Guide for Authors

Author Tutorial
Reviewer Tutorial

Guide for Authors

Arab Universities Journal of Agricultural Sciences (Arab Univ J Agric Sci) is a double-blinded peer-reviewed open-access journal freely available online (https://ajs.journals.ekb.eg/). The journal receives high visibility; it is increasingly indexed in many databases including AGRIS, AGORA, ARDI, EBSCOhost, and DOAJ among others. The journal is published by the accredited Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University and hosted by Egyptian-Knowledge-Bank (EKB). Submission and reviewing processes are performed completely through the online system. Publons (a subsidiary of Clarivate Analytics) tracks the journal reviews and records them in reviewers’ dashboards. You can track the status of your MS after submission. The journal website is also connected to CrossMark which issues a CrossRef DOI number for each article once published. We do everything possible to have your manuscript published in high quality as soon as possible where time for the first decision is only a few days. The journal publishes one volume with two issues annually after the end of June and December in addition to occasional special issues.

Please read this guide and follow carefully the instructions to avoid publication delay. All parts of manuscripts (MS), except the references, are subjected to plagiarism testing using iThenticate software. Submission to the journal implies that the MS is not currently submitted to another journal or previously published. In addition, the authors pledge that all ethics policies found in the journal site or in this guide are followed, all raw data are available and there is no kind of conflict of interest regarding the submitted work is present.

Make sure that the MS title, Abstract and keywords as well as authors’ names and affiliation entered online during the first submission matches exactly that in the MS. If any of them is altered as a result of the reviewing process, it should be changed in the system accordingly during uploading the revised MS.

Plagiarism exceeding 15% is not accepted; preliminary testing can be performed before submission using some free websites e.g. https://www.duplichecker.com/.

When reference managing programs e.g. Mendeley or End-Note are used, make sure to remove all links from MS before submission.

MS required revision must be returned within two weeks otherwise they can be regarded as withdrawn unless permission is requested.

Usually, an MS comment file is attached that contains the editorial and/or reviewer comments; the file should be examined carefully and considered in the revised MS.

1 Types of papers

Various types of papers are accepted including:

  • Full-length paper: It should be original and contain new information significant to the scientific community. Submitted pages should be more than 10 pages with a maximum of 45 references.
  • Communication: It is an original short paper presenting important findings. It has the same structure as a full-length paper but with condensed Materials and Methods, and Results and Discussion sections. Submitted pages should be 7-12 pages and references not more than 20. The advantage of communication is that the published results and discussion can be extended and republished later as full-length papers; in addition, the publication process can be handled faster.
  • Reviews: It should be comprehensive covering important points of the subject and focusing on the recent 10 years. Submitted pages should be more than 15 pages and include > 70 references.
  • Mini-reviews: should cover the main points of the subject in the past 5 years. Submitted pages should not be more than 15 pages and references not more than 70.

2 Language and formatting

All MS should be written in "Microsoft Word". Manuscripts are accepted in the English language only (British or American but be consistent). MS requires language editing should consult an English language expert or use some editing services.

The submitted blind MS must have the following format and specifications:

  • Font: Times New Roman size 16 for the MS title and 14 for the rest of the MS.
  • MS title and sections (e.g. Abstract, Introduction) are bold in the line center with the first letter of each word capitalized except for articles (a, an and the) and small prepositions and conjunctions of less than four letters (e.g. as, but or nor).
  • Sections are numbered e.g. “1 Introduction” and “4 Conclusion”. Abstracts, Acknowledgment and References are not numbered.
  • Line space: double space.
  • Margins: top, bottom, right and left 2.54 cm
  • Page numbering: Arabic numbers in the middle of page bottom.
  • Line number: Continuous line numbering on the page's left side.
  • Automatic formatting: No automatic formatting should be used.
  • Do not “right-justify” the MS or any section.
  • Side titles
  • Sections “2 Materials and Methods” and “3 Results and Discussion” only can be divided into side titles e.g. 2.1 Chemicals and plant materials, 2.2 Enzyme assays etc (bold and left justified).
  • Two levels only of subdivisions are allowed (e.g. 2.3.1).
  • Abbreviations
  • Define abbreviations that are not standard or very common in the field directly after they were first mentioned even in the "Abstract".
  • Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
  • If many abbreviations are used, they can be collected under the "Abbreviations" section after the "Conclusion" section

