbering in the abstract. Briefly explain why you conducted the research (background), what question(s) you answer (objectives), how you performed the research (methods), what you found (results: major data, relationships), and your interpretation and main consequences of your findings (discussion, conclusions). The abstract must reflect the content of the article, including all keywords, as for most readers it will be the major source of information about your research. Make sure that all the information given in the abstract also appears in the main body of the article.

Keywords: Include three to five relevant scientific terms that are not mentioned in the title. Keep the keywords specific. Avoid more general and/or descriptive terms, unless your research has strong interdisciplinary significance.

2.2 Scientific content

Introduction and background: Start from more general issues and gradually focus on your research question(s). Describe relevant earlier research in the area and how your work is related to this. Explain why it was necessary to carry out the research and the specific research question(s) you will answer.

Methods: Describe in detail how the research was carried out (e.g. study area, data collection, criteria, the origin of the analyzed material, sample size, number of measurements, equipment, data analysis, statistical methods and software used). All factors that could have affected the results need to be considered. Make sure that you comply with the ethical standards, with respect to the environmental protection, other authors and their published works, etc.

Results: Present the new results of your research (previously published data should not be included in this section). The results could be presented in most convenient form regarding their legibility – in tables, figures or in a text, however, multiple presentations of the same data in different forms is not acceptable. All tables and figures must be mentioned in the main body of the article, in the order in which they appear. Make sure that the statistical analysis is appropriate. Do not fabricate or distort any data, and do not exclude any important data; similarly, do not manipulate images to make a false impression on readers.

Discussion: Answer your research questions (stated at the end of the introduction) and compare your new results with published data, as objectively as possible. Discuss their limitations and highlight your main findings. At the end of Discussion or in a separate section, emphasize your major conclusions, pointing out scientific contribution and the practical significance of your study.

Conclusions: The main conclusions emerging from the study should be briefly presented or listed in this section, with the reference to the aims of the research and/or questions mentioned in the Introduction and elaborated in the Discussion.

Note: Some papers might require a different structure of the scientific content. In such cases, however, it is necessary to clearly name and mark the appropriate sections or to consult the editors.

Acknowledgments: Place any acknowledgments at the end of your manuscript, after conclusions and before the list of literature references.

References: The list of sources referred to in the text should be collected in alphabetical order on a separate page at the end of the paper. Make sure that you have provided sources for all important information extracted from other publications. References should be given only to documents which any reader can reasonably be expected to be able to find in the open literature or on the web, and the reference should be complete so that it is possible for the reader to locate the source without difficulty. The number of cited works should not be excessive − do not give many similar examples with the priority citation of primary sources.

Responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the authors. Please use exclusively the Harvard Referencing System. For more information consult the latest version of the Guide to Harvard style of Referencing (6^th edition), used with the consent of Anglia Ruskin University, available at: <https://library.aru.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm>.

List of symbols and/or abbreviations: If non−common symbols and/or abbreviations are used in the text, you can add a list with explanations. In the running text, each symbol and abbreviation should be explained the first time it occurs.

Appendix: If an additional material is required for better understanding of the text, it can be presented in the form of one or more appendices. They should be identified as A, B, etc. instead of Arabic numerals.

Note: Above sections (Acknowledgments, References, List of symbols and/or abbreviations, and Appendix) are supplementary, though integral parts of the Scientific content of the paper. Each of the above sections should begin on a separate page. Continue page numbering after Conclusions.

3 – TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TEXT PROCESSING

The Title of the paper and the list of authors with addresses and emails should be entered on a separate cover page (numbered as 0).

The Title of the paper, without the list of the authors, should be repeated above the Abstract with Keywords on the next page (numbered as 1). The name of authors should not be mentioned on any other following pages. If the author’s names appear in the Acknowledgment this should be mentioned on the cover page or in the appended Letter to the editor.

Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions − as the scientific content of the paper − represent the main body of the text. Start numbering of these sections with page 2 and continue without interruption until the end of Conclusions. Number the section titles consecutively as 1., 2., 3., etc., while subsections should be hierarchically numbered as 2.1, 2.3, 3.4, etc. Numbering up to three levels only (i.e. 2.1.1) is allowed. Only Arabic numerals will be accepted.

File format and name: When preparing your manuscript, apply text processing with the document extensions .docx, .doc or .rtf. Papers submitted in other formats (like .pdf, .cdr, LaTeX, etc.) will not be accepted. Give the file a name that makes it easily identifiable, e.g., “Author.doc”. As soon as received, your document will be assigned a code under which it will be furthermore processed.

Paper size: only A4 (210 × 297 mm) format. Ensure that your page layout is not set to another format.

Apply the following settings for the margins:

top: 2.5 cm, bottom: 2.5 cm, left: 2.5 cm, right: 2.5 cm

Set the footer of the page to 1.5 cm and enter page numbers centred at the bottom of the page, starting with 0 (zero) for the cover page, using Cambria 12 pt font size. Do not enter anything in the header of the page.

Text formatting: The entire text, including Cover page, Abstract and Keywords, as well as the supplementary sections, should be formatted strictly according to the rules given below. Remove all the styles you are regularly using, and make sure to adjust settings as required.

Font: Except for special symbols, use only Cambria in the following sizes:

Page 0 − Title 14 pt Normal; Authors 12 pt Normal

Page 1 − Abstract and Keywords 11 pt Normal

Page 2 and subsequent pages − Body of the text 12 pt Normal

Where necessary, use Greek characters and/or special math symbols from Cambria and Cambria Math fonts (using Insert/Advanced Symbol, Characters window, and/or other tools). Avoid inserting characters and/or symbols as graphic objects. Do not apply colour to the text. If you want to emphasize a term or a part of a sentence, enter the text in Italics, not in Bold.

Headings and captions:

Level 1 − Section headings 12 pt Bold (1. Title)

Level 2 − Subsection headings 12 pt Normal (2.1 Subtitle)

Level 3 − Sub−sub section headings 12 pt Normal (3.2.1 Sub-sub title)

Captions of illustrations (bellow) and tables (above) 11 pt Italics

Supplementary sections (Acknowledgements, References, List of abbreviations, List of symbols, Appendices) 11 pt Normal, with titles in Bold

Paragraphs and line spacing: Set the paragraph text to justified, without left or right indents. Line spacing throughout the complete text should be 1.5 lines, with the additional spacing of 18 pt after the paragraph. Do not begin paragraphs with an indentation. Wherever possible, please avoid using tabs, bullets, and automatic numbering. Do not break the text into columns.

Hyphenation: Turn off automatic hyphenation and do not apply manual hyphens to the text.

Equations and formulae: Wherever applicable, place the mathematical and logical expressions and/or equations in a separate line in the body text. Number consecutively all your equations in square brackets as [1], [2], etc., even if you do not again refer to them in the text. Provide the definition of all variables and/or symbols when they first appear.

If such an expression is embedded in the text as an object, make sure that the size and style (Font Cambria or Cambria Math, Normal, Italics, Superscript, Subscript) of symbols correspond to the size and the style of the body text. However, if the paper is accepted for publication, author(s) will be asked to provide equations in the editable format. In MS Word (.doc, .docx file format) use Insert/Equation option. From other programs dedicated to the expression of mathematical or chemical equations and formulae, you should export or save equations and formulae in .pdf, .ai, .eps, or other file format, where symbols and other elements remain in vector form. Never use the equations and formulae pasted in the text as a raster image (.tif, .jpg, .bmp, …).

Quantities and units: Coherent quantities and units should be applied, as well as terminology. Metric system is preferred, while physical values should conform to the SI system; the guidelines are available at: <https://www.nist.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pml/div684/fcdc/sp811.pdf>. The recommended style (Italics for variables and quantities, Normal for indices, exponents, and for units, etc.) and basic principles of presentation of quantities and units should follow the guides in documents published by ISO, CIE, and other international organizations.

