Authors Guide

Preparation

Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of your files. The system automatically converts your files to a single PDF file, which is used in the peer-review process.

All manuscripts must contain the essential elements needed to convey your manuscript, for example Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussions, Conclusions, References, Artwork and Tables with Captions.
Divide the article into clearly defined sections.
Figures and tables embedded in text.
Please ensure the figures and the tables included in the single file are placed next to the relevant text in the manuscript, rather than at the bottom or the top of the file. The corresponding caption should be
placed directly below the figure or table.
References should be APA style (7th edition)and must be consistent. Where applicable, author(s) name(s), journal title/ book title, chapter title/article title, year of publication, volume number/book
chapter and the article number or pagination must be present. Use of DOI is highly encouraged.

Article structure
Subdivision - numbered sections

Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, …), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to ‘the text’. Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.

Introduction
Provide adequate background stating clearly the objectives of the work
avoiding a detailed literature survey.

Materials and method
Provide sufficient details to allow the work to be reproduced by an independent researcher. Methods that are already published should be summarized, and indicated by a reference. If quoting directly from
a previously published method, use quotation marks and also cite the source. Any modifications to existing methods should also be described.

Results/Discussion
Results should be clear and concise.
This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published
literature.

3.6 Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study should be presented in this section.

Acknowledgment
Contributors other than coauthors may be acknowledged in a separate paragraph at the end of the paper. Acknowledgments should be as brief as possible. All grants or financial aids should be acknowledged with the grant number if available.

Data Availability
Authors are encouraged to include a ‘Data Availability’ section in their manuscript which is visible in ALL reading formats and may refer to data hosted in ANY repository. It should be placed before the references to provide readers with information about where they can obtain the research data required to reproduce the work reported in the manuscript, and typically consists of a simple sentence giving the
URL(s) of and citation(s) to the dataset(s). Full information can be found here.

Appendices
If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) and so on. Similarly for tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.

Essential title page information

  • Title: The title should be concise and informative. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

  • Author names and affiliations: Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. You can add your name between parentheses in
    your own script behind the English transliteration. Present the authors’ affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lowercase superscript letter immediately after the author’s name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the e-
    mail address of each author.

  • Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and
    publication, also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about
    Methodology and Materials. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.

  • Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a ‘Present address’ (or ‘Permanent address’) may be indicated as a footnote to that author’s name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.

Abstract
A concise and factual abstract of not more than 250 words is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, methodology, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.

Graphical abstract
Although a graphical abstract is optional, its use is encouraged as it draws more attention to the online article. The graphical abstract should summarize the contents of the article in a concise, pictorial form designed to capture the attention of a wide readership. Graphical abstracts should be submitted as a separate file in the online submission system. Image size: Please provide an image with a minimum of 531 × 1328 pixels (h × w) or proportionally more. The image should be readable at a size of 5 × 13 cm using a regular screen resolution of 96 dpi. Preferred file types: TIFF, EPS, PDF or MS Office files.

Keywords
Immediately after the abstract, provide a minimum of 4 and maximum of 6 keywords, (avoid, for example, ‘and’, ‘of’). only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

Abbreviations
Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page of the article. Such abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be defined at their first mention
there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

Acknowledgements
Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proofreading the article, etc.).

Formatting of funding sources
List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to 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 on the program or type of grants 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.

Mathematics formulae
Please submit math equations as editable text and not as images. Present simple formulae in line with normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Every mathematical equation should be typed using equation editor. Number
consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).

Footnotes
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article. Many word processors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case,
indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves separately at the end of the article.

Artwork
Electronic artwork
General points

  • Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
  • Preferred fonts: Arial (or Helvetica), Times New Roman (or Times), Symbol, Courier.
  • Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
  • Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
  • Indicate per figure if it is a single, 1.5 or 2-column fitting image.
  • For MS Word submissions only, you may still provide figures and their captions, and tables within a single file at the revision stage.
  • Please note that individual figure files larger than 10 MB must be provided in separate source files.

Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please ‘save as’ or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings,
halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):

EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as ‘graphics’.
TIFF (or JPG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF (or JPG): Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF (or JPG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is
required.