3 Submitted files

3.1 Cover Letter

The cover letter should request considering the submitted MS for publication in the Arab Universities Journal of Agricultural Sciences. The cover letter should also introduce the importance of the work to the journal field and highlight the significance and/or the applications of the obtained main finding. Include a statement for the contribution of each author in the present work. 

3.2 Copyright transfer agreement and declaration form

Download the “Copyright transfer agreement & declaration form” during your submission and read it carefully. The form must be completed and signed by the corresponding author and then uploaded again.

3.3 Title page

The title page should contain the MS first page that includes:

  • The MS title
  • The authors' names in compliance with the below specifications
  • The authors' affiliations
  • The e-mail, mobile, ORCID (if available) and the Scopus ID (if available) of the corresponding author.

Authors’ names, affiliations and corresponding author

  • Please indicate the author's first name followed by middle initials then the last name of each author separated by comma and check that all names are accurately spelled. The corresponding author is indicated by an asterisk (*) while different affiliations are indicated by superscript Arabic numbers. (Shawky M Selim1*, Eman EM Abdel-Hamid2).
  • Provide the full address of each author, including the department/laboratory where he/she works, faculty/institute, university/center, postcode, and city/country.
  • An author may have two affiliations.
  • Author names and affiliations in the MS must match those entered in the system upon submission.

3.4 Main Manuscript (MS)

The manuscript (MS) must be submitted in a single file containing all tables and figures after the references, not within the MS. The submitted MS must be blind i.e. starts with the Title and Abstract without any mention or indication of the authors' names or their affiliations. The main MS structure consists of:

3.4.1 Title

  • Should be a concise and informative phrase. Titles are often used in information retrieval systems.
  • Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
  • If the article focuses on a specific living organism (e.g plant, animal, insect or microorganism) or a chemical compound (e.g. pesticide, hormone, auxin), its name should be included in the title.

3.4.2 Abstract

  • The word Abstract is placed in the center of the page without being numbered.
  • The abstract is only one paragraph with a maximum of 200 words including spaces.
  • A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should express the importance of the work and state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and the major conclusions.
  • References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s).
  • Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if necessary, they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.

3.4.3 Keywords

  • Provide 3-6 keywords separated by comma. Keywords should specify the MS, not general terms (avoid for example, and, of, plant physiology) as keywords are used for indexing purposes.
  • Each keyword should be 1-2 words or maximum, if necessary, 3 words.
  • The first letter of the first word only is capitalized e.g. Enzyme activity, Chemical degradation.
  • Use abbreviations that are highly relevant to the search.
  • Do not repeat words in the MS title.

3.4.4 Introduction

  • Start numbering the sections starting from this section i.e. “1 Introduction” in bold and line center.
  • Sufficient background should be provided, as well as recent, relevant and potential references.
  • Avoid elaborating on the literature details or result summary.
  • Only if necessary, when quoting directly from a previously published work, use quotation marks and cite the source.
  • In the last paragraph, rationalize the research's significance and define the objectives of the work.

3.4.5 Materials and Methods

  • Provide sufficient details to allow the work to be reproduced by independent researchers.
  • Methods that are already published should be summarized and supported by a reference.
  • Any modifications to existing methods should be described.
  • The scientific name of any used living organism. For chemicals, IUPAC or Chemical Abstract names should be provided. Uncommon abbreviations or commercial chemical names should be defined.
  • The source of any organism or chemical should be specified.
  • For research that does not include laboratory work, this section can be named “Research Design and Methods” as in Economic or Rural Area research.
  • For theoretical research as in Chemical Modeling or Computational work, the section can be named “Computational Methods” or “Bioinformatics”.
  • In case of involving humans (e.g. food sensory panels) or animals, all ethical practices reported on the journal site including approval from a certified ethical committee should be confirmed.

