Submissions

Author Guidelines

Step 1| PREPARE YOUR MANUSCRIPT

1. Download the MJS - Blinded Manuscript Template  here and the MJS - Title Page Template . 
2. The blinded manuscript and title page must be submitted in the following form:
   • Microsoft Word (.docx) and fully written in English.
   • Times New Roman font with single spaced throughout. Uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
   • All numbers less than ten should be spelled in full except in the materials and methods section in taxonomic papers. Italicize all scientific names. Use British spellings, metric measurement and 24 hour designation of time (e.g. 2300 hours).
   • All scientific names used must be in accordance with the International Commission of Botanical or Zoological Nomenclature. In the case of taxonomic papers, telegraphic style is required for descriptions, diagnoses and keys.
   • All new taxa must be named in accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature.
   • All articles should be accompanied by an English abstract and a Malay "abstrak" (for Malaysians only) of not more than 200 words which clearly states the results and findings of the paper.
   • Keywords should be mentioned after the abstract or "abstrak".
   • The character count:
     Original articles should be less than 35 000 characters in length, including spaces.
     Technical reports could be 8 000 - 12 000 characters in length, including spaces.
     Reviews should be within 80 000 characters in length, including spaces.                   
3. Graphical abstract is compulsory for all of the accepted papers. 
4. Similarity Index (SI) must be maximum 15% by Turnitin screening.
5. References should adhere to the APA referencing style and listed in alphabetical order at the end of the manuscript.
   • Citations in the text should be denoted with the author's surname and the year of publication (e.g.: Parkpain et al., (2000) or (Grigg, 1996; Pokrajac & Jones, 2000).
   • If the text contains two or more papers written by the same author(s) in the same year, the citations should be differentiated by a letter; e.g.: (Grigg, 1996a). Journal names should be given in full and should not be translated. Titles of papers should be given in their original language and, if possible, they should be followed by a translation into English in parentheses.

     Book example:
     Grigg, N.S. (1996). Water Resources Management, pp. 8-11, New York, USA: McGraw-Hill.
     
     Conference Proceedings example:
     Pokrajac, D & Jones, K. (2000). Oil infiltration in the vicinity of a shallow groundwater table. In: Bjerg P.L,      Engesgaard, P. & Krom ,T.D. (eds.): Groundwater 2000.           Proceedings of the International Conference on    Groundwater Research, Copenhagen, 6-8 June, pp. 17-18, Rotterdam, NL: A.A. Balkema.
     
     OnlineFirst example:
     Velasco E Nino J. (2014). Recycling of aluminium scrp for secondary Al‐Si alloys. Waste Management &  Research. Epub ahead of print 1 September 2014, doi: 10.1177/0734242X10381413.
     
     Scientific journal example:
     Parkpain P., Sreesai S. & Delaune, RD. (2014). Bioavailability of heavy metals in sewage sludge amended Thai soils. Water, Air and Soil Pollution 122: 163-182.
     
      Web site reference example:
       Patton S. (2004) Toxic trespass. Our Planet. 15(2) 24-26. From UNEP Publications.: http:/www.ourplanet.com/imgversn/152/patton.html (accessed July 18, 2014).

6. All figures and tables must have their own legends and headings , be self-explanatory, numbered in Arabic numerals in order of their appearance in the text. 

Step 2| SUBMIT YOUR MANUSCRIPT

1. Register (sign up) an account or log in to your account for existing user.
   
   
2. Click on 'Make a New Submission'.
   
   
3. You will be directed to submission dashboard and you are now at stage "1. Start'. Read the copyright agreement and scroll down. Check off the 'I agree to abide by the terms of the copyright statement' box.
   
   
4. At the 'Section', click the toggle on the right for drop down menu. Select accordingly whether your manuscript is an 'Original Articles', 'Review Articles' or other choices.
   
   
5. At the'Comments for the Editor', you may write any message or leave it blank. 
   
   
6. Click on 'Save and Continue' to proceed with uploading the manuscript. 
   
   
7. You are now at stage "2. Upload Submission'. A pop-up of 'Upload Submission Files' will be displayed, click the toggle on the right for drop down menu.
   
   
8. At the 'Select Article Component', select accordingly to upload the following files:
   (**must upload for new submission)
   • Blinded Manuscript**
     - used for double-blind peer review process 
   • Title Page** 
     - used for desk-review by journal editors  
   • Manuscript Correction Summary 
     - used for revision process (only for papers that undergo multiple round of double-blind peer review process)
   • Full Text Article 
     - used for copyediting process (only for papers accepted to be published)  
   • Copyright Transfer Agreement
     - used for acceptance formality (only for papers accepted to be published)  
   • Galley Proof (WORD)
     - used for typesetting process  (only for papers accepted to be published)
   • Galley Proof (PDF)
     - used for typesetting process  (only for papers accepted to be published)
   • Supporting Information
     - used for uploading a Turnitin report/ graphical abstract/ cover letter or others that is supplementary                                                                   
9. To rename the uploaded file, click 'Edit'. After done renaming, click 'Continue'. The pop-up will disappear indicating the files have been succesfully uploaded. Click on 'Save and Continue' and you will now be directed to stage "3. Enter Metadata'. You must fill in the blank space with asterisk (*) sign which are the 'Title' (of your manuscript); 'Abstract'; and the 'List of Contributors' (details on author/ co-authors). 
10. Click on 'Save and Continue' and you will now be directed to stage "4. Confirmation'. Here, you will need to confirm your submission by click on 'Finish Submission'. Well done, now you have completed the submission and to keep track with the progress, click on 'Return to your dashboard' or you may 'Log Out' for now and come back to check later on. 

REVIEWERS
In order to expedite the review process, authors are required to nominate minimum three (3) potential reviewers which are non members of author's institution; however the decision of requesting the services of these experts is at the sole discretion of the Editors. You may include the list of the nomination in the MJS - Title Page Template while uploading the submission files. 

COPYRIGHT
Copyrights of accepted manuscripts will be transferred to the Malaysian Journal of Science. Authors must obtain permission to reproduce all materials of which the copyright is owned by others.

PROOF
Final proofs after the review stage, that has been addressed by the Author will be checked again to get approval/acceptance by the editors. The Authors then will send it to the proofreading to ensure the quality and consistency in language, style, formatting, and referencing, which is essential for all the papers published in MJS.

PAGE CHARGES
Papers that are accepted to be published will be levied an Article Processing Charge (APCs) of USD52; where USD50 is the page charges and another USD2 is the DOI charges.