Preparing Your Manuscript:: Science Discovery Plants:: Science Publishing Group

Science Discovery Plants

ISSN Online: Pending; ISSN Print: Pending

Frequency: 4 issues per year

DOI: 10.11648/j.sdplants

Website: http://www.science-discovery.org/journal/sdplants

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First decision to acceptance

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Preparing Your Manuscript

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Acceptable File Formats
Language Style
Manuscript Structure Requirements
Front Matter
Body Matter
Back Matter
References

Acceptable File Formats

The main manuscript document can be submitted in the following word processor file formats:

	Microsoft Word (.doc, .docx)
	LaTeX (.tex)

We suggest using the Microsoft Word or LaTeX templates for preparing your manuscript to speed up the review process, though this is not obligatory. If not using a specific template, please ensure your heading levels are clear and the sections are distinctly defined.

Download Template (Word)

Download Template (LaTeX)

Please note: For efficient processing during production, editable files are mandatory. If your manuscript includes any non-editable files (such as PDFs), you will need to re-submit an editable file either when submitting your revised manuscript, or after editorial acceptance if no revisions are necessary. Figures and tables should be included within the document.

Language Style

To provide your work the best chance of being understood and evaluated fairly by editors and reviewers, ensure it is presented in well-written English.

Manuscript Structure Requirements

Research manuscripts should be structured as follows:

	Front matter: Title, Author information, Abstract, Keywords.
	Body matter: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions.
	Back matter: Supplementary Materials, Acknowledgments, Author Contributions, Conflicts of Interest, References.

Front Matter

Title

The title should be a declarative phrase without punctuation at the end and at least 7 words but no more than 25 words.

Author information

	The full name of the author(s) should be provided without abbreviations.
	The affiliation(s) of the author(s), i.e. Department/Faculty, University/Institute, City, Country/Region.
	A clear indication and an active email address of the corresponding author.
	If available, the 16-digit ORCID of the author(s).
	Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, do not satisfy our authorship criteria.
	Responsibility for the accuracy of affiliations lies with the author, though changes may be requested to ensure consistency across published output for indexing and discovery reasons.

Abstract

The abstract should be a concise single paragraph, ranging from 200 to 400 words, and should not include any reference citations or footnotes. For research articles, it should provide a brief overview of the background, objective, method, result and conclusion of your paper before the main body. In case report, abstract should include background, case presentation and conclusion. It is important to ensure that the abstract presents an objective representation of the article, avoiding the inclusion of results that are not substantiated in the main text and refraining from exaggerating the main conclusions.

Keywords

Provide 3-8 relevant keywords that represent the main content of the article. These keywords should be specific to the article and commonly used within the subject discipline for indexing purposes.

Body Matter

Introduction

In the Introduction section, the researcher should illuminate the background of the study, clarify the purpose of the research, and emphasize the significance of the research problem. A careful review of the current state of the research field is essential, with citations to key publications. Ensure that the Introduction remains accessible to scientists who may not be specialists in the particular topic of the paper.

Materials and Methods

The Materials and Methods section should provide comprehensive details to enable other researchers to replicate the study and further expand upon the published results. If you have multiple methods, consider using subsections with appropriate headings to enhance clarity and organization.

Results

The results section should provide an accurate and concise description of the experimental findings, and the resulting conclusions that can be inferred from the experiments. Meanwhile, the results should be presented in a transparent and truthful manner, avoiding any fabrication or improper manipulation of data. Where applicable, results of statistical analysis should be included in the text or as tables and figures.

Discussion

In this section, authors are advised to provide a thorough analysis of the results and make comparisons with relevant literature, not a short summary or conclusion. Any future research directions could also be stated in the discussion.

Conclusions

The conclusion section should precisely articulate the main findings of the article, emphasizing its significance and relevance. In the conclusion, it is highly recommended that authors avoid referencing figures or tables. Instead, these should be appropriately referenced within the body of the paper.

