General Guidelines

The Journal of Research (Science) (JoRS) welcomes original research articles, reviews, short communications, and technical notes from a broad range of scientific disciplines including biological sciences, health sciences, biotechnology, agriculture, physical and chemical sciences, environmental sciences, engineering, computer science, and data science. Manuscripts must be written in clear and concise English. Authors are advised to thoroughly read and follow these guidelines to ensure successful submission and review.

Manuscript preparation, formatting and submission guidelines

Each manuscript should be organized as follows:

1. Title Page

1. Title should be concise, informative, and relevant (max 20 words).
2. Avoid abbreviations in the title.
3. Include full names of all authors, institutional affiliations, email addresses, and ORCID iDs.
4. Clearly identify the corresponding author with an asterisk (*).

2. Abstract (250–300 words)

1. A structured abstract summarizing objectives, methods, key results, and conclusions.
2. Avoid references and abbreviations.
3. Abstract must stand alone as a brief overview of the entire article.

3. Keywords (5–7 keywords)

1. Provide keywords in alphabetical order.
2. Avoid terms already present in the title.

4. Introduction

1. Brief background of the study with relevant literature.
2. Clear statement of research objectives and rationale.

5. Materials and Methods

1. Describe materials, experimental procedures, and analytical methods in sufficient detail to allow reproducibility.
2. Include:

1. Source of biological materials (plants, animals, microbes).
2. Equipment used and settings, if applicable.
3. Statistical analysis tools and software with version.

Use of Microorganisms, Animals, Human Subjects, and Transgenics

1. Clearly mention ethical approval details for studies involving:

1. Microbes: Strain names, culture conditions, and safety level (e.g., BSL level).
2. Animals: Species, strain, number used, ethical clearance number, and guidelines followed.
3. Human Subjects: Ethics approval, informed consent, compliance with Declaration of Helsinki.
4. Transgenic Organisms: Details of transformation methods, regulatory compliance, and containment procedures.
5. Results

1. Present data clearly without interpretation.
2. Use descriptive statistics with proper units.
3. Figures and tables should be cited in the text sequentially.

7. Figures and Illustrations

1. Figures must be high-resolution (minimum 300 dpi), in TIFF/JPEG/PNG format.
2. Captions should be placed separately at the end of the manuscript.
3. Indicate scale bars in images where necessary.
4. Include gel images, maps, graphs, and microscopic photographs with appropriate labels and legends.

8. Tables

1. Tables should be self-explanatory and numbered sequentially.
2. Place each table on a new page after references or in a separate file.
3. Avoid vertical lines; use horizontal lines only where necessary.

9. Supplementary Material

1. Additional datasets, videos, protocols, or extended methods may be submitted as supplementary files.
2. Supplementary material will be published online only and must be referenced in the main manuscript.

 

10. Special Instructions for Manuscripts in Mathematics, Statistics, Data Science, Machine Learning, Software Development, and Engineering

Authors submitting manuscripts in the fields of mathematics, statistics, engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and data science should follow the general structure outlined in this document, with the following specific considerations:

 

11. Mathematics and Statistics

1. Clearly define all symbols, notations, theorems, lemmas, and propositions.
2. Provide formal proofs in appendices if lengthy; ensure all results are logically coherent.
3. Use LaTeX typesetting for equations where appropriate, especially for submissions involving complex mathematical expressions.
4. All formulae must be numbered sequentially and referenced appropriately in the text.
5. Describe any assumptions and constraints explicitly.

 

12. Data Science, Machine Learning, and Artificial Intelligence

1. Specify:

1. Data source(s), including repository link if publicly available.
2. Dataset description: size, dimensions, variables, preprocessing steps.
3. Algorithms used: provide full model specifications and parameters.
4. Evaluation metrics: accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, AUC, etc.
5. Experimental environment: software, hardware, GPU/CPU specs.

