General Information
Submission of an article implies that the presented work and results have not been published or submitted for publication elsewhere, and that its publication is approved by all authors. All authors are requested to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest.
The author(s) warrant(s) that:
Peer Review
Double-blind review system with at least two reviewers is used to evaluate manuscripts for publication. Suggestions of 3 reviewers may be provided in the cover letter section in the Online Submission system by stating their names and institutional e-mail addresses. Authors that have submitted manuscripts to Biotech Studies may be asked to be reviewers in the future. Editors have the right to reject the manuscripts without peer-review when the manuscript:
Editors are responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles.
Changes to Authorship
Authors are expected to carefully consider the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor.
To request such a change, the Editor must receive the following from the corresponding author:
(a) the reason for the change in author list
(b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal, or rearrangement.
In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.
Style and Format
File Format:
Manuscript files must be in one of the following formats: DOC or DOCX. Microsoft Word documents should not be locked or protected.
Paper Categories and Their Length:
Research Papers, which report novel information, beyond simply representing a confirmation of previously published work. Research Papers must not exceed 20 manuscript pages, including tables and figures.
Technical Notes should report new methods and/or procedures for research methodology. Short Papers and Technical Notes which present results of brief but significant work should not exceed 10 manuscript pages, including tables and figures.
Review Articles written by invitation will be published primarily. Authors wishing to publish a review article should seek prior approval from Editor-in-Chief, by sending the abstract and a cover letter indicating the importance of the review to info@soilstudies.org. Review Articles, solicited by the editorial board, should not exceed 30 manuscript pages, including tables and figures.
Font:
Use font “Times New Roman” size “12 points”. To add symbols to the manuscript, use the Insert → Symbol function in your word processor or paste in the appropriate Unicode character.
Headings:
Manuscript sections and sub-sections are not numbered.
Layout & Spacing:
Manuscript text should be 1.5 lines spaced with 25 mm margins including Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results & Discussion, Conclusion and References.
In the papers that report experimental work, ‘Results’ and ‘Discussion’ sections are best combined; however, sections may be subdivided by further headings if the authors think that it is better in this way for the continuity in the discussion section. In case of separation, simply state what are found in the results section, but do not interpret them.
Do not format text in multiple columns.
Page & Line Numbers:
Include page numbers and line numbers in the manuscript file. Use continuous line numbers (do not restart the numbering on each page).
Footnotes:
Footnotes are not permitted. If your manuscript contains footnotes, move the information into the main text or the reference list, depending on the content.
Language:
Manuscripts must be submitted in English.
Abbreviations:
Define abbreviations upon first appearance in the text.
Do not use non-standard abbreviations unless they appear at least three times in the text.
Keep abbreviations to a minimum.
Reference Style The 7th Edition of APA Citation guidelines should be used. See reference guideline by clicking this link.
Equations and Symbols:
We recommend using MathType for display and inline equations, as it will provide the most reliable outcome. If this is not possible, Equation Editor or Microsoft's Insert→Equation function is acceptable.
Avoid using MathType, Equation Editor, or the Insert→Equation function to insert single variables (e.g., “a² + b² = c²”), Greek or other symbols (e.g., β, Δ, or ′ [prime]), or mathematical operators (e.g., x, ≥, or ±) in running text. Wherever possible, insert single symbols as normal text with the correct Unicode (hex) values.
Do not use MathType, Equation Editor, or the Insert→Equation function for only a portion of an equation. Rather, ensure that the entire equation is included. Equations should not contain a mix of different equation tools. Avoid “hybrid” inline or display equations, in which part is text and part is MathType, or part is MathType and part is Equation Editor.
The percent sign appears without a space after the number (e.g., 53%) and not before (e.g., NOT %53)
Decimals are indicated by decimal points and not by commas (e.g., 10.24 NOT 10,24)
Degree symbols are inserted from the Symbols menu, and are not superscript letter 'o' or number '0'
Multiplication symbol is used (×) and not small "x" letters
Spaces are inserted between numbers and units (e.g. 3 kg) and between numbers and mathematical symbols (+, ?, ×, =, <, >) but not between numbers and percent symbols (e.g. 45%)
Significant level symbol; ‘P< or P>’ is in italics and upper case
Nomenclature:
Use correct and established nomenclature wherever possible.
Units of measurement:
Use SI units. If you do not use these exclusively, provide the SI value in parentheses after each value.
Species names:
Write in italics. Write out in full the genus and species, both in the title of the manuscript and at the first mention of an organism in a paper. After first mention, the first letter of the genus name followed by the full species name may be used.
Genes, mutations, genotypes, and alleles:
Write in italics. Use the recommended name by consulting the appropriate genetic nomenclature database. It is sometimes advisable to indicate the synonyms for the gene the first time it appears in the text.
