Submissions

Author Guidelines

We welcome authors to submit high-quality manuscripts to the Journal of Environmental Monitoring and Applied Microbiology. Our journal is committed to publishing impactful research and reviews that advance the understanding and application of microbiology in environmental contexts. Please follow the detailed submission guidelines below to ensure a smooth and efficient peer review process.

 

Letters

Purpose: Short communications reporting preliminary findings, novel insights, or brief updates on ongoing research.

• Word Count :
• Maximum: 4,500 words (including references, tables, and figures).
• Abstract: 150 words maximum.
• Structure :
• Title
• Abstract
• Keywords (4–6)
• Introduction
• Methods (brief but sufficient to understand the work)
• Results and Discussion (separate or combined)
• Conclusion
• References
• Figures/Tables :
• Maximum: 4 figures/tables combined.
• References :
• Style: APA 7th Edition (Author-Date format).

 

2. Research Articles

Purpose: Full-length reports of original research, including detailed methods, results, and Discussion.

• Word Count :
• Maximum: 9,000 words (including references, tables, and figures).
• Abstract: 250 words maximum.
• Structure :
• Title
• Abstract
• Keywords (4–6)
• Introduction
• Materials and Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgments (optional)
• References
• Figures/Tables :
• Maximum: 8 figures/tables combined.
• References :
• Style: APA 7th Edition (Author-Date format).

 

3. Review Articles

Purpose: Comprehensive summaries of recent advances, trends, and gaps in a specific field of water and soil microbiology.

• Word Count :
• Maximum: 12,000 words (including references, tables, and figures).
• Abstract: 250 words maximum.
• Structure :
• Title
• Abstract
• Keywords (4–6)
• Introduction
• Main Sections (organized thematically or chronologically)
• Critical Analysis/Discussion
• Future Directions
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgments (optional)
• References
• Figures/Tables :
• Maximum: 8 figures/tables combined.
• References :
• Style: APA 7th Edition (Author-Date format).

•  

General Guidelines for All Submissions

1. Formatting :
• Font: Times New Roman, 10-point size.
• Line Spacing: Double-spaced.
• Margins: 1-inch (2.54 cm) on all sides.
2. Abstract :
• Structured abstracts are encouraged for research articles (Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions).
• Unstructured abstracts are acceptable for letters and reviews.
3. Scientific style

• Please always use internationally accepted signs and symbols for units (SI units)

1. Keywords :
• Use relevant keywords to enhance discoverability in databases.
2. Supplementary Materials :
• Large datasets, additional figures, or methodologies can be submitted as supplementary files.
3. Ethical Compliance :
• Ensure compliance with ethical guidelines for research involving human subjects, animals, or environmental sampling.
4. Plagiarism Policy :
• All submissions must be original, and plagiarism checks may be conducted using tools like iThenticate.
5. Peer Review Process :
• Double-blind peer review to ensure impartiality.
6. Submission Platform :
• Use an online manuscript submission system (e.g., Editorial Manager or ScholarOne).

 

Tables

• All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
• Tables should always be cited in the text in consecutive numerical order.
• For each table, please supply a table caption (title) explaining the components of the table.
• Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table caption.
• Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

 

Headings

Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings.

Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc., should be placed in a separate section on the title page. The names of funding organizations should be written in full.

Funding sources

Authors must disclose any funding sources who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article. The role of sponsors, if any, should be declared in relation to the study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, writing of the report, and decision to submit the article for publication. If funding sources had no such involvement this should be stated in your submission.

List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to the  funder's requirements:

Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institutes of Peace [grant number aaaa].

It is not necessary to include detailed descriptions of the program or type of grants, scholarships, and awards. When funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research institution, submit the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.

If no funding has been provided for the research, it is recommended to include the following sentence:

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

 

Data availability statement

A Data Availability Statement is a brief statement that explains whether and how the data supporting the findings of a research article are available to others. It promotes transparency, reproducibility, and open science. Here's a general guide for crafting a Data Availability Statement :

 

Examples of Data Availability Statements

1. Data Fully Available in Public Repository

• "The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available in the [Repository Name] repository: [DOI or URL]."
• Example:
  "The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are available in the Figshare repository: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.xxx ."