3.4.6 Results and Discussion

Results

  • Results should be clear and concise. Present most data in tables and figures. Do not repeat the data in tables or figures in text. Perform statistical analysis where appropriate.

Discussion

  • This section should explore the significance of the results and rationalize them, not repeat the results in the text.
  • Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.
  • The "Results and Discussion" is better to be one section.

3.4.7 Conclusions

  • The main conclusions and important findings of the study should be presented in a short.
  • Do not repeat the same sentences in the "Abstract" or "Results and Discussion" sections.

3.4.8 Acknowledgment

  • Don’t number the Acknowledgment section and the following sections.
  • Collate acknowledgments in a separate section at the end of the article before the references.
  • List those organizations and/or individuals who provided funds, facilities or scientific assistance during the research.

3.4.9 References

References should be closely related to the work and include the main publications in the field; at least 80% of references should be within the recent decade. All references must be cited in the text and vice-versa. Avoid excessive self-citation.

Citation in the text

  • Citation (author’s name and publication year) must be in Bold.
  • For single author: write the author's last name and the year of publication e.g. (Frenck 2020).
  • For two authors: write both authors' last names separated by “and” followed by the year of publication (Al Aboody and Mickymaray 2020).
  • For three or more authors: write the first author's last name followed by 'et al' and the year of publication (Santos et al 2021) without commas or periods. If more than one reference is cited in the same place, arrange them in ascending order chronologically (Allan 1996a, Rice-Evans 2001, Verma and Pratap 2010, Panche et al 2016).
  • If more than one reference is found for the same author (s) in the same year, the letters a, b, etc. are added after the year in the citation text and reference list.
  • The citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication and the journal name should be mentioned in the reference list.
  • Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended but if used, write in the text (unpublished results) and do not include in the reference list.

Reference list:

  • References must be arranged alphabetically, then chronologically in descending order.
  • Any references cited in the abstract must also be given in full.
  • References must be arranged alphabetically, then chronologically in descending order.
  • Consider the individual researcher first followed by the same researcher with another and then the same researcher with others regardless of the year.
  • It is strongly recommended to write the DOI number when available.
  • If preprint is used, add in the reference the database name and valid link.

References style

Reference to a journal article:

  • The last name is followed by initials of first and middle names without a period (.), comma (,) or space between initials. Authors’ names are separated by comma then place the publication year in brackets without adding a period (.), or comma (,) after the year.
  • The journal’s name is in italic followed by the volume and the pages are separated by a comma. No period is placed at the end of the reference.
  • Reference with more than four authors, write in the reference list only the first three authors then et al.
  • All article references should be hyperlinked with the DOI to their abstracts on their journal website or major databases e.g.
  • Ali H, Ali IH (2018) Energetic and electronic computation of the two-hydrogen atom donation process in catholic and non-catholic anthocyanidins. Food Chemistry 243, 145-150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.09.120
  • Weidema ME, van de Geer E, Koelsche C, et al (2019) DNA Methylation Profiling Identifies Distinct Clusters in Angiosarcomas. Clinical Cancer Research 27,122- 129. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-19-2180
  • Journal title should not be abbreviated; full names can be obtained from:

Web of Science Journal Title Abbreviations,  (https://images.webofknowledge.com/images/help/WOS/A_abrvjt.html).

CAS Source Index (CASSI), https://cassi.cas.org/search.jsp

Berkeley Library, https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/bioscience-journal-abbreviations 

  • In press implies that the MS has been accepted in the specified journal.

