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Author Guidelines

Manuscript Format

IJABE publishes original research articles of outstanding scientific significance. We will consider manuscripts of any length; we encourage the submission of both substantial full-length bodies of work and shorter manuscripts that report novel findings that might be based on a more limited range of experiments. The key criteria are that the work demonstrates clearly its novelty, its importance to a particular field as well as its interest to those outside that discipline, and conclusions that are justified by the study. The writing style should be concise and accessible. Editors will make suggestions for how to achieve this, as well as suggestions for cuts or additions that could be made to the article to strengthen the argument. Our aim is to make the editorial process rigorous and consistent, but not intrusive or overbearing. Authors are encouraged to use their own voice and to decide how best to present their ideas, results, and conclusions. Although we encourage submissions from around the globe, we require that manuscripts be submitted in English. As a step towards overcoming language barriers, we encourage authors fluent in Chinese to provide copies of their full articles or abstracts in Chinese. Translations should be submitted as supporting information and listed, together with other supporting information files, at the end of the article text.

Organization of the Manuscript

Most articles published in IJABE will be organized into the following sections: Title, authors, organizations/affiliations, abstract, article notes, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, references, acknowledgments, tables and figure legends. Uniformity in format will facilitate the experience of readers and users of the journal. Page numbers are required for all sections (figures exempted). There are no specific length restrictions for the overall manuscript or individual sections. However, we urge authors to present and discuss their findings concisely. Our submission system can support a large range of formats for text and graphics, but if you experience difficulties with the site or are concerned about the suitability of your files, please contact us. Please submit your manuscript with double spacing (a blank line under each line of text) for the convenience of the editors and any reviewers.

Title

The title should briefly identify the subject and indicate the purpose of the document, specific yet concise. The title should supply enough information for the reader to make a reliable decision on probable interest. It should be comprehensible to readers outside your field. A short informative title is preferred over a long obtuse one. In short, a good title is defined as the fewest words that adequately describe the paper contents, in which several main keywords should often included. Title should not exceed 10 substantive words excluding articles, prepositions, and conjunctions, except in unusual instances. Please also provide a brief “running head” of approximately 60 characters. Title should not contain “waste” words, which often appear right at the start of the title such as “Study on”, “Investigation on”, “Observation on”, “A/An”, “The”. Avoid specialist abbreviations, if possible. Titles should be presented in title case, meaning that the first word of the title should be capitalized. Title Page is needed. The title page should include a word count for text only and the full names, highest academic degrees, and affiliations of all authors. If an author’s affiliation has changed since the work was done, the new affiliation also should be listed.

Authors and Affiliations

Provide the first names or initials (if used), middle names or initials (if used), surnames, and affiliations—department, university or organization, city, state/province (if applicable), and country—for all authors. One of the authors should be designated as the corresponding author. It is the corresponding author’s responsibility to ensure that the author lists, and the summary of the author contributions to the study are accurate and complete. If the article has been submitted on behalf of a consortium, all consortium members and affiliations should be listed after the Acknowledgments.

Authorship Criteria

Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. One or more authors should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. Authorship credit should be based only on (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; and (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions 1, 2, and 3 must all be met.

Role of the Corresponding Author

The corresponding author (or coauthor designee) will serve on behalf of all coauthors as the primary correspondent with the editorial office during the submission and review process. If the manuscript is accepted, the corresponding author will review an edited typescript and proof, make decisions regarding release of information in the manuscript to the news media, government agencies, or both, and will be identified as the corresponding author in the published article. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript is complete. “Acknowledgment” is the general term for the list of contributions, credits, and other information included at the end of the text of a manuscript but before the references.

Group Authorship

If authorship is attributed to a group (either solely or in addition to one or more individual authors), all members of the group must meet the full criteria and requirements for authorship as described above. If that is not the case, a group must designate one or more individuals as authors or members of a writing group who meet full authorship criteria and requirements. Other group members who are not authors may be listed in an Acknowledgment.

Abstract

Include a structured abstract (OMRC) of no more than 300 words for research papers of original data and reviews. Abstracts should be prepared for other major manuscripts such as research notes, brief communications, include an unstructured abstract of no more than 200 words that summarizes the objective, main points, and conclusions of the article. Abstracts are not required for editorials, commentaries, and some special features. The abstract succinctly introduces the paper. It should mention the techniques used without going into methodological detail and mention the most important results. The abstract is conceptually divided into the following four sections: Background/Objective, Methodology, Results/Principal Findings, and Conclusions/Significance, however these headers do not appear in the published article. Please do not include literature citations or references to tables, figures, or equations in the abstract. Avoid specialist abbreviations. In context, a researcher preparing an abstract should think: This is what we studied. This is how we did it. This is what we learned. This is what it means. In detail, the abstract should include a hypothesis or rationale for the work, a brief description of the methods, a summary of the results, and a conclusion: The topic sentence states the purpose of the research: What was studied? What hypothesis was tested? A brief description of the methods should give the reader an idea of the general approach used by the researcher. The abstract should contain only enough about methodology to provide a context for the results. The results should include the major trends and the most important results of the study. Data may be given to emphasize the results; group size, p-values, etc., should not be included. Concise conclusions that can be drawn from the study complete the abstract.