2. Data Available Upon Request

• "The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to [reason, e.g., ethical restrictions, size limitations] but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request."
• Example:
  "The datasets generated and analyzed during the current study are not publicly available due to their large size and sensitive nature but are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request."

3. Data Not Available

• "The datasets generated during the current study are not publicly available due to [reason, e.g., proprietary restrictions, ethical concerns] and cannot be shared at this time."
• Example:
  "The datasets generated during the current study are not publicly available due to ethical restrictions related to human or ecological data confidentiality."

4. Data Included in the Article/Supplementary Materials

• "All relevant data are included within the article and its supplementary materials."
• Example:
  "All relevant data supporting the findings of this study are included within the article and its supplementary information files."

5. Third-Party Data

• "The datasets used in this study were obtained from [source]. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study. Data are available from [source] with permission."
• Example:
  "The datasets used in this study were obtained from the Yangtze River Environmental Monitoring Program. Restrictions apply to the availability of these data, which were used under license for the current study. Data are available from the program administrators with permission."

6. No New Data Created

• "This study did not generate any new datasets. All data analyzed were derived from previously published studies cited in the reference list."
• Example:
  "This study did not generate any new datasets. All data analyzed were derived from previously published studies cited in the reference list."

 

Conflict of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:

• Employment
• Consultancies
• Stock ownership
• Honoraria
• Paid expert testimony
• Patent applications or registrations
• Grants or any other funding

Authors with no competing interests to declare should select the option, "I have nothing to declare". Please add this after the data availability statement in the manuscript.

 Author signatures are not required.

 

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

This journal is committed to upholding the integrity of the scientific record. As a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the journal will follow the COPE guidelines on dealing with potential misconduct acts.

Authors should refrain from misrepresenting research results, which could damage the trust in the journal, the professionalism of scientific authorship, and, ultimately, the entire scientific endeavor. Maintaining the integrity of the research and its presentation is helped by following the rules of good scientific practice, which include*:

• The manuscript should not be submitted to multiple journals for simultaneous consideration.
• The submitted work should be original and not have been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full) unless the new work concerns expanding previous work. (Please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the concerns about text-recycling ('self-plagiarism').
• Concurrent or secondary publication is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. Examples include translations or a manuscript intended for a different group of readers.
• Results should be presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation (including image-based manipulation). Authors should adhere to discipline-specific rules for acquiring, selecting, and processing data.
• No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author's own ('plagiarism'). Proper acknowledgments to other works must be given (this includes material that is closely copied (near verbatim), summarized, and/or paraphrased), quotation marks (to indicate words taken from another source) are used for verbatim copying of material, and permissions secured for material that is copyrighted.

 

Cover Letter Guidelines

Authors are required to submit a cover letter along with their manuscript. The cover letter should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief and include the following information:

1. Manuscript Title: Clearly state the title of the submitted manuscript.
2. Type of Submission: Specify whether the submission is a Research Article, Review Article, or Letter.
3. Novelty and Contribution: Briefly describe the novelty and significance of the research and how it aligns with the aims and scope of the journal.
4. Ethical Compliance: Confirm that the manuscript adheres to ethical guidelines, including proper acknowledgment of funding sources, conflicts of interest, and compliance with institutional and national regulations regarding human/animal studies or environmental sampling.
5. Originality Statement: Confirm that the manuscript is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration elsewhere.
6. Suggested Reviewers: Provide the names, affiliations, and email addresses of 2–3 potential reviewers who are experts in the field (if applicable).
7. Excluded Reviewers (Optional): Mention any individuals or institutions that should not review the manuscript due to potential conflicts of interest.

 

Suggesting/excluding reviewers

Authors are welcome to suggest suitable reviewers and/or request the exclusion of certain individuals when they submit their manuscripts. When suggesting reviewers, authors should make sure they are totally independent and not connected to the work in any way. It is strongly recommended that a mix of reviewers from different countries and institutions be suggested. When suggesting reviewers, the Corresponding Author must provide an institutional email address for each suggested reviewer, or, if this is not possible to include other means of verifying the identity, such as a link to a personal homepage, a link to the publication record or a researcher or author ID in the submission letter. Please note that the journal may not use the suggestions, but suggestions are appreciated and may help facilitate the peer review process.