Formatting Standards

Table of Contents

General Article Organization and Text Specifications

Preparation of Specific Sections

Submission of Revised Manuscripts

Checklist for Final Submission

 


  

General Article Organization and Text Specifications

JOFSR articles generally contain the following sections: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Contact Information, Additional title page Footnotes, Summary, Highlights (see below), Introduction, Results, Discussion, Experimental Procedures, Acknowledgements, References, Figure and Table Legends, Figures and Tables, Graphical Abstract (optional, see below), Supplemental Information (includes research data sets, research instruments, source texts or other materials that might otherwise form an appendix to the submission but warrant being treated as separate documents as they may have value on their own merits). The text (title through legends) should be provided as one document, which may also contain the Tables and figures.

The total character count of the main text, including all sections and including spaces but excluding supplemental data, should not exceed 55,000. Nonstandard abbreviations should be defined when first used in the text. Use of abbreviations should be kept at a minimum. Manuscript file types that we can accept for submission include OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format. The text is double-spaced; uses Times New Roman 12-point font with 1-inch margins (top, bottom, left, and right); 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. Required items differ for each article type and are specified during the submission process.

Please note that the pages should be numbered. Although summaries need to be entered as text files separate from the body of the manuscript during the online submission process, they should also be included within the manuscript file as usual.

 


  

Title

Titles can occupy no more than three lines of type. The title should convey the conceptual significance of the paper to a broad readership.

 


  

Authors/Affiliations

Author names should be spelled out rather than set in initials. Authors should be footnoted to corresponding affiliations. Affiliations should contain the following core information: department(s)/subunit(s); institution; city, state/region, postal code; country.

Note: please check author names and affiliations carefully as we cannot amend or correct these sections after publication.

 


  

Contact

The contact line should include the email address of the corresponding author. The published corresponding author is responsible for ensuring adherence to all editorial and submission policies and for any communications that may result after publication.

 


  

Additional Footnotes

Footnotes are only allowed on page 1 of the text (and in tables). They may include a present address or statement of equal contribution to the manuscript.

 


  

Summary

The Summary consists of a single paragraph of fewer than 300 words. It should clearly convey the conceptual advance and significance of the work to a broad readership. In particular, the abstract should contain a brief background of the question, a description of the results without extensive experimental detail, and a summary of the significance of the findings. References should not be cited in the Summary.

 


  

Introduction

The Introduction should be succinct, with no subheadings, and should present the background information necessary to provide appropriate context for the results.

 


  

Results

This section should be divided with subheadings. Footnotes should not be used and will be transferred to the text.

 


  

Discussion

The Discussion should explain the significance of the results and place them into a broader context. It should not be redundant with the Results section. This section may contain subheadings and can in some cases be combined with the Results section.

 


  

Experimental Procedures

The Experimental Procedures should, at minimum, include enough detail to allow the reader to understand the general experimental design and to be able to assess the data presented in the figures. This section should also include a description of any statistical methods employed in the study.

 


  

Acknowledgments

This section may acknowledge contributions from non-authors, list funding sources, and should include a statement of any conflict of interests. Please check this section carefully, as we cannot allow amendments or corrections after publication. This section may be used to list the contributions of individual authors.

 


  

References

References should include only articles that are published. Unpublished data, submitted manuscripts, abstracts, and personal communications should be cited within the text only. Personal communication should be documented by a letter of permission. Submitted articles should be cited as unpublished data, data not shown, or personal communication. Please use APA style for references.

 


  

Figure Legends

Legends should be included in the submitted manuscript under corresponding figure. Each figure legend should have a brief title (that is bolded) that describes the entire figure without citing specific panels, followed by a description of each panel.

 


  

Tables

When creating a table, please use the Microsoft Word table function and do not place an Excel table in a Word document. Word tables should not be tab or space delineated and should not use color. Tables should include a title above it in bold, and footnotes and/or legend should be concise. Tables not created with the Microsoft Word table function will need to be revised by the author.

 


  

Figure Organization

  • Don't send figure panels as individual files.
  • Each figure should be able to fit on a single 8.5 x 11 inch page.
  • Figures must be placed in word document at the appropriate place with the corresponding title.

 


  

Submission of Revised Manuscripts

In addition to the sections described above, revised manuscripts must also contain a detailed point by point response to the comments of the reviewers and/or editors. In general, revised manuscripts will be reconsidered only if resubmitted within two months of the date of the original decision.

 


  

Checklist for Final Submission

In order for a paper to be accepted and scheduled for publication, the author will be asked to send the following items. Please refer to the letter from your editor for further details and to the additional guidelines below for final figures.

1. Please make sure your final manuscript:

  • Meets our length restrictions of 55,000 characters, including spaces, and seven figures and/or tables.
  • Includes explanation of statistical methods in the Experimental Procedures.

2. Please include all of the following when you are resubmitting your final materials:

  • A modifiable electronic version of the final text (Microsoft Word .doc file is preferred).
  • A short paragraph of 100 words describing the context and significance of the findings, to be adapted for email alerts and In this Issue pages.