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Guidelines to Authors

About the Journal

SQUJS is an Open Access international, peer-reviewed journal publishing high-quality, original research. Please see the journal's Aims & Scope for information about its focus and peer-review policy.

Open Access allows authors to publish research online for free access, enabling anyone to read and cite their work immediately upon publication.

Please note that this journal only publishes manuscripts in English.

SQUJS accepts the following types of articles: Original Study, Editorial, Review, Mini Review, Rapid Communication, Case Report, Letter to the Editor, Commentary, Special Issue Article, Article.

Language

Manuscripts must be written in English in a clear and concise manner. Any author who is not fluent in idiomatic English is urged to seek assistance with manuscript preparation prior to submission. Reviewers are not expected to correct grammatical errors and any deficiency in this area may detract from the scientific content of the paper and result in acceptance delays or rejection.

Types of Articles

The journal accepts the following types of articles and recommends the following submission length and subsections:

Editorial (by invitation only)

Editorial should not exceed 2000 words and a maximum of 25 references.

Review

Review should not exceed 15000 words or 30 pages and 150 references. Authors who would like to submit a review are requested to send to the Editor-in-Chief () a one-page Pre-proposal outlining the focus and scope of the projected review article and get his approval/acceptance before submitting their review article. The sections of the review may be made based on the topic and rationale.

Mini Review

Mini review should not exceed 3000 words or 7 pages and 50 references. Authors who would like to submit a mini review are requested to send to the Editor-in-Chief () a one-page letter of intention outlining the focus and scope of the proposed mini review and get his approval/acceptance before submitting their mini review. The sections could be made based on the topic and rationale.

Research Article (original study not exceeding 6000 words)

Research article should not preferably exceed 6000 words or 14 pages and 50 references. They should be divided into the following 6 sections: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion and References. Additional sections such as Acknowledgement should also be included before the Reference section.

Rapid Communication (original study not exceeding 4 printed pages)

Rapid Communication is a short original research article. It should not exceed 2000 words or 4 printed pages and 25 references. It should have the same overall structure as Research Article including a structured abstract.

Perspective (short papers, not exceeding 3000 words)

Perspective paper is a short paper that presents an opinion or novel interpretation of existing ideas or data. It may also present a historical perspective on one of the themes of the journal. The paper should not exceed 3000 words and should follow a structure and a logical sequence of sections related to the content and purpose of the paper.

Science Education Article

This should have a sequence of logical sections related to the content and purpose.

Snapshot

A snapshot paper is a single page paper focusing on a high-quality illustration. The paper should not exceed one page and lists only a maximum of 5 references. Snapshot paper illustrates the common saying "One picture is worth a thousand words". The topic of the paper should be based on high-quality photographic evidence of rare organisms, new records, unusual observation, severe pathology, etc. Because of the short nature, snapshot does not have an Abstract. The illustration needs to have an accompanying legend.

Case Study

Case study should not exceed 3000 words or 7 printed pages including Figures, and 20 references. This should have description of a case, followed by analysis and critical evaluations of different aspects of the case.

Letter to Editor

Letter to Editor should include a short summary of any current issue in the field of Science. It could also include critical evaluation of any paper published in the SQUJS.

Book Review

Book review should include an evaluation of a recently published book in a major discipline of Science. A cover photo of the book should be included.

Erratum/Corrigendum

Any error(s) or mistake(s) of a published paper in the SQUJS.

Before Submission

Please make sure that your manuscript meets the criteria stated below:

  • The manuscript is an original work and has not been published or is currently under review in another journal or Conference Proceedings.
  • The work meets all the Research Ethics. The manuscript should contain a separate section of "Ethics Approval" if the work involves human or animal subjects.
  • The English of the manuscript is acceptable and it should be free of grammatical and spelling errors.
  • The manuscript should be prepared according to the SQUJS Guideline.
  • Figures are of acceptable quality and uploaded as separate files.
  • References are formatted correctly and numbered as they appear in the text. Please show the reference style.
  • Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims & scope of the journal will be reviewed.
  • Manuscripts must conform to the guidelines of SQUJS shown below.