Please do not:

  • Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low.
  • Supply files that are too low in resolution.
  • Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.
    Color artwork

Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF), or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit
usable color figures then the publisher will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color online (e.g., Science Direct and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for color: in print or online only. Further information on the preparation of electronic artwork.

Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure
itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but
explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

Tables
Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively in accordance with
their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the
article. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells.

References
Citation in text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa).
Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the
standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either ‘Unpublished results’ or ‘Personal communication’. Citation of a reference as ‘in press’ implies that the item has been accepted for publication.

Reference links
Increased discoverability of research and high-quality peer review are ensured by online links to the sources cited. In order to allow us to create links to abstracting and indexing services, such as Scopus,
Crossref and PubMed, please ensure that data provided in the references are correct. Please note that incorrect surnames, journal/book titles, publication year and pagination may prevent link creation. When copying references, please be careful as they may already contain errors. Use of the DOI is a must if available. A DOI is guaranteed never to change, so you can use it as a permanent link to any electronic article.
An example of a citation using DOI for an article not yet in an issue is: VanDecar J.C., Russo R.M., James D.E., Ambeh W.B., Franke M. (2003). Aseismic continuation of the Lesser Antilles slab beneath
northeastern Venezuela. Journal of Geophysical Research, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000884.
Please note the format of such citations should be in the same style as all other references in the manuscript.

Web references
As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should
also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired or can be included in the reference list.

Data references
This journal encourages you to cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript by citing them in your text and including a data reference in your Reference List. Data references should include the
following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year, and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so we can properly identify
it as a data reference. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article.

Preprint references
Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that
cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced.
Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the name of the preprint server, as part of the reference. The preprint DOI should also be provided.

References in a special issue
Please ensure that the words ‘this issue’ are added to any references in the list (and any citations in the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.

Peer review
This journal operates a single anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of three independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor’s decision is final. Editors are not involved in decisions about papers which they have written themselves or have been written by family members or colleagues or which relate to products or services in which the editor
has an interest. Any such submission is subject to all of the journal’s usual procedures, with peer review handled independently of the relevant editor and their research groups.

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Online proof correction
To ensure a fast publication process of the article, we kindly ask authors to provide us with their proof corrections within fifteen days. Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail with a link to our online proofing system, allowing annotation and correction of proofs online. The environment is similar to MS Word: in addition to editing text, you can also comment on figures/tables and answer questions from
the Copy Editor. Web-based proofing provides a faster and less error-prone process by allowing you to directly type your corrections, eliminating the potential introduction of errors.
If preferred, you can still choose to annotate and upload your edits on the PDF version. All instructions for proofing will be given in the e-mail we send to authors, including alternative methods to the online
version and PDF.
We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. It is important to ensure that all corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.

Offprints
The corresponding author will, at no cost, receive a customized Share Link providing 50 days free access to the final published version of the article on our recommended link. The Share Link can be used for sharing the article via any communication channel, including email and social media. For an extra charge, paper offprints can be ordered via the offprint order form which is sent once the article is accepted for publication. Corresponding authors who have published their article gold open access do not receive a Share Link as their final published version of the article is available open access on Science
Direct and can be shared through the article DOI link.

Publication mode
This journal offers authors the option to publish their research via traditional subscription, without Article Publishing Charge (APC) or Open Access. To publish Open Access, a publication fee (APC)
needs to be met by the author or research funder.

Traditional subscription model
Authors can also publish in ETRJ via the traditional subscription model without needing to pay an APC.
Articles published via this route are available to institutions and individuals who subscribe to the journal. Our standard licence allows you to make the accepted manuscript of your article freely available
after a 12-month embargo period. This is known as the green route to open access.

Open access publishing options
ETRJ is a hybrid (transformative) journal and gives authors the choice of publishing their research either via the traditional subscription-based model or by choosing our gold open access option.
Gold open access.
For authors who want to publish their article gold open access, ETRJ charges an article processing charge (APC) of $1,000 (+ any applicable tax). Our APC is all-inclusive and makes your article freely available
online immediately, permanently, and includes your choice of Creative Commons licence (CC BY or CC BY-NC) at no extra cost. It is not a submission charge, so you only pay if your article is accepted
for publication.