Key words

A short list of keywords or phrases should be included immediately after the abstract as index words. In general, 3-8 keywords are recommended, and main keywords should be from the article title. These words or phrases are used for indexing by IJABE and other indexing services. Choose keywords that reflect the content of your article. Note that words in the title are not searchable as keywords unless they are also included in the keyword list.

Article Notes

In published articles, the article notes appear as a footnote at the bottom of the first page. In your manuscript, use the article notes to:
  • Indicate received date and accepted date of the manuscript.
  • Indicate manuscript approval by your sponsoring organization or employer, if necessary, and list any disclaimers. Or list the Foundation items and funded projects.
  • List the full names, AOC, CSAE, or other scholarly membership, professional titles, and professional affiliations and locations for all authors.
  • List the contact information for the corresponding author, including the full mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.

Body of the Article

You will want to organize the main text in a manner that can be easily understood by the reader. Depending on the subject matter, this organization may be chronological, spatial, geo-graphical, or any other sequence that develops logically. Manuscripts may be written in either the first or third person. Clearly indicate subdivisions of the main body with headings and sub-headings, but do not use more than three levels of headings. Subheadings facilitate comprehension for all readers and provide a quick summary for the scanning reader. The following are typical headings in a journal article:

Introduction

The introduction should put the focus of the manuscript into a broader context. As you compose the introduction, think of readers who are not experts in this field. The introductory section of the text should include a brief statement of why the research was conducted. It should also define the problem and present objectives (including a description of the subject, scope, and purpose) along with a plan of development of the subject matter. Include a brief review of the key literature. If there are relevant controversies or disagreements in the field, they should be mentioned so that a non-expert reader can delve into these issues further. The introduction should conclude with a brief statement of the overall aim of the experiments and a comment about whether that aim was achieved.

Materials and Methods

This section should provide enough detail for reproduction of the findings. So, sufficient detail should be provided so that the work may be repeated. Do not give details of methods described in readily available sources. Instead, refer to the source and describe any modification. Protocols for new methods should be included, but well-established protocols may simply be referenced. Figures that illustrate test apparatus and tables of treatment parameters or equipment specifications are appropriate here.

Results and Discussion

If warranted, the results and discussion may be combined into one section, or may be divided into two separate sections. This section describes the solution to the problem stated in the introductory section. Use figures and tables to visually supplement the presentation of your results. The text must refer explicitly to all visuals, and you must interpret the visual elements to emphasize the evidence on which your conclusions are based. Do not omit important negative results. The results should provide details of all of the experiments that are required to support the conclusions of the paper. There is no specific word limit for this section, but details of experiments that detract from the focus of the article should not be included. The section may be divided into subsections, each with a concise subheading. The results section should be written in past tense. The discussion should spell out the major conclusions and interpretations of the work including some explanation on the significance of these conclusions. How do the conclusions affect the existing assumptions and models in the field? How can future research build on these observations? What are the key experiments that must be done? The discussion should be concise and tightly argued. In addition, relate your findings to previous findings by identifying how and why there are differences and where there is agreement. Speculation is encouraged, but it must be identified. Any controversies should also be presented clearly and fairly.

Conclusions

This is a summary of your results. In this section, state any conclusions that can be drawn from your data. You may also include suggestions for future research. The conclusion may be a subsection of the Results and Discussion section, or it may be a separate section. Data or statements cited in your conclusion must have been stated previously in the article. Do not introduce new information in the conclusion.

Acknowledgments

The “Acknowledgment” section is the general term for the list of contributions, credits, and other information included at the end of the text of a manuscript but before the references. People who contributed to the work, but do not fit the criteria for authors should be listed in the Acknowledgments, along with their contributions. Authors should obtain written permission that anyone named in the acknowledgments agrees to being so named. Details (project names and coded number) of the funding sources that have supported the work should be confined to the funding statement, which will be revealed in the section of Article Notes. Do not include them in the Acknowledgments.