Reference to a book:

  • Authors' names and publication years are written as indicated above followed by the title with the first letter of each word capital then the volume, edition, publisher, place of publication and pages (pp).
  • Thomas CG (2021) Research Methodology and Scientific Writing. 2nd ed, Springer Nature, Switzerland AG, pp 361-399.

Reference to a chapter in a reference book:

  • The reference is written in the following order: chapter authors' names, publication year, and chapter title. In: editors' names, (Eds), book title, publishers, place of publication and pages (pp).
  • Cheng Q-Y, Yuan B-F (2022) Analysis of 5-Methylcytosine and 5-Hydroxymethylcytosine in Genomic DNA by Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry. In: Yuan B-F (Ed), DNA Modification Detection Methods, Springer Nature, New York, USA, pp 23-30.

Reference to a conference article

Hornung PS, Granza AG, Lazzarotto SRS, et al (2014, Nov 9-12) Thermal and Rheological behavior of native and modified starch Araucaria angustifolia (pinhão). IX Congresso Brasileiro de Análise Térmica e Calorimetria. Serra Negra, SP, Brasil. www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br_bitstream_doc_1000387_1_2014MarceloLCBATCThermalRheological

Reference to Thesis:

All information should be included i.e. author’s name, year, thesis title, Ph.D. or M.Sc., specific field, institute.

Example: Aboul Fotouh MM (2020) Effect of seed treatment with UV radiation and some compatible compounds on plant resistance to biotic stress. Ph.D. in Agricultural Biochemistry, Agricultural Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, pp 20-25

Reference to Technical Report

Technical reports are issued by specific organizations in various fields and describe the results of their activity to inform or advise their community or worldwide. Examples of these organizations are World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), American Society of Materials (ASTM), Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC), International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation in Egypt.   

Examples:

Reference to Website

  • The page title and full URL should be given. The date of creating or revising the page, if known, should be written; otherwise, the date of the last visit by authors must be written. If the page sponsor is known can also be included e.g.

Pubchem, National Library of Medicine, Accessed 4/5/2021 https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/240

  • For citation, use the page title or sponsor name and the year e.g. (Pubchem 2021)
  • The website should be for known scientific organizations.
  • Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given.

3.4.10 Tables

  • Number tables consecutively in bold Arabic numbers e.g. (1, 2, …) in accordance with their appearance in the text (e.g. Table 1.)
  • Provide table title after the table number not in bold, left justified and without period (.) at the end.
  • Number table footnotes consecutively in Arabic numbered (superscript) and place them below the table. Use the asterisk (*) or small letters (a, b, ..) only for statistical analysis.
  • Ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.
  • Tables should be editable "word" text not images.
  • Tables along with their titles should be located at the end of the main MS after references not within the text or in separate files.

 

3.4.11 Figures

  • Provide a caption for each figure. Figure caption should comprise a brief title describing the illustration.
  • Number the figures in Arabic numbers in bold (e.g. Fig 1.); put the caption in the line center with no period (.) at the end.
  • Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations in the caption.
  • All figures should be in high quality good resolution and close to the size expected in publication.
  • Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, JPEG, EPS or MS Office files) not in low pixel and color format (GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG).
  • Figures along with their captions should be located at the end of the main MS after the tables not within the text or in separate files.
  • All tables and figures should be self-explanatory.

3.5 Supplementary materials

  • Supplementary materials should be submitted in separate files not in the main MS file.
  • Detailed results or experimental conditions, chromatograms, spectra or pictures can be submitted as supplementary materials.
  • Supplementary materials should be mentioned in MS text as in figures and tables. Tables and figures are numbered consecutively in Arabic numbers (Fig S1., Table S1., etc).
  • Please submit your material together with the article and supply a concise descriptive caption for each supplementary table or
  • If your electronic artwork is created in a Microsoft Office application (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) then please supply it as it is in the native document format; otherwise submit it in a Word file. If it is a figure, apply the same rules of figures.
  • If you need to make changes to the supplementary material during any stage of the process, please make sure to provide an updated file.