Submissions that don't adhere to these guidelines will be rejected or returned to the author prior to the peer review process.

Preparation of the Manuscript

Authors should submit their manuscript to the Editorial Office as word files (Word 2007 or higher) via the online Manuscript Tracking System. Manuscripts with mathematical content can also be submitted in LaTeX.

The original manuscript should be formatted with double line spacing using Times New Roman fonts (10 pt) and fully justified right and left.

The text must be in a single-column format with justified margins. Use bold face, italics, subscripts, and superscripts, where appropriate.

To avoid unnecessary errors, the authors are strongly advised to use the "spell-check" and "grammar-check" functions of their word processing software.

Use continuous line numbering throughout the text and all manuscript pages must be numbered.

Use the equation editor or MathType for equations.

Use the table function to make tables.

Use the decimal system of heading with no more than three levels, for instance, 1., 2., 2.1, 2.1.1, etc.

Online Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted by one of the authors of the manuscript through the online Manuscript Tracking System (MTS) following the instructions given on the screen. Only Word (.doc, .docx, .rtf) files can be submitted through the MTS, and there is no page limit. Submissions by anyone other than one of the authors will not be accepted. The submitting author takes responsibility for the manuscript during submission and peer review. If for some technical reason, submission through the MTS is not possible, the author can contact the SQUJS Editorial Office for support.

Initial Evaluation

All submitted manuscripts will be checked by the Editorial Office to determine whether they are properly prepared and whether they follow the ethical policies of the journal. All submitted manuscripts are screened for potential plagiarism via iThenticate software. Manuscripts that do not fit the journal's ethics policy or do not meet the standards of the journal will be rejected before peer review. Incomplete manuscripts not prepared in the recommended style will be sent back to authors without scientific review. After these checks, the Editorial Office will consult the journal's Managing Editor to determine whether the manuscript fits the scope of the journal and whether it is scientifically sound. Manuscripts with insufficient priority for publication will be rejected promptly. Please write text in good English (American usage is accepted). The Managing Editor reserves the right to reject a manuscript on the grounds of insufficient language quality. Reject decisions at this stage will be verified by the Editor-in-Chief.

Submission Declaration and Verification

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture, or an academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright holder. To verify originality, all manuscripts submitted to SQU Journal for Science are screened using Crossref Similarity Check Powered by iThenticate to identify any plagiarized content.

Article Structure

The manuscript should be compiled in the following order:

  1. Title page
  2. Abstract, Keywords
  3. Introduction
  4. Material and Methods (Experimental or Methodology or Patients and Methods)
  5. Results
  6. Discussion (Results and Discussion can be combined in one section)
  7. Conclusion
  8. Acknowledgment(s)
  9. Conflicts of Interest
  10. References
  11. Tables
  12. Figures

Title Page

The title page should include the following in English:

  1. Title: The title should be brief, concise, and descriptive. It should not contain any literature references or compound numbers or non-standardized abbreviations. It should be centered, typed in Times New Roman 14 point and boldface.
  2. Authors and affiliations: Supply given names, middle initials, and family names for complete identification. They should be centered beneath the title and typed in Times New Roman 11-point, non-italic, and boldface. Use superscript lowercase letters to indicate different affiliations, which should be as detailed as possible and must include department, faculty/college, University, the city with zip code or P.O. Box and country. The primary affiliation for each author should be the institution where most of their work was done. If an author has subsequently moved, the current address may additionally be stated. Addresses will not be updated after the publication of the article.
  3. Corresponding author: The corresponding author should be indicated with an asterisk, and contact details (Tel., fax, and institutional e-mail address) should be placed in a footnote along with the 16-digit ORCID ID of the corresponding author.