Footnotes: Avoid all the footnotes in the text, especially those referring to the literature sources. If an additional explanation is necessary, use the option of Endnotes or Appendix, but without automatic linking.

Tables: Make tables as clear as possible. Insert tables in the text as close as possible to where they are referred to. Use Table option in the text processor for creating the tables. Do not embed tables as pictures or objects. Number the tables in the order they appear, separately from figures. Do not refer to “the Table above” or “the Table below” since errors can later arise. Place caption centred above the table. The caption should be concise and in one sentence only. Do not link the number or the caption with the reference in the body text.

Figures: All graphics must be inserted into the text in an appropriate position, as close to its reference as possible. Make sure that figures do not float. The text in all your figures should be legible and performed in only one font (preferred is Cambria), and of the same size across different figures (preferred font size is 9.25 pt, might be smaller for some less important texts, down to 7 pt). If you wish to use coloured illustrations in your text, make sure that they are prepared in a way which ensures that they are intelligible in black−and−white as well. Use solid, dotted and dashed lines rather than e.g. red and blue lines, and do not refer to e.g. “the red line” in your text.

Number consecutively all figures and refer to them in the text as “Figure X”. Do not refer to “the Figure above” or “the Figure below” since errors can later arise. Please make sure that the captions are concise, and not integrated with pictures, graphs or charts, but entered as a separate text beneath the illustration in no more than one sentence. Do not link the figure number or caption with its reference in the body text.

Dimensions of the figures, with all the elements included (text size, font, line width, …), should be adapted to the provided final size and position at the page layout (figure width 161 mm for full, two columns width; figure width 77 mm for single column; height max. 200 mm). Use the same style for quantities and units as for the body text. Avoid any title of the chart or picture; however, the axis title must be used, as well as the legend where applicable.

Illustrations of lower resolution (though legible) and in any commonly accepted standard format (e.g., .jpg) are acceptable for the processing of the manuscript. However, if the paper is accepted for publishing, author(s) will be asked to provide figures in raster format as .tif files of high resolution (300 ppi for final colour picture size), line graphs and charts in (editable) vector format, or in some other appropriate file format. Interpolation of low-resolution files is not acceptable method to attain high resolution bitmap file format. Screenshots in lower resolution are acceptable only as an illustration of the functionality of software presented in the paper; they must be saved in lossless format (such as .png or .gif) and should not be resampled.

Literature references: Only Harvard Referencing system will be accepted (see Section 2.2). References in the body text should not be numbered; they have to be indicated by the authors name and year of publishing in parenthesis (Aaa, 2018) or in an alternative way described in the Guide.

The list of sources referred to in the text should be collected on a separate page, in alphabetical order, but without numbering them.

4 – SUBMISSION OF THE PAPER AND FURTHER PROCEDURE

Before sending your paper, check once again that it corresponds to the requirements explicated above, with special regard to the ethical issues, structure of the paper, as well as formatting.

Once completed, send your paper as an attachment to: journal@iarigai.org. If necessary, compress the file before sending it. Normally you will be acknowledged on the receipt within two working days, along with the code under which your submission will be processed.

The editors will check the manuscript and inform you whether it has to be updated regarding the structure, formatting and other formal issues. The corrected manuscript is expected within 15 days.

Your paper will be forwarded for anonymous evaluation by two experts of international reputation in your specific field. Their comments and remarks will be in due time disclosed to the author(s), with the request for changes, explanations or corrections (if any) as demanded by the referees.

After the updated version is approved by the reviewers, the Editorial Board will decide on the publishing of the paper. However, the Board retains the right to ask for a third independent opinion, or to definitely reject the contribution.

Online publishing and printing of papers once accepted by the Editorial Board will be carried out at the earliest possible convenience. Prior to publication the proof copy of the paper and LIcencing agreement (CC-BY-NC 4.0) are forwarded to the corresponding author for approval and signing. The corresponding author receives a pdf file of published paper according to signed Licencing agreement. There is no publishing fee for the authors.