Submissions

Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines

Submission Format:

The complete manuscript must be formatted with single spacing and include page and line numbers to facilitate the review process. Submissions should be prepared using Microsoft Word. Please download the MS Word Template (The Scientia Journal) to start writing.

Title:

A title should be concise and free from terms that are already implied by the context of the journal or field. Whenever possible, it should function as a clear statement reflecting the primary result or conclusion presented in the manuscript. The use of abbreviations within the title is discouraged OR only universally accepted abbreviations are allowed such as DNA, RNA PCR etc.

Authors should remain mindful that a title intended to provoke thought could be misinterpreted as offensive or alarming. In exceptional circumstances, the editorial office retains the authority to reject a title and suggest an appropriate alternative.

Abstract:

Keywords: Keyword¹; Keyword²; Keyword³

(Provide three to ten relevant keywords that are specific to the study but commonly used in the discipline.)

Introduction

The introduction should briefly set the study within a broader context and explain its importance. State the purpose and significance of the work. Provide a focused review of the current research landscape, citing essential publications. Address any contradictory or debated hypotheses as needed. Conclude by stating the main objectives and principal conclusions. Keep the language accessible to researchers outside your immediate field. APA referencing style should be followed for in-text citation and bibliography.

Materials and Methods:

Describe materials and methods in sufficient detail to allow replication and extension of the findings. Submission implies a commitment to make all materials, data, code, and protocols available to readers. Any restrictions on availability must be disclosed at submission. Provide thorough descriptions for new methods; well-established techniques may be briefly described with appropriate citations.

For manuscripts reporting large datasets deposited in public repositories, specify where the data are stored and include accession numbers. If numbers are not yet available at submission, indicate that they will be provided during review and must be available before publication.

Studies requiring ethical approval, must name the approving authority and provide the ethical approval code.

If generative AI tools (e.g., for text, data, graphics, study design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation) were used, disclose those details here. Basic editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation, or formatting does not require disclosure.

Results:

This section may be organized with subheadings. Present experimental results concisely and precisely, along with their interpretation and the conclusions that follow.

Subsection

Subsubsection

Lists can be presented as:

• First bullet point
• Second bullet point
• Third bullet point

Numbered lists can be formatted as:

1. First item
2. Second item
3. Third item

Discussion:

Interpret the results in light of previous studies and original hypotheses. Situate the findings and their implications in the broadest possible context. Future research directions may also be suggested.

Conclusions

This section is optional. It may be included if the discussion is especially long or complex.

Patents

This section is optional. Include it if the work has resulted in patents.

Supplementary Materials: Supporting files can be downloaded from [URL placeholder]; e.g., Figure S1: title; Table S1: title; Video S1: title.

Author Contributions: Provide a short paragraph specifying individual contributions. Example wording: “Conceptualization, A.B. and C.D.; methodology, A.B.; software, C.D.; validation, A.B., C.D., and E.F.; formal analysis, A.B.; investigation, C.D.; resources, E.F.; data curation, A.B.; writing—original draft preparation, C.D.; writing—review and editing, A.B. and E.F.; visualization, C.D.; supervision, E.F.; project administration, A.B.; funding acquisition, C.D.” All authors must read and approve the final version. Refer to the CRediT taxonomy for role definitions. Authorship should be limited to those who made substantial contributions.

Funding: State funding information: e.g., “This research received no external funding” or “This research was funded by [funder name], grant number [XXX].” Also note “The APC was funded by [XXX].” Verify funder names is solely responsibility of the corresponding author. Errors may affect future funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement: If ethical approval was not required, you may exclude this statement. For waived approval: “Ethical review and approval were waived for this study because [detailed justification].” For studies not involving humans or animals: “Not applicable.”

Informed Consent Statement: Required for studies involving humans. Example: “Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.” For waived consent: “Patient consent was waived because [detailed justification].” For studies not involving humans: “Not applicable.” If identifiable patients are involved, written consent for publication must be obtained: “Written informed consent has been obtained from the patient(s) to publish this paper.”

Data Availability Statement: Authors are encouraged to share research data. Indicate where data supporting the results can be found, including links to publicly archived datasets. If no new data were created or data are restricted, a statement is still required.