4 Suggested reviewers

Three reviewers should be suggested by authors with MS submission; they must be closely related to the submitted work and not from the authors' institutions, while at least one of them is from a different country. Those reviewers are only suggested; the editorial board retains the right to assign two or more reviewers to ensure high-quality MS and assist authors in improving their MS.

5 Proofreading

Proofreading will be sent to the corresponding author after finishing the reviewing process to ensure the accuracy of the published article. Only typing or editing correction is allowed. Please make sure that names, affiliations, text, special characters, references, tables and figures are correct. Do not make any changes in contents; otherwise, it will be reviewed again unless permission from the editor is given. Proofreading will be available for only one week; otherwise, the MS will be sent for online publication. No changes in the MS can be made after proofreading.

6 Ethical compliance

Authors must comply with all ethics related to the work in their manuscript. Publication ethics and retraction sources are reported by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

https://publicationethics.org/files/retraction%20guidelines.pdf

https://publicationethics.org/files/2008%20Code%20of%20Conduct.pdf

https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

If animals were involved in the experiments, the US National Research Council's "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" must be followed.

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/guide-for-the-care-and-use-of-laboratory-animals.pdf

A statement that emphasizes following these instructions in animal treatments must be included in the Material and Methods section. Any MS that does not comply with all the above-mentioned ethical regulations cannot be accepted. In addition, A “Copyright Agreement & Declaration Form” that defines the rights and responsibilities of authors, editors and publishers must be signed and submitted with the initial MS submission. More details about the required ethics are found on the journal home page online.

7 Data Availability

All supporting or raw data related to the works in the MS must be freely available. Authors pledge to provide these data upon request by editorial board, reviewers or journal readers after publication. Data can also be available either as a supplementary material file at the initial MS submission or deposited in open data repositories (e.g. FAIRsharing.org, re3data.org, identifiers.org or figshare.com). If data is deposited in a data repository, the type of data and the link must be provided in a data availability statement.

8 Conflict of interest

The authors should declare in the cover letter that there is no conflict of interest among themselves or with any other party related to the submitted work.

9 Copyright policy

The authors have the scientific credit of the work and the right to share the article PDF file with others or place it on their websites but the journal holds the rights of any benefits related to publication and to republish the whole work or in part. The “Copyright Agreement & Declaration Form” should be downloaded and signed during MS submission.

10 Subscription

Annual Subscription (per volume) including postage

150 L.E in Egypt,

150 U.S. $ out of Egypt.

 Price per issue, including postage

80 L.E in Egypt,

80 U.S $ out of Egypt.

All subscriptions are entered on a calendar year basis running from January to December.

11 Article Publishing Charges (APCs)

Our goal is to ensure articles are published as quickly as possible, subject to appropriate quality controls, and widely disseminated. The journal publishes open access, which typically involves the upfront payment of an article publishing charge (APC), we will also make the article immediately and freely available upon publication on the journal website. The publishing cost for all types of papers, except for short communication,  is 1200 LE (in Egypt) or 200 $ abroad for the first submitted 15 pages including tables, figures, and supplementary materials plus 50 LE or 10 $ respectively for each additional submitted page. APC of short communication (≤ 12 pages) is 1000 LE or 170 $. Submitted MS must have the specifications listed in the "Language and formatting" section.

Some agencies that can fund open access expenses can be found at https://www.eurekaselect.com/author-compliance/author_compliance_view.php/CCB

APC can be waived completely or partially upon the authors’ request. Potential reviewers of the journal can also be eligible for substantial discounts or charge waiving.

If you have any questions or inquiries, do not hesitate to e-mail us. If the mail concerns already submitted MS, please indicate the MS title at the top of the mail. The official journal e-mail: AUJAS@agr.asu.edu.eg.
The PDF version of the guide for authors is available here.

Last update: Jan 10, 2024.