Submissions

Author Guidelines

This document provides some guidelines to authors for submission in order to work towards a seamless submission process. While complete adherence to the following guidelines is not enforced, authors should note that following through with the guidelines will be helpful in expediting the copyediting and proofreading processes, and allow for improved readability during the review process.

Format

Program: Microsoft Word (preferred)

Font: Times New Roman

Size: 12

Style: Normal

Paragraph: Justified

Required Documents

1. Cover Letter

All articles should include a cover letter as a separate document.

The cover letter should include:

i. Names and affiliation of author(s)

ii. The corresponding author(s) should be identified.

Eg. Department, University, Province/City/State, Postal Code, Country

iii. A brief description of the novelty and importance of the findings detailed in the paper

iv. Declaration

v. Conflict of Interest

Examples of conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to):

Research grants

Honoria

Employment or consultation

Project sponsors

Author’s position on advisory boards or board of directors/management relationships

Multiple affiliation

Other financial relationships/support

vi. Informed Consent

This section confirms that written consent was obtained from all participants prior to the study.

vii. Ethical Approval

Eg. The paper received the ethical approval of XXX Ethics Committee.

viii. Trial Registration

Eg. Name of Trial Registry: Trial Registration Number

ix. Contributorship

The role(s) that each author undertook should be reflected in this section. This section affirms that each credited author has had a significant contribution to the article.

2. Main Manuscript

i. Title

The title should not exceed 50 words. Authors are encouraged to keep their titles succinct and relevant. Titles should be reflected as font size 26, and in bold type.

ii. Abstract

A general introduction to the research topic of the paper should be provided, along with a brief summary of its main results and implications. Kindly ensure the abstract is self-contained and remains readable to a wider audience. The abstract should also be kept to a maximum of 200 words.

iii. Keywords

Authors should also include 5-8 keywords after the abstract, separated by a semi-colon, avoiding the words already used in the title of the article. Abstract and keywords should be reflected as font size 14.

iv. Section Headings

Section headings, sub-headings, and sub-subheadings should be differentiated by font size.

Section Headings: Font size 22, bold type

Sub-Headings: Font size 16, bold type

Sub-Subheadings: Font size 14, bold type

v. Reference List

vi. Supplementary Data/Information

vii. Supplementary figures, small tables, text etc.

As supplementary data/information is not copyedited/proofread, kindly ensure that the section is free from errors, and is presented clearly.

Main Manuscript Outline

Introduction

The introduction should highlight the significance of the research conducted, in particular, in relation to current state of research in the field. A clear research objective should be conveyed within a single sentence.

Materials and Methods

In this section, the methods used to obtain the results in the paper should be clearly elucidated. This allows readers to be able to replicate the study in the future. Authors should ensure that any references made to other research or experiments should be clearly cited.

Results

In this section, the results of experiments conducted should be detailed. The results should not be discussed at length in this section. Alternatively, Results and Discussion can also be combined to a single section.

Discussion

In this section, the results of the experiments conducted can be discussed in detail. Authors should discuss the direct and indirect implications of their findings, and also discuss if the results obtain reflect the current state of research in the field. Applications for the research should be discussed in this section. Suggestions for future research can also be discussed in this section.

Conclusions

This section offers closure for the paper. An effective conclusion will need to sum up the principal findings of the papers, and its implications for further research.

References

References should be included as a separate page from the main manuscript. For parts of the manuscript that have referenced a particular source, a superscript (ie. [x]) should be included next to the referenced text.

[x] refers to the allocated number of the source under the Reference List (eg. [1], [2], [3])

In the References section, the corresponding source should be referenced as:

[x] Author(s). Article Title [Publication Type]. Journal Name, Vol. No., Issue No.: Page numbers. (DOI number)

Glossary of Publication Type

J = Journal/Magazine

M = Monograph/Book

C = (Article) Collection

D = Dissertation/Thesis

P = Patent

S = Standards

N = Newspapers

R = Reports

Kindly note that the order of appearance of the referenced source should follow its order of appearance in the main manuscript.

Graphs, Figures, Tables, and Equations

Graphs, figures and tables should be labelled closely below it and aligned to the center. Each data presentation type should be labelled as Graph, Figure, or Table, and its sequence should be in running order, separate from each other.

Equations should be aligned to the left, and numbered with in running order with its number in parenthesis (aligned right).

Others

Conflicts of interest, acknowledgements, and publication ethics should also be declared in the final version of the manuscript. Instructions have been provided as its counterpart under Cover Letter.