Conflicts of Interest: State any conflicts or write “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.” Disclose any personal circumstances or interests that could influence the research. Declare funders’ roles in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, or publication decisions. If the funders had no role, state: “The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.”

References (APA 7th Edition)

All submissions to this journal must be founded upon relevant and current peer-reviewed academic research, a requirement that should be reflected in the accompanying reference lists.

Authors are permitted to utilize online reference management tools during the preparation of their manuscripts. Useful resources in this regard include Zotero, Mendeley or similar ones. The reference list should be of a length appropriate to the article type and should adequately cover the relevant literature through sufficient citation.

It is the responsibility of authors to ensure the accuracy of all references, to confirm that any provided links remain accessible, and to conform to the reference styles specified below.

The Scientia Journal employs one reference format: the APA Style (7^th). All in-text citations and reference lists must adhere strictly to one of these formats.

Each reference entry should include the full surname and first name initials of the first 10 authors, followed by "et al.," with the year of publication enclosed in brackets. The accuracy and integrity of all cited references rest with the authors. This includes the responsibility to verify whether any article intended for citation has been formally retracted. The inclusion of retracted works can compromise the credibility of a manuscript and should be avoided unless such a citation is critically necessary for the contextual discussion.

All references must be listed alphabetically by the first author’s last name. Each entry should have a hanging indent (first line flush left, subsequent lines indented 0.5 inches). Use sentence case for article and book titles (capitalize only the first word of the title, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns). For journal titles use title case and italics. Include a DOI (digital object identifier) where available, formatted as a hyperlink (https://doi.org/...). Do not add a period after a DOI or URL.

In-text citations in APA style:

• One author: (Smith, 2020) or Smith (2020)
• Two authors: (Smith & Jones, 2021) – use “&” in parentheses, “and” in narrative
• Three or more authors: (Taylor et al., 2022)
• Multiple works: (Adams, 2018; Lee & Kim, 2019; Rodriguez et al., 2020) – order alphabetically
• Direct quote: (Chen, 2019, p. 45) or (Chen, 2019, pp. 45–46)

Reference examples:

Journal article

Author, A. B., & Author, C. D. (2020). Title of the article in sentence case. Journal Name in Italics and Title Case, volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xxxx

Book

Author, A. (2019). Book title in sentence case and italics (2nd ed.). Publisher Name.

Book chapter

Author, A. (2018). Title of chapter in sentence case. In B. Editor & C. Editor (Eds.), Book title in sentence case and italics (pp. 45–67). Publisher.

Conference paper/presentation

Author, A., & Author, B. (2021, August 15–18). Title of presentation in sentence case and italics [Paper presentation]. Conference Name, City, Country.

Thesis or dissertation

Author, A. (2017). Title of thesis in sentence case and italics [Doctoral dissertation/Master’s thesis, University Name]. Database/Archive Name. URL

Unpublished or in-press work

Author, A. B. (in press). Title of article. Journal Name.

Personal communication

(cited only in text, not in reference list) (T. Johnson, personal communication, February 14, 2023)

Online resource / website

Organization Name. (2022, October 5). Title of specific page in sentence case and italics. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from https://www.website.com/page

Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: Statements, opinions, and data in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of the publisher and/or the editor(s). The publisher and/or editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions, or products referred to in the content.

Language Style:

The standard language style employed by this journal is American English. For any inquiries regarding style conventions, authors are advised to refer to the Chicago Manual of Style. Authors should refrain from using language that may be perceived as insulting, profane, or derogatory. Any form of expression that implicitly presents a particular culture or group as the default or normative standard should be avoided.

Use of Artificial Intelligence and associated technologies:

Generative AI technologies are not eligible for authorship or co-authorship on any manuscript submitted to The Scientia Journal.

In cases where an author has employed written or visual content produced or modified through a generative AI tool, the author bears full responsibility for verifying the factual accuracy of any material generated by the AI, including but not limited to quotations, citations, and references. Any figures created or altered using generative AI must be carefully examined to confirm that they faithfully represent the data presented in the manuscript. Additionally, authors must ensure that all AI-generated or AI-modified content and overall manuscript is free from any form of plagiarism.