Abbreviations

If abbreviations are used in the text, they should be defined at their first mention in the text, or provide a list of abbreviations.

Figures

	Please use a serif font like Times New Roman for lettering. The font size should remain consistent throughout the figure, ideally about 2–3 mm (8–12 pt). Also, do not include titles or captions within the figures.
	Figures must be numbered using Arabic numerals and should be cited in the text in consecutive numerical order. Lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.) should be used to denote different parts of a figure. (i.e. Figure 1, Figure 2 etc.)
	Each figure must include a concise caption that explains its content. The caption should start with the term "Figure" in bold, followed by the figure number, also in bold. Previously published material should be cited at the end of the figure caption.
	Figures should be embedded within the text body. The size of the figures should be compatible with the column width. For large figures causing file size issues, they should be submitted separately.
	If you include figures that have already been published elsewhere, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner(s). Additionally, make sure to clearly indicate the source of the figure and any relevant attribution details.
	For accessibility, please include descriptive captions for text-to-speech/Braille. Use patterns instead of colors for colorblind users. Please ensure figure lettering has 4.5:1 contrast ratio for readability.

Tables

	Tables should be numbered using Arabic numerals and cited in the text in consecutive numerical order (i.e. Table 1, Table 2 etc.).
	Each table must have a caption that explains its components.
	Any previously published material should be acknowledged by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table caption.
	Tables should not be embedded as figures or spreadsheet files; instead, they should be created as editable entities using the 'Table object' feature in your word processing program.
	Color and shading should not be used in the tables. Elements of the table can be highlighted using superscript, numbering, lettering, or symbols, the meaning of which should be explained in a table legend. Commas should not be used to indicate numerical values.

Formulas and Equations

	Authors should use an equation editor to create formulas and equations. Please ensure the formulas and equations are editable, and include them in the text.
	Number formulas or equations consecutively as they appear in the text, using the format (1), (2), (3), etc. The number should be placed in parentheses and aligned to the right of the formula or equation.
	Ensure clear presentation of formulas and equations, with proper symbol definitions. Formulas should accurately convey mathematical processes in a clear and concise manner.
	Symbols and notation should be used consistently throughout the article. Standard mathematical notation should be used where possible. If a non-standard symbol or notation is necessary, it must be defined clearly when first used.
	For physical quantities, the units and dimensions should be expressed clearly. The International System of Units (SI) is recommended.
	If your article includes the proof of a theorem or formula, ensure the steps of the proof are clearly delineated and logical. If the proof is too long or complex to include in the body of the text, consider including it in an appendix.

Footnotes

	Footnotes should be used sparingly and primarily for providing additional clarification or context that does not fit naturally into the body of the text.
	Footnotes should not include bibliographic references that are already cited in the text and included in the reference list.
	Footnotes should be numbered consecutively using superscript lowercase Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.). The footnote marker should be placed at the end of the sentence or clause where the relevant information is given.
	Footnotes should be concise and to the point. Overly long or detailed footnotes can distract from the main argument of the text.
	Footnotes should appear at the bottom of the page on which they are referenced.

Section Headings

Research articles follow a defined structure with specific headings. For other types of submissions, authors can flexibly determine the headings. Up to three levels of numbered headings/subheadings can be employed, with the first-level, second-level, and third-level headings presented as 1., 1.1., and 1.1.1. respectively. Headings without numbers may be used for specific cases. When incorporating more than three levels, consider reassessing the section arrangement to ensure clarity and logic.

Heading Style

Use title case for headings where the first letter of each word is capitalized, except for short words like articles and prepositions. However, capitalize pronouns and prepositions in compound words. For italicized species names, do not capitalize. Always capitalize the first word following a colon or em dash.

Text and Symbol Formatting

Use standard, universally recognized fonts when writing symbols. If using a Word template, verify that all text is in the correct font, particularly when copying from another document. Do not use fonts such as Symbol, Wingdings, or Webdings, or insert symbols as pictures. If a symbol is difficult to add, leave a comment for the production team.