Abstract

The abstract should be self-contained, citation-free, and should not exceed 300 words. The abstract should briefly describe the purpose of the study, how the investigation was performed, the most important results, and the principal conclusions that were drawn from the results, respectively. Nonstandard or uncommon abbreviations should be defined at first mention within the abstract. The abstract should be typed in Times New Roman, 9-point, non-italic and non-boldface.

Keywords

Authors are asked to provide 4 to 6 keywords, separated with semicolons, and should be typed in Times New Roman, 10-point, non-italic and non-boldface.

Introduction

This section should be succinct, with no subheadings. The author(s) should strive to define the significance of the work and the justification for its publication. Any background discussion should be brief and restricted to pertinent material.

Material and Methods (Experimental or Methodology or Patients and Methods)

This part should contain sufficient detail that would enable all procedures to be repeated. It can be divided into subsections if several methods are described. Authors should be as concise as possible in experimental descriptions. The experimental section must contain all of the information necessary to guarantee reproducibility. Previously published methods should be indicated by a reference and only relevant modifications should be described. All vendor details, including company, city, and country, should be mentioned for chemicals, reagents, strains, etc. For statistical analysis, please state the appropriate test(s) in addition to a hypothesized p-value or significant level (for example 0.05).

Results and Discussion

They should be combined. The study results should be clear and concise. Restrict the use of tables and figures to depict data that is essential to the message and interpretation of the study. The results should be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations. The discussion should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. Include in the discussion the implications of the findings and their limitations, how the findings fit into the context of other relevant work, and directions for future research.

Conclusion(s)

The main conclusion(s) of the study should be presented in a short conclusion statement highlighting the goals of the study and its importance. State new hypotheses when warranted. Include recommendations when appropriate.

Acknowledgment(s)

All acknowledgments (if any) should be included at the very end of the manuscript before the references. Anyone who made a contribution to the research or manuscript, but who is not a listed author, should be acknowledged (with their permission).

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must declare all relevant interests that could be perceived as conflicting. Authors should explain why each interest may represent a conflict. If no conflicts exist, the authors should state this. Submitting authors are responsible for co-authors declaring their interests.

References

Indicate references by Arabic numerals in brackets, which run in order of appearance throughout the text (Vancouver style). For instance [4] or [7-10, 13, 15]. The actual authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given.

Figures

Figures and tables should not be submitted in separate files. If the article is accepted, authors will be asked to provide the source files of the figures. Each figure should be supplied in a separate electronic file. All figures should be cited in the manuscript in consecutive order. Figures should be supplied in either vector art formats (Illustrator, EPS, WMF, FreeHand, CorelDraw, PowerPoint, Excel, etc.) or bitmap formats (Photoshop, TIFF, GIF, JPEG, etc.). Bitmap images should be of 300 dpi resolution at least unless the resolution is intentionally set to a lower level for scientific reasons. If a bitmap image has labels, the image and labels should be embedded in separate layers. Figures should be referred to as Fig. 1, Figs. 2, 3–5, using Arabic numerals. Ensure that all tables, figures, and schemes are cited in the text in numerical order. Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.).

Tables

Tables should be cited consecutively in the text. Every table must have a descriptive title and if numerical measurements are given, the units should be included in the column heading. Vertical rules should not be used. Figure and table captions should be 9-point Times New Roman, boldface, and non-italic. Initially capitalize only the first word of the caption. Figure captions are to be below the figures and Table titles are to be fully justified right and left above the table.

Nomenclature and Units

All measurements and data should be given in SI units where possible, or in other internationally accepted units in parentheses throughout the text. Illustrations and Tables should use conventional units, with conversion factors given in legends or footnotes.

Statements & Declarations

The Editorial Board of the SQUJS decided that inclusion of the following statement in the submitted manuscript is mandatory from July 2026. 'Statements and Declarations'. This should be placed before the References section. Please note that submissions that do not include required statements will be returned as incomplete.

Author Contributions: Each author is expected to have made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work; or have drafted the work or substantively revised it; AND has approved the submitted version; AND agrees to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated, resolved, and documented in the literature.

