Author Guidelines
AJSTD publishes original research, science and technology policy discussions, or technical notes and communications in the fields of biotechnology, non-conventional energy research, materials science and technology, marine sciences, meteorology and geophysics, food science and technology, microelectronics and information technology, space applications, science and technology policy, and infrastructure and resources development.
Although the majority of articles we publish focus on the ASEAN region, research or policy papers originating from outside Southeast Asia that nevertheless contribute to the shaping of scientific, technological, or economic development in the ASEAN region are also considered.
Considerations before submitting
Before submitting your article to AJSTD, please first make sure that it fulfills all of the following criteria:
- It is written in English;
- It has not already been published, and is not under consideration by another journal;
- It is original research, discusses science or technology policy in the ASEAN region, or is a technical note or communication;
- It is in one or more of the subject areas covered by the journal; and
- It presents important findings that can impact scientific or technological progress in the ASEAN region, presents innovative solutions to the technological challenges faced by ASEAN member countries, or has the potential to affect policy change and/or economic development in Southeast Asia.
Manuscript formatting
AJSTD does not have any specific formatting requirements, outside of the fact that a manuscript should conform to the structure typical of research articles and be submitted in an editable document format (e.g. docx, odt). You may also submit your article in LaTeX format, using the AJSTD LaTeX template. To do so, simply complete your manuscript in Overleaf, download the project files, and upload them as part of your submission. Optionally, you may also share the link to your project in your comments to the editor.
We also generally expect a research article to be between 4,000 and 6,000 words (excluding references), as this ensures that it contains all of the prerequisite elements of this type of article while still avoiding redundancy. There is no limit for policy papers, while technical notes should be up to 4,000 words and short communications should be less than 1,500 words. We do understand that sometimes it is necessary for an article to exceed these limits, and if this is the case with yours, please explain why in your comment to the editor.
Manuscript structure
Your article should conform to a consistent and predictable structure. This allows the editors and reviewers to efficiently assess the suitability and quality of the manuscript without being hindered by its presentation. For research articles, this encompasses the following sections: title, affiliation, abstract, keywords, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, acknowledgments, authors’ contributions, competing interests, and references.
TITLE. Use a concise and informative title in capital case. This title should be a maximum of 16 words, and accurately describe the research being reported or policy being discussed.
AFFILIATION. Provide the full postal address of each author's affiliation, including the street name and number, city, ZIP code, and country. For the corresponding author, an email should additionally be provided.
ABSTRACT. The abstract should consist of a single paragraph of no more than 200 words. Provide the background and objective of the paper, the methods used, the principal results, and conclusions. Avoid using abbreviations and citations.
KEYWORDS. Include a maximum of five keywords or phrases, arranged alphabetically and separated using semicolons (;). Use specific, relevant terms that do not appear in the title, so that the article is easier to find in search engines. Do not use terms that are too general or too long.
INTRODUCTION. This section should briefly explain the background of the study, provide a short review of the pertinent literature, state the originality or novelty of the research, and state the research objectives.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. In research articles, the materials and methods used in the study should be described together—first the materials, and then the methods. Enough information should be provided to enable repetition of the research. For commercial sources of the materials, the name of the company, and the town and country in which they are headquartered should be indicated. To avoid an excessively long methods section, methods that have already been published should be indicated with a reference, with only the relevant modifications described.
RESULTS. Only the results of the research should be described here. Present all data as concisely as possible, in the form of tables or figures (if appropriate). Avoid large tables, unless absolutely necessary.
DISCUSSION. If necessary, it is permissible to combine this section with Results to form a Results and discussion section. Regardless, an interpretation of the results of the work in the context of previous research should be provided. Avoid simply repeating the results (that’s what the Results section is for). Also avoid excessive citations; the works being referenced must be relevant to the results being discussed.
CONCLUSIONS. Present the main conclusions of the study, along with their implications for future research or science and technology policy in the ASEAN region.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Acknowledge anyone who contributed to the research or the writing of the manuscript, as well as any funding or grants received in support of it. The names of funding organizations should be written in full, along with the grant numbers, if available. Examples of individuals you should acknowledge include people who provided assistance with study design or analysis, or guidance through a study area, or who provided advice on the language, edited, or proofread the article.
AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS. Each author’s contribution to the research and manuscript should be noted, using only their initials to indicate their names. For example, “MP, FW designed the study. MP, LS carried out the laboratory work. MP, FW, LS, DN analyzed the data. MP, FW, DN wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.”
COMPETING INTERESTS. All competing interests—be they financial, professional, or personal relationships that are relevant to the submitted work—must be declared. If a funding source contributed to the design, data collection, analysis, or writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit it to AJSTD, this should be clearly stated. If one or more authors have any form of—past or present—relationship with AJSTD, the extent of this relationship must be described. If one or more authors work or have worked for an organization that may benefit from the publication of the article, this must also be clearly stated. Please read AJSTD’s Publication Ethics statement to understand why it is important to acknowledge any and all competing interests.
REFERENCES. For the purposes of efficiency and conciseness, aim for 10–25 references. AJSTD uses an author-date citation system based on the Council of Science Editors' Scientific Style and Format (otherwise known as CSE style). You can learn the basics of this style on the Scientific Style and Format website. Please note that if your article is accepted you will be asked to supply your reference list in .bib format, so while CSE is preferred, you may also use a different style for your submission, as long as it is clear and consistently formatted.
Tables and figures
Tables and figures should be included in the main manuscript file. If your article is accepted, you will also be asked to submit your figures separately in sufficiently high resolution; if you wish, you can also do this ahead of time during your submission.
FIGURE SIZE AND QUALITY. Ensure that the figure will fit into either one column (80 mm or wider) or two (170 mm or wider). Images should be of sufficiently high resolution to be easily viewable when printed (minimum of 300 dpi).
FIGURE FORMATTING. Photographs must have internal scale markers and symbols, and arrows or letters should contrast greatly with the background. Fira Sans is the recommended typeface for text within figures (if you don’t have it installed on your computer, you can download it from Google Fonts). Otherwise, a sans-serif such as Open Sans or Helvetica may be used. Where photographs of gel, autoradiograms, etc. have been processed to enhance their quality, this should be stated.
IMAGE FORMAT. Send images in an image file format (png, jpg, tiff), vector (eps, svg), or pdf. We do not accept PowerPoint presentation (ppt) files or other formats where the image is embedded in the file.
GRAPHS. Graphs created with Microsoft Excel should also be sent in their original Excel file. Present graphs in 2D (not 3D), without shadows or other effects, and without gridlines.
TABLE SIZE. Size tables to fit in a single or double column (either 80 mm or 170 mm), with a maximum height of 230 mm.
TABLE AND FIGURE NUMBERING. Every table and figure should be cited in the text in numerical order (i.e. Figure 2 cannot be cited before Figure 1). Tables should be referred to as "Table" and figures as "Figure" (not "Fig."). Place table footnotes below the table, indicating them with superscripted lowercase letters or asterisks (for significance values and other statistical data). Denote figure parts with lowercase letters (e.g. Figure 1a, Figure 1b).
TABLE AND FIGURE CAPTIONS. Every table and figure should have a title or caption, which should be concise but clear enough to explain its main components independently from the text. If the table or figure contains previously published material, cite the original source at the end of the caption. If the results are expressed as a percentage, state the absolute value(s) that correspond to 100%. State in the caption if a figure has been altered or enhanced in any way.
FILE NAMING. Name your figure files "Figure" with the figure number; e.g. Figure1.jpg.