Italics

Italics can be used for emphasis or when defining terms. Avoid italicization if it may cause confusion in your discipline. Foreign words and phrases do not need to be italicized. Journal and book titles should always be italicized. When using Latin names of organisms, italicize the genus and species names.

Bold Font

Bold font should generally be avoided. If you wish to add emphasis, italics are preferred. Bold font can be used in certain contexts such as figure captions and subtitles. In chemistry, bold numbers may be used to refer to molecules defined in schemes.

Back Matter

Acknowledgments

This section serves to recognize contributions that do not meet authorship criteria, including technical assistance, donations, or organizational aid. Individuals or organizations should be acknowledged with their full names. The acknowledgments should be placed after the conclusion and before the references section in the manuscript.

Funding

Authors are required to disclose all sources of research funding, including grants supporting the work and any received funds covering publication costs. This information should be entered into the submission system during the manuscript submission process. It is critical to specify the full name of the funding agency and the associated grant number(s), for example, “This research was funded by [Name of Funder] grant number [xxx]”. If applicable, the statement “The APC was funded by [XXX]” should be included. If the research received no specific funding but was performed as part of the authors' employment, this employer should be acknowledged. Any involvement of the funder in the manuscript writing, editing, approval, or decision to publish must also be declared. Please ensure the accuracy of the funding details, any errors may impact future funding.

Author Contributions

	Each author's substantial contribution to the work must be clearly identified. This includes involvement in the conception or design of the work, data acquisition, analysis, interpretation, or creation of new software used in the work, as well as drafting or substantively revising the work. Every author is expected to approve the submitted version and be accountable for their own contributions, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the entire work. Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the work. Please read the section on the criteria for authorship carefully.
	For research articles with multiple authors, it is vital to provide a brief paragraph outlining each individual's contribution. For example, 'Conceptualization, X.X. and Y.Y.; Methodology, X.X.; Validation, X.X., Y.Y., and Z.Z.; Writing - Original Draft Preparation, X.X.; Writing - Review & Editing, X.X.; Supervision, X.X.; Project Administration, X.X.; Funding Acquisition, Y.Y.'. This structure promotes transparency and appropriately credits each contributor's role in the research.
	For review articles where discrete statements are less applicable, a statement should be included detailing who conceived the idea for the article, performed the literature search and data analysis, and who drafted and/or critically revised the work.
	For articles primarily based on a student’s dissertation or thesis, it is recommended that the student is generally listed as the principal author. For more guidance, refer to A Graduate Student’s Guide to Determining Authorship Credit and Authorship Order, APA Science Student Council, 2006.

Conflicts of Interest

	Authors are required to identify and declare any personal circumstances or interests that could be perceived as influencing the representation or interpretation of reported research results. This includes current or recent funding, goods, services, or other payments that could impact the work. The potential involvement of anyone with an interest in the outcome of the work, or affiliation to an organization with such an interest, must be declared.
	All financial and non-financial competing interests should be clearly articulated in this section. If there are no conflicts, authors should clearly state, "The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest." If there are conflicts, they should be outlined along with an explanation of why each interest may represent a conflict. If there is any uncertainty about declaring a potential conflict, it is better to err on the side of caution and declare it.
	The role of any funding sponsors in the choice of research project; design of the study; in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results should also be clearly declared. If the sponsors had no role, state, “The sponsors had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study.”
	Please note, undisclosed conflicts of interest discovered post-publication may lead to a corrigendum or, in serious cases, a retraction of the paper. Prioritize transparency to uphold the integrity of the research and its assessment.

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

All manuscripts that report studies involving human participants, human data, human tissue, or animals must adhere to ethical guidelines and obtain necessary approvals.