References

IJABE uses the Vancouver Style, namely, the numbered citation (citation-sequence) method for citing and listing references. In the Vancouver Style, citations within the text of your essay/paper are identified by Arabic numbers in square brackets. This applies to references in text, tables and figures. e.g. [2] – this is the style used by the referencing software Endnote. The Vancouver System assigns a number to each reference as it is cited. Number references in the order they appear in the text; do not alphabetize. A number must be used even if the author(s) is named in the sentence/text. The author should number and list the references in Arabic numerals according to the citation order in the text. Put reference numbers in square brackets in superscript at the end of citation content or after the cited author’s name. For citation content which is part of the narration, the coding number and square brackets should be typeset normally. For example, “The structural and engineering design of the farm Robert meets agronomic needs[1,2]”. If references are cited directly in the text, they should be put together within the text, for example, “From references [1,3-8], we know that...” Multiple citations within a single set of brackets should be separated by commas. Where there are more than three sequential citations, they should be given as a range. For example: “...has been shown previously [1, 4–6, 10].” Make sure the parts of the manuscript are in the correct order for the relevant journal before ordering the citations. Figure captions and tables should be at the end of the manuscript. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for correct text citation. When the authors write the references, please ensure that the order in text is the same as in the references section and also ensure the spelling accuracy of the first author’s name. Do not list the same citation twice. When the authors list the references, abbreviate names of journals according to the journals list in PubMed. For all references, list all authors and/or editors up to three; if more than three, list the first three followed by “et al.” Note: Journal references should include the issue number in parentheses after the volume number. Because all references will be linked electronically as much as possible to the papers they cite, proper formatting of the references is crucial. You can include a DOI number for the full-text article as an alternative to or in addition to traditional volume and page numbers. Please use the following style for the reference list:

Examples of reference style:

Journal Article

1) Published Papers
[1] Morrow D A, Scirica B M, Karwatowska-Prokopczuk E, et al. Effects of ranolazine on recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with non–ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes: the MERLIN-TIMI 36 randomized trial. JAMA, 2007, 297(16):1775-1783.

2) Accepted Papers
Same as above, but “In press” appears instead of the page numbers. Example: Science, 2008, In press.

3) Electronic Journal Articles
[1] Loker W M. “Campesinos” and the crisis of modernization in Latin America. Jour Pol Ecol, 1996. Available: http://www.library.arizona.edu/ej/jpe/volume_3/ascii-lokeriso.txt. Accessed on [2006-08-11].

Books
[1] Bates B. Bargaining for life: A social history of tuberculosis. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. 1992. 435 p.
Book Chapters
[1] Hansen B. New York City epidemics and history for the public. In: Harden V A, Risse G B (Ed.), editors. AIDS and the historian. Bethesda: National Institutes of Health.1991. pp. 21–28.
Degree Dissertation
[1] Wang Yingkuan. Open access publishing of scientific scholarly journals in China. PhD dissertation. Beijing: Peking University, 2006, 12. 240 p.
Newspaper Article
[1] Di Rado A. Trekking through college: Classes explore modern society using the world of Star trek. Los Angeles Times, 1995-03-15 ( p. A3).
Encyclopedia Article
[1] Sturgeon T. Science fiction. In: The encyclopedia Americana. Danbury, CT: Grolier. 1995, Vol. 24: pp. 390-392.
ERIC Document
[1] Fuss-Reineck M. Sibling communication in Star trek: The next generation: Conflicts between brothers. Miami F L: Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association. ERIC Document Reproduction Service, 1993, No. ED 364932.
Website
[1] Pretty Jules N. Regenerating Agriculture: Policies and Practice for Sustainability and Self-Reliance. Washington D C: Joseph Henry Press. 1995. http://www.nap.edu/books/0309052467/html/index.html. Accessed on [2006-06-12].

Manuscript Style

Spelling
The Journal uses US spelling and authors should therefore follow the latest edition of the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
Units
We strongly encourage the use of SI units. All measurements must be given in SI or SI-derived units. If you do not use these exclusively, please provide the SI value in parentheses after each value.
Abbreviations
Please keep abbreviations to a minimum, only where they ease the reader's task by reducing repetition of long, technical terms. Initially use the word in full, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter use the abbreviation only. Non-standard abbreviations should not be used unless they appear at least three times in the text.
Trade names
Chemical substances should be referred to by the generic name only. Trade names should not be used when it is not essential or ambiguous. If trade names are used, the name and location of the manufacturer must be given.
Scientific names
Upon its first use in the title, abstract, text, and materials and methods, the common name of a species should be followed by the scientific name (genus, species and authority) in parentheses. However, for well-known species, the scientific name may be omitted from the article title. If no common name exists in English, the scientific name should be used only.
Nomenclature
The use of standardized nomenclature in all fields of science and engineering is an essential step toward the integration and linking of scientific information reported in published literature. We will enforce the use of correct and established nomenclature wherever possible:Species names should be italicized (e.g., Homo sapiens). Genes, mutations, genotypes, and alleles should be indicated in italics. Use the recommended name by consulting the appropriate genetic nomenclature database, e.g., HUGO for human genes. It is sometimes advisable to indicate the synonyms for the gene the first time it appears in the text. The Recommended International Non-Proprietary Name (rINN) of drugs should be provided.