When generative AI has been used in the preparation of a manuscript, this must be disclosed in the acknowledgements section and, where appropriate, in the methods section as well. The disclosure should specify the name, version, model, and source of the generative AI tool employed.

Authors are encouraged to submit, as supplementary files, both the input prompts provided to the generative AI and the corresponding outputs received, to ensure transparency in the research process. 

Acknowledgement:

Acknowledgements are intended to credit individuals who were directly involved in the research process. Authors are asked to refrain from including personal expressions of gratitude toward figures or entities whose connection to the manuscript is indirect or unrelated. While such acknowledgements may hold personal significance, they are not considered relevant unless they pertain to specific research activities.

Figures should be integrated into the main text file, positioned close to their first citation within the manuscript. For multi-panel figures, each panel must be clearly identified using labels such as (a), (b), (c), (d), and so forth. These labels should not be placed directly over any part of the image, as they will be reformatted during typesetting to align with the journal's style. In the case of graphs, each axis must include a descriptive label with the appropriate units to ensure clarity without reference to the main text.

Figures:

When referring to individual panels within a figure, panel labels should appear in bold capital letters within parentheses, such as A), B), C), D) etc.

Image Size and Resolution Requirements:

All figures must be submitted at a resolution of 300 dots per inch (DPI) at the final display size. Authors are advised to assess resolution by enlarging the image to at least 130% of its intended size; if the image appears blurred, pixelated, or exhibits jagged edges, the resolution is insufficient.

Text within figures should be clear and of high typographic quality. The smallest text should measure no less than eight points in height when viewed at the final reproduction size. Authors should verify that all elements remain legible under these conditions.

Guidelines for Table:

Tables must be submitted in an editable format, and tables should be constructed within Microsoft Word. A blank line should appear both above and below each table to ensure proper visual separation from surrounding text.

Each table requires a caption positioned directly before it. The caption should be introduced with the appropriate label, such as "Table 1".

Every table must be cited within the main text and that these citations appear in sequential numerical order.

Please be aware that tables extending across multiple pages cannot be accommodated within the final PDF due to formatting constraints. Such tables will instead be designated as supplementary material and published alongside the main article.

Failure to adhere to the specifications outlined above may result in significant delays during the production phase of the manuscript.

Guidelines for Supplementary data:

Data that cannot be incorporated directly into the article due to size constraints or format limitations—such as videos, raw data traces, or PowerPoint presentations—may be submitted as supplementary material during the upload process. These files will be made available alongside the published article.

Supplementary material does not undergo typesetting. Authors should therefore ensure that all content is clearly presented, free from tracked changes, highlighted text, or line numbers, and that an appropriate caption is included within each file. To prevent inconsistencies between the published article and the supplementary files, authors should refrain from including the manuscript title, author list, affiliations, or correspondence details in the supplementary materials.

Authors Affiliation:

All author names should appear together in a single sequence, separated by commas. It is essential that names be provided accurately and in their complete form. Affiliations must be linked to each author using superscript numerals and should be presented in the following order: Laboratory, Institute, Department, Organization, City, State abbreviation (applicable only for the United States, Canada, and Australia), and Country. Detailed address elements such as street names or postal codes should be omitted.

Correspondence:

The corresponding author or authors should be indicated by an asterisk placed next to their names in the author list. A separate section must be provided containing the accurate email address for each corresponding author.

Equal Contributions:

Authors who have contributed equally to the work should be marked with a dagger symbol (†) in the author list within both the manuscript file and the accompanying PDF at the time of submission.

Article Processing Charges:

Open access enables unrestricted and immediate online availability of academic research, permitting anyone around the globe to read, distribute, and build upon published work.

Article publishing charges (APC) applied to manuscripts that successfully complete peer review and are accepted for publication by our independent editorial boards. APC per accepted article is PKR 15000.

Article publishing charges represent an alternative financial structure to conventional subscription-based models. Their primary advantage lies in ensuring that all content remains openly and freely accessible for reading and downloading by any individual, thereby fostering accelerated scientific collaboration and innovation.

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.