For research articles with several authors, a short paragraph specifying their individual contributions must be provided. The following statements should be used: "Conceptualization, X.X. and Y.Y.; Methodology, X.X.; Software, X.X.; Validation, X.X., Y.Y. and Z.Z.; Formal Analysis, X.X.; Investigation, X.X.; Resources, X.X.; Data Curation, X.X.; Writing – Original Draft Preparation, X.X.; Writing – Review & Editing, X.X.; Visualization, X.X.; Supervision, X.X.; Project Administration, X.X.; Funding Acquisition, Y.Y." Please check the CRediT taxonomy for explanation of the terms.

Funding: All sources of funding of the study should be disclosed. Clearly indicate grants that authors have received in support of their research work. Please add: "This research received no external funding" or "This research was funded by [name of funder] grant number [xxx]". Check carefully that the details given are accurate and use the standard spelling of funding agency names at https://search.crossref.org/funding; any errors may affect future funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement: In this section, please add the Institutional Review Board Statement and approval number for studies involving humans or animals. Please add "The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of NAME OF INSTITUTE (protocol code XXX and date of approval)." OR "Ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to REASON (please provide a detailed justification)." OR "Not applicable" for studies not involving humans or animals.

Informed Consent Statement: Any research article describing a study involving humans should contain this statement: "Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study." OR "Patient consent was waived due to REASON (please provide a detailed justification)." OR "Not applicable." for studies not involving humans. Written informed consent for publication must be obtained from participating patients who can be identified. Please state "Written informed consent has been obtained from the patient(s) to publish this paper" if applicable.

Data Availability Statement: All submitted manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement preceding the Reference list. This statement must clearly outline where the data supporting the study can be accessed. If data cannot be shared openly, the statement must explicitly explain the restrictions.

Below are acceptable templates for the Data Availability Statement:

  • Data Available in a Public Repository: "The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the [NAME OF REPOSITORY] repository, [PROVIDE PERSISTENT WEBLINK/DOI]."
  • Data Included in Supplementary Material: "All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files."
  • Data Subject to Restricted Access (Ethical/Legal constraints): "The data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available due to [EXPLAIN REASON]. However, data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request and with permission of [NAME OF INSTITUTION/ETHICS COMMITTEE]."
  • Data Available on Request (Must be justified): "The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation, to any qualified researcher. Requests should be directed to the corresponding author."
  • No Data Generated (e.g., Reviews or Theoretical articles): "No new datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study."

Acknowledgments: In this section authors can acknowledge any support given which is not covered by the author contribution or funding sections. This may include administrative and technical support, or donations in kind (e.g., materials used for experiments).

Conflicts of Interest: Authors must identify and declare any personal circumstances or interest that may be perceived as influencing the representation or interpretation of reported research results. If there is no conflict of interest, please state "The authors declare no conflict of interest." Any role of the funding sponsors in the choice of research project; 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 must be declared in this section. SQUJS does not publish studies funded partially or fully by the tobacco industry. If there is no role, please state "The sponsors had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study".

Declaration of generative AI in scientific writing: Authors must declare the use of generative AI in scientific writing upon submission of the paper. Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies should only be used in the writing process to improve the readability and language of the manuscript. The technology must be applied with human oversight and control and authors should carefully review and edit the result. Authors must not list or cite AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author on the manuscript.

The use of generative AI must be declared by adding a statement at the end of the manuscript when the paper is first submitted. An example:

Title of new section: Declaration of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process.
Statement: During the preparation of this work the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the published article.

The declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools, such as tools used to check grammar, spelling and references. If authors have nothing to disclose, authors do not need to add a statement.

Revised Manuscripts

When authors revise their manuscript, upload revised submissions including the following files:

Revised manuscript: Clarifying the changes that have been made since the original submission by using the "Track Changes" option in Microsoft Word. Upload this as a "Revised Article with Changes Highlighted" file.