Submission Files
Submission of all types of manuscripts to Biotech Studies is completely managed online, via the Online Submission & Review System. During the submission process, authors will be guided step-by-step while uploading all required documents and information. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, is sent by e-mail.
Submission files should be as follows. Instructions for each file and element appear below the list.
1.MAIN DOCUMENT
The following elements are required, in order:
Title of Manuscript
Include a full title for the manuscript. The full title must be specific, descriptive, concise, and comprehensible to readers outside the field.
Titles should be written in “Capitalize Each Word” case (conjunctions are not capitalized, and only the species names are italicized). Avoid specialist abbreviations if possible.
Do not include author names in the main document file or anywhere else in the manuscript file. Author names should only be entered in the author names section of the title page file and to the online submission system.
Abstract with Keywords
The Abstract should:
Abstracts should not include:
Provide sufficient information using the journal style and formatting for the following sections in order.
References
All available works can be cited in the reference list. Acceptable sources include:
Do not cite the following sources in the reference list:
References are listed at the end of the manuscript before tables and figures, in alphabetical order.
References are cited in the text according to 7th Edition of APA.
DOI links of references are indicated (if available)
Full names of journal titles are provided in the reference list (NOT abbreviated).
Tables
Cite tables in ascending numeric order upon first appearance in the manuscript file.
Place each table in your manuscript file directly after the references section. Also submit your tables in separate files to the submission system.
A brief descriptive title of the table should be placed on top of the table with a label (e.g., “Table 1.”).
Descriptions about table items (e.g., legend) should be placed below the table and marked with an asterisk.
Tables should be prepared in regular MS Word format (i.e., tables submitted as a figure or manually written will not be accepted). If necessary, create tables in Excel and insert them into the manuscript. Do not insert text boxes or graphics within your tables.
Figures
Cite figures in ascending numeric order upon first appearance in the manuscript file.
Place each figure in your manuscript file directly after the tables section. Also submit your figures in separate files to the submission system in JPEG format.
Figures should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
A brief descriptive title of the figure and any other text should be placed below the figure with a label (e.g., “Figure 1.”).
Supporting information should be submitted as separate individual files via online submission system. But a list of supporting information captions (if applicable) must be inserted at the end of the manuscript file. Do not submit captions in a separate file.
2. TITLE PAGE
Title, authors, ethical statement, funding information, and acknowledgements should be uploaded to the submission system as a separate file named as ‘TITLE PAGE’ at submission.
Include a full title for the manuscript. The full title must be specific, descriptive, concise, and comprehensible to readers outside the field.
Titles should be written in “Capitalize Each Word” case (conjunctions are not capitalized, and only the species names are italicized). Avoid specialist abbreviations if possible.
Author List
First and/or corresponding author should not have any accepted manuscript in Biotech Studies within the last 12 months. The authors are not allowed to submit two or more manuscripts at the same time and the author who has a progressing process of a manuscript also is not allowed to submit a new manuscript until the process is ended.
Enter author names on the title page of the manuscript and in the online submission system.
On the title page, write author names in the following order:
Each author on the list must have an affiliation and postal address. The affiliation includes department, university, or organizational affiliation and its location, including city, state/province (if applicable), and country. If an author has multiple affiliations, enter all affiliations on the title page only. In the submission system, enter only the preferred or primary affiliation. Author affiliations will be listed in the typeset PDF article in the same order that authors are listed in the submission.
ORCID links of the authors must be written.
The submitting author is automatically designated as the corresponding author in the submission system. The corresponding author is the primary contact for the journal office and the only author able to view or change the manuscript while it is under editorial consideration.
Only one corresponding author can be designated in the submission system. Whoever is designated as a corresponding author on the title page of the manuscript file will be listed as such upon publication. Put an asterisk after the name of the corresponding author and include an email address and a phone number for the corresponding author listed on the title page of the manuscript.
Ethical Statement
All research involving vertebrates or cephalopods should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines, EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or must have approval from the authors' Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent ethics committee(s) and must have been conducted according to applicable national and international guidelines. Approval must be received prior to beginning research.
Manuscripts reporting animal research must state in the Title Page:
Example ethical statement:
This study was carried out in strict accordance with the recommendations in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals of the National Institutes of Health. The protocol was approved by the Committee on the Ethics of Animal Experiments of the …… Institute (Protocol Number: ….). All surgery was performed under sodium pentobarbital anesthesia, and all efforts were made to minimize suffering.
The scientific and ethical responsibility of the animal experiment belongs to the author(s).
The editor has the right to reject manuscripts on suspicion of requirements; animal welfare and/or lack of ethics committee reports.
Funding Information
This information should describe sources of funding that have supported the work. If your manuscript is published, your statement will appear in the Funding Information section of the article.