Figures and Tables

Figures
If the article is accepted for publication, the author will be asked to supply high-resolution, print-ready versions of the figures. Please ensure that the files conform to the following when preparing your figures for production. After acceptance, authors will also be asked to provide an attractive image to highlight their paper online. We recommend that figures be created using Adobe Photoshop. If you use Photoshop or similar software, send .TIF files at full size and delete any blank space around the edges of each figure. Resolution of at least 300 dpi is needed for most figures, saved as .JPG or .TIF. Color figure files should be set up as CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) and not as RGB (red, green, blue) so that the colors as they appear on screen will be a closer representation of how they will print in the Journal. If you use PowerPoint, send the original PowerPoint files. Use only basic PowerPoint fonts, do not draw lines that are less than .25 points thick. Use shaded or colored fills instead of pattern fills. Images imported into PowerPoint should have at least 600 dpi resolution. All illustrations (line drawings and photographs) are classified as figures. It is preferred that photos be grouped together into one or more plates. Figures should be cited in consecutive order in the text. Each figure should be labeled at the top of the page, indicating the name of the author (s), figure number and orientation. Line figures should be supplied as sharp, black and white graphs or diagrams, drawn professionally or with a computer graphics package. Lettering must be included and should be sized to 8 point size (Arial and Overstriking) for line figures and photographs; figure numbers should be sized to be 9 point size (Arial and Overstriking). Photographs should be supplied as sharp, glossy, black-and-white or color photographic prints and must be unmounted. Individual photographs forming a composite figure should be of equal contrast to facilitate printing, and should be accurately squared. Magnifications should be indicated using a scale bar on the illustration.
Figure Legends
The aim of the figure legend should be to describe the key messages of the figure, but the figure should also be discussed in the text. An enlarged version of the figure and its full legend will often be viewed in a separate window online, and it should be possible for a reader to understand the figure without switching back and forth between this window and the relevant parts of the text. Each legend should have a concise title of no more than 15 words. The legend itself should be concise and comprehensive, while still explaining all symbols and abbreviations. Avoid lengthy descriptions of methods.
Tables
All tables should have a concise title. Footnotes can be used to explain abbreviations. Citations should be indicated using the same style as outlined above. Tables occupying more than one printed page should be avoided, if possible. Larger tables can be published as online supporting information. Tables must be cell-based; do not use picture elements, text boxes, tabs, or returns in tables. Tables should not repeat the same contents of figures.

Submission Format

  1. Length
    • Research Articles
      • 6 - 12 pages plus references(suggested but not limited)
      • 200 - 300-word abstract
      • Include a short academic bibliography of the author(s)
      • Provide 3-8 keywords
    • Commentaries & Reflections, Books/Product Reviews
      • 3 - 5 pages plus references
      • 100-word abstract
      • Include a short academic bibliography of the author(s)
      • Provide 3-5 keywords
  2. Format
    Language: Only English language is accepted. However, if an author wants to do presubmission enquiries, a submission may be in Chinese, once approving submission, formal submission must be in English. Submit in Word or RTF format only.

    Abstract:
    • Single-spaced
    • Left justified
    • Italicized
    Main text:
    • single-spaced
    • full justified
    • 1-inch margins
    References:
    • Single-spaced
    • Alphabetical order
    • Avoid footnotes
  3. Content and order
    • Title
    • Author
    • Organization
    • Article Notes
    • Abstract
    • Key words
    • Main body of article
    • Funding sources
    • References
    • Appendix (if any)

Pre-submission Enquiries

We strongly encourage authors to submit a pre-submission enquiry before making a full submission. The purpose of a pre-submission enquiry is to solicit rapid initial feedback on the potential suitability of a manuscript for the journal. Staff editors will usually assess these enquiries independently, but may occasionally consult with an academic editor. If you wish to submit a pre-submission enquiry, please send email to ijabe@sina.com. The materials that will be required are your contact information, a cover letter (which may include requests to exclude certain peers from the evaluation process), and a referenced abstract (which should include up to 10 key references which put your abstract into context). Authors who receive an invitation to submit their manuscripts will then enter the regular editorial process.

Pre-Submission Information

  1. Have you read the license agreement and are you able to sign it on behalf of all the authors?
  2. Have you identified potential reviewers whose e-mail addresses you can provide? Have you identified colleagues who may have a conflict of interest?
  3. Have you prepared a cover letter explaining why you consider this manuscript suitable for publication in IJABE?
  4. Are related manuscripts by any of the authors submitted or in press elsewhere? If so, are you prepared to provide PDFs?

 

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

  1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  2. The submission file is in Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.
  3. Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
  4. The text is single-spaced; 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.
  5. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
  6. If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review) have been followed.
 

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