1. Provide reproducible results:

1. Share code and datasets via GitHub, Zenodo, or similar repositories with permanent links.
2. Describe hyperparameter tuning strategy and validation methods (e.g., k-fold cross-validation).

1. Discuss limitations, generalizability, and potential biases of algorithms used.

 

13. Software Tools and Computational Workflows

1. Describe architecture, algorithms, or frameworks clearly.
2. Provide flowcharts or system diagrams where needed.
3. Submit source code or binaries (where possible) in supplementary files or through version-controlled repositories (GitHub/GitLab).
4. Include:

1. Input/output specifications.
2. Compatibility requirements.
3. User interface (if any).

14. Engineering (Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Chemical, etc.)

1. Provide clear schematics, circuit diagrams, design layouts, or blueprints.
2. Simulations should include:

1. Software used (MATLAB, Simulink, ANSYS, COMSOL, etc.).
2. Parameter values, boundary conditions, and validation against experimental data.

1. Describe prototypes or experimental setups in detail with labeled figures.
2. Include safety, ethical, or environmental considerations where relevant.

15. Graphs, Diagrams, and Figures

1. Use vector formats (e.g., EPS, SVG) for clarity in equations, plots, and engineering schematics.
2. Label axes and include units on all graphs.
3. All figures and tables must be cited in the main text.

16. Reproducibility and Data Sharing

Authors are strongly encouraged to:

1. Deposit datasets, models, and code in open-access repositories such as:

1. Kaggle, GitHub, Zenodo, OpenML, or Figshare.
2. For mathematical scripts or statistical code: include as supplementary files or as GitHub links.

1. Include README files and comments for clarity of code structure.

17. Data Submission and Accessibility

1. Data Repositories

Authors are encouraged to deposit relevant datasets in public repositories. Mandatory for genomics, proteomics, and structural studies.

Examples include:

1. NCBI GenBank – for DNA/RNA sequences.
2. GEO/SRA – for gene expression data.
3. UniProt/Protein Data Bank (PDB) – for protein sequences and structures.
4. Dryad, Zenodo, Figshare – for datasets, code, or other supplementary data.

Submit accession numbers and repository links in the manuscript.

18. Discussion

1. Interpret key findings in the context of existing literature.
2. Discuss implications, limitations, and possible future directions.
3. Avoid repetition of results.

19. Conclusions

1. Provide a brief summary of major findings and their significance.

20. Acknowledgments

• Recognize contributions, funding bodies (with grant numbers), and institutional support.

21. Conflict of Interest Statement

Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest. If none, include:
“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

22. References

Style: APA 7th Edition

Use the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition format for all citations.

1. In-text Citations

In-text citations are brief and direct readers to the full reference list.

1. a) Single Author

• Format: (Author, Year)
• Example: (Smith, 2020)

If the author is part of the narrative:

• Example: Smith (2020) demonstrated that…

1. b) Two Authors

• Format: (Author1 & Author2, Year)
• Example: (Ali & Khan, 2021)
• Narrative: Ali and Khan (2021) found…

1. c) Three or More Authors

• Format: (FirstAuthor et al., Year)
• Example: (Sharma et al., 2022)
• Narrative: Sharma et al. (2022) reported…

1. d) Multiple Works by the Same Author

• Format: (Author, 2018, 2020)
• Example: (Iqbal, 2018, 2020)

1. e) Multiple Sources in One Citation

• Alphabetical order and separated by semicolons:
• Example: (Ahmad, 2019; Khan & Zafar, 2020; Lee et al., 2021)

1. f) Organizations as Authors

• Format: (Organization Name, Year)
• Example: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2023)

On second citation:

• (WHO, 2023)

1. References
2. Journal Article:

Khan, A. R., & Ali, S. H. (2021). Role of antioxidants in drought stress mitigation. Journal of Plant Sciences, 12(4), 101–115. https://doi.org/10.1234/jps.2021.0124

Ahmad, T., Khan, M. A., & Rehman, H. (2021). Role of soil microbes in climate-resilient agriculture. Journal of Environmental Studies, 45(3), 123–135. https://doi.org/10.xxxxxx

1. Book

Format:

Author(s). (Year). Title of the book (Edition if applicable). Publisher.