Response to reviewers: List each reviewer's comments with their specific points. Address all remarks from both reviewers and editors, detailing the modifications made to the manuscript. Submit this document as "Response to reviewers" file.

Revised manuscript (clean copy): Upload a clean copy of the revised manuscript with names, which does not show changes. Upload this as "Manuscript" file.

After Acceptance

After acceptance, the article will be sent for typesetting. Once finished, proofs will be provided.

Proofs

A set of page proofs (in PDF format) will be sent by email to the corresponding author. Please use these proofs exclusively to review the typesetting, editing, completeness, and accuracy of the text, tables, and figures. We strive to publish articles promptly and accurately; therefore, it is essential that all corrections are returned in a single communication within 48 hours. Proofreading is the sole responsibility of the author. Please note that the publisher may proceed with publication if no response is received.

Peer Review

The journal is devoted to peer-review integrity with the highest standards of review. Each received manuscript is initially evaluated for suitability to the journal by the Editor(s). Manuscripts are rejected by the Editor(s) if they are insufficiently original, have serious scientific flaws, need extensive improvement in the language, or do not fall within the aims and scope of the journal. Manuscripts deemed suitable are sent to a minimum of two external peer reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. This journal operates a single-blind review process (the names and information of the reviewers are hidden from the author). Editor(s) will make a decision based on the reviewers' reports and authors are sent these reports along with the editorial decision on their manuscript. Authors should note that even in the light of one positive report, concerns raised by another reviewer may fundamentally undermine the study and result in the manuscript being rejected.

Ethical Guidelines

In any study on human or animal subjects, the following ethical guidelines must be observed. For any experiments on humans, all work must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1964). Manuscripts describing experimental work which carries a risk of harm to human subjects must include a statement that the experiment was conducted with the human subjects' understanding and consent, as well as a statement that the responsible Ethical Committee has approved the experiments. In the case of any animal experiments, the authors must provide a full description of any anesthetic or surgical procedure used, as well as evidence that all possible steps were taken to avoid animal suffering at each stage of the experiment.

Complying with Ethics of Experimentation

Please ensure that all research reported in submitted papers has been conducted in an ethical and responsible manner and is in full compliance with all relevant codes of experimentation and legislation. All original research papers involving humans, animals, plants, biological material, protected or non-public datasets, collections or sites, must include a written statement under an Ethics Approval section including the following:

  • The name of the ethics committee(s) or institutional review board(s) involved.
  • The number or ID of the ethics approval(s).
  • A statement that human participants have provided informed consent before taking part in the research.
  • Research involving animals must adhere to ethical standards concerning animal welfare. All original research papers involving animals must:
    • Follow international, national, and institutional guidelines for the humane treatment of animals.
    • Receive approval by the ethics review committee at the institution or practice at which the research was conducted and provide details on the approval process, names of the ethics committee(s) or institutional review board(s) involved, and the number or ID of the ethics approval(s) in the Ethics Approval section.
    • Provide justification for use of animals and the species selected.
    • Provide information about housing, feeding, and environmental enrichment, and steps taken to minimize suffering.
    • Provide mode of anesthesia and euthanasia.

Studies in Humans and Animals

If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans. The manuscript should be in line with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals and aim for the inclusion of representative human populations (sex, age, and ethnicity) as per those recommendations. The terms sex and gender should be used correctly.

Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

All animal experiments should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and should be carried out in accordance with the U.K. Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 and associated guidelines, EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the authors should clearly indicate in the manuscript that such guidelines have been followed. The sex of animals must be indicated, and where appropriate, the influence (or association) of sex on the results of the study.

Supplementary Materials

Authors can publish online supplementary files along with their articles. Each supplementary file should include an article title, journal name, authors' names, affiliations, and email address of the corresponding author. Supplementary files will be published as received from the authors without any conversion, editing, or reformatting.

Article Publishing Charge

There are no Article Processing Charges (APCs) for publication in the SQUJS.

This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.