For human-based studies, the manuscript must:

	Include a statement on ethics approval and consent, even where the need for approval was waived.
	Specify the ethics committee that approved the study, along with the committee’s reference number, if applicable.
	Confirm that the research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1964).
	Assure that any experimental work involving human subjects was conducted with the subjects' understanding and consent.

For studies involving animals, the manuscript must:

	Include a statement on ethics approval.
	Provide a full description of any anesthetic or surgical procedure used.
	Demonstrate evidence that all possible steps were taken to avoid animal suffering at each stage of the experiment.
	For experimental studies involving client-owned animals, a statement on informed consent from the client or owner must be included.

Failure to meet these ethical guidelines may result in manuscript rejection. It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure ethical conduct in studies and clarity in reporting these details in the manuscript.

References

The integrity of the research is upheld by accurate referencing. References must be numbered in the sequence they appear in the text, table captions, and figure legends, and listed individually at the end of the manuscript. Utilizing a bibliography software package, such as EndNote or Zotero, is recommended to prevent errors and duplicated references. SciencePG encourages citing data, computer code, and other citable research material.

In-text citations should be identified by numbers in square brackets [], positioned before the punctuation. SciencePG citation rule examples:

	Single citation: [1]
	Multiple citations: [2–6, 10]
	Use en dashes to join the first and last numbers of a closed series: [2-6]
	Use commas to separate other parts of multiple citations: [2-6, 8]

Note: The numbers in square brackets correspond to the order of the references in the reference list.

For the reference list, each entry should be numbered in the order it was cited in the manuscript. References can be in any style or format as long as consistency is maintained. When applicable, include the author(s) name(s), chapter title/article title, journal title/book title, publication year, volume number/book chapter, and article number or page range. The use of DOI is highly encouraged. If you prefer to format the references yourself, please arrange them following the examples below:

Journal Articles

Author 1, Author 2, Author 3. Article Title. Journal Title. Year, Volume(Issue), Page Range. DOI or URL

Example:

Gerold, E., Antrekowitsch, H. A Sustainable Approach for the Recovery of Manganese from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries via Photocatalytic Oxidation. International Journal of Materials Science and Applications. 2022, 11(3), 66-75. doi: 10.11648/j.ijmsa.20221103.12

Books

Author 1, Author 2, Author 3. Book Title. Edition. Publisher Location: Publisher; Year, Page Range.

Example:

Cozby, P. C., Bates, S. C. Methods in behavioral research. New York, NY: McGraw Hill; 2012, pp. 14–16.

Book Chapters

Author 1, Author 2. Title of the chapter. In Book Title, Edition. Publisher Location: Publisher; Year, Page Range.

Example:

Rychtarova, J., Krupova, Z., Brzakova, M., Borkova, M., Elich, O., Dragounova, H., Seydlova, R., and Sztankoova, Z. Milk quality, somatic cell count, and economics of dairy goat’s farm in the Czech Republic. In Goat Science-Environment, Health and Economy, Kukovics, S., Ed., Intech Open: London, UK; 2021, pp. 14–16.

Conference Proceedings

Author 1, Author 2, Author 3. Title of Presentation. In Proceedings of the Name of the Conference, Location of Conference, Country, Year of Conference; Page number (optional).

Example:

Smith, J., Johnson, A., Brown, K. A Deep Learning Approach for Sentiment Analysis in Social Media. In Proceedings of the 2019 International Conference on Data Science, New York, USA, 2015; pp. 4489–4497.

Thesis

Author 1. Title of Thesis. Level of Thesis, Degree-Granting University, Location of University, Date of Completion.

Example:

Miranda, C. Exploring the Lived Experiences of Foster Youth Who Obtained Graduate Level Degrees: Self-efficacy, Resilience, and the Impact on Identity Development. Ph.D. Thesis, Pepperdine University, 2019.

Websites

Publishing body. Title. [Internet]. Available from: URL. [Accessed Day Month Year].

Example:

National Library of Medicine, “Dinitrogen Tetroxide”. Available from: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ . [Accessed 6 October 2022].