Example:

Smith, J. D. (2020). Introduction to machine learning (2nd ed.). Springer.

Smith, J. D. (2019). Climate and crop biology. Oxford University Press.

1. Book Chapter:

Author(s). (Year). Title of the chapter. In Editor(s) (Eds.), Title of the book (pp. pages). Publisher.

Example:

Rauf, M. A., & Hussain, M. (2018). Statistical modeling in biology. In Z. Ahmed (Ed.), Advances in biological data science (pp. 45–72). Oxford University Press.

Jones, M. E., & Clark, R. T. (2018). Adaptation to abiotic stress. In K. L. Peters (Ed.), Plant physiology in changing environments (pp. 55–72). Springer.

1. Conference Paper

Format: Author(s). (Year, Month). Title of the paper. Name of the Conference, Location. https://doi.org/xxx

Example:

Zhang, H., & Yu, L. (2020, August). Deep learning for crop prediction. International Conference on Agricultural AI, Beijing, China. https://doi.org/10.1109/icai2020.67890

1. Thesis or Dissertation

Format: Author. (Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis/Doctoral dissertation, Institution]. Repository URL

Example:

Ahmed, T. (2021). Gene expression analysis of stress-induced Arabidopsis [Doctoral dissertation, Bahauddin Zakariya University]. https://thesis.bzu.edu.pk/ahmed2021.pdf

1. Online Resource:

Format: Author or Organization. (Year, Month Day). Title of the web page. Site Name. URL

Example:

World Health Organization. (2022, March 5). Climate change and health. WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/climate-change-and-health

 

World Health Organization. (2020). Global report on health and environment. https://www.who.int/reports/2020/environmental-health

1. Dataset or Software

Format: Author or Organization. (Year). Title of the dataset or software (Version). Publisher or Repository. DOI or URL

Example:

National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2021). Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/

23. Manuscript Submission

Submit your manuscript online at:

http://jorscience.com/index.php/JRS/submission

1. Manuscripts must be submitted as a Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) file.
2. Figures may be uploaded separately in high-resolution format.
3. All authors must approve the final version before submission.

24. Ethical Compliance

Manuscripts found to violate plagiarism, duplication, or ethical misconduct will be rejected. JoRS follows COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.

25. Review Process

All submissions undergo:

1. Initial editorial screening.
2. Single-blind peer review by at least two reviewers.
3. Editorial decision based on reviewer feedback.

26. Plagiarism check

Before uploading to the journal e-system, the manuscript should be subjected by the authors to “Turnitin” software or any of the other similar tools for checking similarity index. Overall, the similarity index should be well below 15%. The authors are advised to strictly follow the guidelines for plagiarism check outlined by several international publishers. 

27. Article Processing Charges (APC)

There is no APC for paper publication in JoRS 

28. Copyright and License transfer

No copyright transfer is required. Instead, authors will be asked to sign a license to publish agreement, granting JoRS permission to disseminate the work under the CC BY 4.0 license. Soon after acceptance of a manuscript, the JoRS Editorial Office sends a 'licensing for publishing' to the corresponding author for completing and signing it properly. The document can be signed by the corresponding author on behalf of all authors of a manuscript.

Please see “Open Access, Licensing & Distribution Policy” of JoRS for guidelines.

Open Access, Licensing & Distribution Policy

The Journal of Research Science (JoRS) is an open access journal. All articles published in JoRS are freely accessible online immediately upon publication and are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Under this license, authors retain copyright and grant JoRS the right of first publication. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Authors retain full copyright of their work and grant JoRS a non-exclusive license to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.

For details of the license, please refer to: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Key permissions under CC BY 4.0:

1. Readers may share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format).
2. Readers may adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) for any purpose, even commercially.
3. Attribution must be given to the original authors and source.