Author Guidelines

   Publication Guidelines

   General Format

Note: Before submission of the new Research paper authors should consider the following general rules for the preparation of the Research paper. Please read these instructions carefully and follow the guidelines strictly.

  Research papers must be typed/ submitted electronically on A4 (210 × 297 mm) paper, double-spaced throughout and with ample margins of at least 2.5 cm.
  Font-Times or Times New Roman 12 point size only (other sizes as specified), and Symbol font for mathematical symbols (in the text and in the figures).
justification should be set to full.
  Do not underline: Use italics, bold or bold italics instead.
  Line spacing should be set at 2 (Double).
  Leave a line space between paragraphs and sections.
  Leave a line space between section titles and text.
  Leave only one space after a full stop.
  All pages must be numbered consecutively. Starting with the title page as p.1, the text, which begins with p.2, is to be arranged in the following order: abstract, brief introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgements, references, figure legends, tables.
  The first page of the full Research paper must begin with the title of the paper centred on the page in 14 points Bold Title Case (title case means the first letter of each main word capitalized).
  The names of the authors (Family Name– followed by a period - Initials – followed by a period each) with the main author’s name mentioned first, the names and locations of the authors’ affiliations (Title Case), and the e-mail address of the main author or corresponding author.
  The title should be brief and should indicate the species studied. The title page must provide the title in English, a short title of not more than 45 characters (including spaces) to be used as running head, up to five topical keywords in English for subject indexing, the full postal address of the corresponding author to whom proofs will be sent.
  The abstract should not exceed 250 words, should be one in paragraph and should be free of references and abbreviations. It should indicate clearly the scope and main conclusions of the paper.
  The introduction should give the relevant background to the study, study area and should explain why the work was done.
  The materials and methods (or methodology) should give essential details, including experimental design and statistical analysis in detail with supporting references.
  The discussion should cover, but not simply repeat the new findings and should present the author's results in the broader context of other work on the subject interpreting them with a minimum of speculation.
  The results & conclusions should present the findings of the research. They should be free from discussion. Results should be written in the past tense.
  The acknowledgements should be as brief as possible.
 
   File Size and Format

File Sizes

Research papers will be distributed to reviewers via email. Large file sizes may cause inconvenience in downloading, thus help in reducing file sizes by following tricks-
  Do not scan pages of text.
  Do not scan printed Figures unless no original digital document exists.
  If a scanned figure is unavoidable, please use Adobe Photoshop or a similar program to edit the file and reduce the file size as much as possible before submission.
Black and white line drawings or grey-scale figures should not be saved as colour documents.
  Do not use Colour unless absolutely needed to convey information.
 
   Research paper file format

We request to submit an article in Microsoft Word format (.DOC, .DOCX). If you are using another word processor please save the final version of the Research paper (using 'Save As' option of the File menu) as a Word document. We cannot accept other text files.

   Readability

Papers must be understandable and communicate an unambiguous message. It is the responsibility of the authors to obtain help from a colleague who is fluent in English if that is needed. Poor English may ultimately be a reason to refuse a paper.

   Language Editing Services

Plantae Scientia is very much concerned about the clarity and professionalism of your Research paper. Editorial board has successfully negotiated with many Professional Script Writes / Improvers to provide language editing services to our authors at competitive rates. Non-English authors may contact Chief Editor for getting Professional Scientific Editing services before submission or after acceptance of their Research papers to eliminate (minimize) the chances of rejection due to poor English.

   Submission of Research Paper

The research paper should be submitted electronically to Plantae Scientia to facilitate rapid publication and minimize administrative costs. Email submission ensures the quickest possible review and allows authors to track the progress of their papers. It is recommended that text files are uploaded as Microsoft Word documents files and figures as JPEG files. Authors should read Guidelines to Authors carefully before submission of their Research papers.

  Note: In order to submit a NEW research paper to Plantae Scientia, you must be an Annual / Life / Honorary Member of Journal. The submitting author takes responsibility for the paper during submission and peer review.

   Preparing the Research paper

Plantae Scientia peer-reviewed print and open access scientific journal that provides a high visibility forum to the scientific community for the publication of top-tier original research according to the scope of the journal. Plantae Scientia publishes high-quality research work in the following forms:

   Research Articles

Research articles present original research and address a clearly stated specific hypothesis or question. Papers should provide novel approaches and new insights into the problem addressed. Research Article should arrange in the following order: Abstract, Brief Introduction, Materials and Methods, Discussion, Results & Conclusions, Acknowledgements, References, Figures, Tables.

   Reviews Articles

Review articles are an attempt by one or more authors to sum up the current state of the research on a particular topic. Ideally, the author searches for everything relevant to the topic. Only review articles from experts in the field will be considered for publication.

   Short Communications

Short communication is for a concise (not more than 2500 words) but independent report representing a significant contribution in the field. Short communication is not intended to publish preliminary results. It should have at least 8 references. Short communications will also send for peer review.

   Research / Technical Note

A research / technical note is an article giving a brief description of a technique or procedure. It may also refer to the modification of a technique, procedure or equipment of interest to the journal. It should be no more than 1500 words and could include two figures or tables. It should have at least 8 references. Technical notes will also send for peer review.

   Abbreviations and Units

Generally, units must be abbreviated according to the International System of Units (SI units). Below you find examples of abbreviations of the most commonly used SI units:

Base quantity               Name                                 Abbreviation

Length                                  Meter                                  m
Mass                                     Kilogram                             kg
Time                                      Second                                s
Time                                      Minute                                min
Electric current                 Ampere                               A
Area                                      square meter                    m2
Volume                                 Cubic meter                      m3
Frequency                           Hertz                                  Hz


It is important to maintain the capital letters and lower case letters as they appear in the abbreviation to avoid confusion with other abbreviations.