Enter this statement in the Funding Information section of the Title Page. Do not include it in your manuscript file.
The statement should include:
Also state whether any sponsors or funders (other than the named authors) played any role in:
If they had no role in the research, include this sentence: “The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.”
If the study was unfunded, include this sentence as the Funding Information statement: “The author(s) received no specific funding for this work."
Author Contributions
The contributions of all authors must be described in the title page document.
An author must satisfy four conditions:
Authors are required to include a statement of responsibility in the manuscript, including review-type articles, that specifies the contribution of every author using the CRediT Taxonomy (see below given table for details).
Contributor Role Role Definition
Conceptualization Ideas: formulation or evolution of overarching research goals and aims.
Data Curation Management activities to annotate (produce metadata), scrub data and maintain research data (including software code, where it is necessary for interpreting the data itself) for initial use and later reuse.
Formal Analysis Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyse or synthesize study data.
Funding Acquisition Acquisition of the financial support for the project leading to this publication.
Investigation Conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments, or data/evidence collection.
Methodology Development or design of methodology; creation of models.
Project Administration Management and coordination responsibility for the research activity planning and execution.
Resources Provision of study materials, reagents, materials, patients, laboratory samples, animals, instrumentation, computing resources, or other analysis tools.
Software Programming, software development; designing computer programs; implementation of the computer code and supporting algorithms; testing of existing code components.
Supervision Oversight and leadership responsibility for the research activity planning and execution, including mentorship external to the core team.
Validation Verification, whether as a part of the activity or separate, of the overall replication/reproducibility of results/experiments and other research outputs.
Visualization Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically visualization/data presentation.
Writing – Original Draft Preparation Creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft (including substantive translation).
Writing – Review & Editing Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work by those from the original research group, specifically critical review, commentary, or revision – including pre- or post-publication stages.
An author name can appear multiple times, and each author name must appear at least once.
The submitting author is responsible for providing the contributions of all authors at submission.
We expect that all authors will have reviewed, discussed, and agreed to their individual contributions before submitting the work. Contributions will be published with the article, and they should accurately reflect contributions to the work.
Example author contribution
Conceptualization: AFY, Data Curation: MDO, Formal Analysis: MDO, Funding Acquisition: IA, Investigation: MDO, Methodology: MDO, Project Administration: IA, Resources: IA, Supervision: EK, Visualization: MDO, Writing -original draft: MDO, Writing -review and editing: EL, AFY, IA, EK.
Or the other way around.
AFY: Conceptualization, Writing -review and editing; MDO: Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Visualization and Writing -original draft; IA: Funding Acquisition, Project Administration, Resources, Writing -review and editing; and EK: Supervision, Writing -review and editing.
Do not include contributor roles that are not applicable to your work.
Acknowledgements
The names, degrees, and affiliations who have contributed substantially to a study but do not fulfil the criteria for authorship can be listed in the Acknowledgments section.
Author(s) are responsible for ensuring that anyone named in the Acknowledgments agrees to be named.
Do not include funding sources in the Acknowledgments or anywhere else in the manuscript file. Funding information should only be entered in the funding information section of the title page file.
3.OTHER ELEMENTS
Individual Files
Supporting Information Files
Conflict of Interest Form
“The author(s) declare that they have no known competing financial or non-financial, professional, or personal conflicts that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.”
Revising your manuscript
If you are submitting a revised manuscript, upload your revised submission to the submission system and include the following items:
Tables, figures and supporting information files from your original submission will automatically transfer to your revised submission unless you choose to update and replace them.
Social Media Coverage
Authors of accepted articles are encouraged to provide up to 3 photographs and 1 video (≈60 sec.) that present the study, which then might be used to share information on our social media accounts to increase the paper’s publicity. If applicable, Twitter usernames of author(s) can be used to mention.
The preferable format for video clips is mp4 (max file size is up to 200 mb), and for images either JPEG, GIF or PNG (max file size per image is 5 mb, and 3 mb for animated gifs).
Please send the images and video to journal by email.
Upon acceptance
Once the manuscript is accepted for publishing, authors will receive an e-mail notification with all necessary information on further steps in publishing process. Accepted manuscript can be tracked via the link that will be sent by email. Early View proof will be provided for corrections, before the paper is published in its final form.
Authors should indicate all corrections on the paper published as Early View as comments and email the file highlighted with comments to the journal email.
Please notice that the Journal reserves the right to reject a paper even after it has been accepted, if it becomes apparent that there are serious problems with its scientific content, or the publishing policies of journal have been violated.
Author rights
Authors of published articles (and/or their employers or institutions) have certain rights to reuse published work with prior permission. Please request a ‘Permission Request Letter’ from ‘info@soilstudies.org’.