   Tables, figures & illustrations

In presenting data, authors should anticipate the limitations set by the size and layout of the journal. Large and complex tables, figures and maps should be avoided in the main paper, but can be included in a data appendix for use by reviewers.
Figures should be saved in a neutral data format such as JPEG. Scanned figures (in JPEG and TIFF formats) should have a resolution of 300 dpi (halftone) or 600 to 1200 dpi (line drawings) in relation to the reproduction size.
Any tables and figures that are included in the main text of the paper should be numbered separately, in the sequence that they are mentioned in the text.
Each table and figure should be presented on a separate page of the research paper, with a brief and self-explanatory title. All text should be clearly legible, and all graphics and legends should be easily distinguished when printed in black and white.
Notes under each table and figure should be used to explain and specify the source of all data shown.

   Citing References

Whenever citing a reference in the text source, it is made with its author’s surname and the year of publication is to be inserted in the text. Choose from the listed below to see examples:
   Citing the Author in the Text

Dogs were the first animals to be domesticated (Sheldrake, 1999). If the author’s name occurs naturally in the sentence the year is given in brackets. Sheldrake (1999) asserted that dogs were the first animals to be domesticated.

   Using Direct Quotes

If you quote directly from a source, you must insert the author’s name, date of publication and the page number of the quotation. The domestication of dogs long predated the domestication of other animals (Sheldrake, 1999).

   Citing works by more than one Author

If your source has two authors, you should include both names in the text.
Anderson and Poole (1998) note that a “narrow line often separates plagiarism from the good scholarship.”

   Citing works by three or more Authors

If there are three or more authors, you should include the first-named author and then add ‘et al.’ in italics followed by a full stop. This is an abbreviation of ‘et alia’ which means ‘and others’ in Latin.
In the United States, revenue from computer games now exceeds that of movies (Kline et al., 2003).

   Chapter or Section

When referring to a chapter or section which is part of a larger work, you should cite the author of the chapter not the editor of the whole work.
The sea level has risen by approximately 10cm in the last 100 years (Mason, 1999)

   Citing an Organization

If an organization or company (e.g., Ministry of Environment & Forests, Arcadia Group Limited) is named as the author of a work rather than a person, you should cite their names. Make sure that you use the same version of the organizations name in both the Text and List of references (e.g., always use ‘Botanical Survey of India’, don’t abbreviate to ‘BSI’).
Spain became a member of the United Nations in 1955 (United Nations, 2000).

   Citing Secondary Sources

When citing secondary sources (i.e., an author refers to a work which you have not read) cite the secondary source, but include the name of the author and date of publication of the original source in the text.
Only the secondary source should be listed in your list of references. You should only cite secondary sources if you are unable to read the original source yourself.
Sheff (1993) notes that Nintendo invested heavily in advertising (cited in Kline et al., 2003, p. 118).

   List of References

The list of references should appear at the end of your work with full details of everything that you have cited in the text in alphabetical order by the author’s surname. All sources must be referred in a consistent manner.

  Journal Article (Print)
Elements:
• Author’s surname, Initial
• Publication Year
• Article Title
• Name of Journal (in standard abbreviation)
• Volume
• Starting Pages
• Ending Pages
• Direct link (If published online)
Example
Sepaskhah, A.R. and M.M. Ghasemi, 2008. Every-other-furrow irrigation with different irrigation intervals for grain sorghum. Pak. J. Biol. Sci., 11: 1234-1239. 10.3923/pjbs.2008.1234.1239

  Journal Article (Electronic)
Elements:
• Author’s surname, Initial
• Publication Year
• Article Title
• Name of Journal (in standard abbreviation)
• Volume
• Page Numbers (if applicable)
• Available at
• Accessed on (enter date you viewed the article)
Example
Brittion, A., 2006. How much and how often should we drink? Br. Med. J., 332: 1224-1225.
Available from: http://bmj.bjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/332/7552/1224 [Accessed 2 June 2006].

  Book
• Author/Editor’s Surname and initials
• Year of publication
• Title of Book
• Edition (if applicable)
• Place of publication: (followed by a colon)
• Name of publisher
• ISBN Number (If Applicable)
Example
Anderson, J. and M. Poole, 1998. Assignment and thesis writing. 3re Edn., John While and Sons.

  Book Chapter
• Author/Editor’s Surname and initials
• Year of publication
• Title of Chapter
• In: (enter editor’s surname and initials)
• Book Title
• Edition (if applicable)
• Place of publication: (followed by a colon)
• Name of publisher
• Page number
• ISBN
Example
Mason, J., 1999. Recent Developments in the Prediction of Global Warming. In: Energy Demand and Planning, McVeigh, J.C. and J.G. Morgue, (Eds.). E&FN Spon., pp: 34-52.

  Conference Papers
Conference papers should be referenced using the following format and punctuation.
• Author’s surname, initials
• Date of publication
• Title of paper
• In: Editor’s surname, initials, (if applicable)
• Title of proceedings
• Place of conference
• Date of conference
• Publishers
• Page numbers of contribution
Example
Clifton, J.J., 1999. Hazard prediction. In: Disaster prevention, planning and limitation. The University of Bradford, 12-13 September 1989. Technical Communications Ltd., pp: 54-64.