Guidelines to Authors
1. Authors Manuscript Guidelines
Authors are strongly advised to strictly follow the instructions described below. Manuscripts not complying with the journal requirements will be returned to the authors or rejected.
2. Submission
i. All papers and a covering/submission letter should be submitted electronically.
ii. The manuscript should be in an editable format (MS Word format).
iii. Submission of a paper implies that it has not been published previously (except in the form of abstract, lecture or thesis), it has been approved by all the authors, is not simultaneously under consideration for publication elsewhere and the paper does not contain anything unlawful or defamatory or anything that would constitute a breach of contract or copyright issues.
iv. All editorial correspondence should be addressed to the Chief Editor
3. Manuscript Preparation
i. Manuscripts should be double spaced and with margins of at least 2.5 cm on the top and left-hand side of the papers.
ii. Manuscript should have page numbers in the middle at the bottom and add (enable) continuous Line Numbering in the text of the paper.
iii. Manuscript should be typed using font type and size Times New Roman 12 points respectively.
iv. Manuscripts should be limited to a maximum of 25 pages of A4 size including illustrations (e.g., photographs, diagrams, tables). The maximum length for short communications will be 15 pages. OR: The paper should not contain more than 8000 words, and not more than 10 figures and 6 tables.
v. Manuscript Language: Write your text in good English (British English)
vi. Manuscript must be spell-checked and grammar-checked before submission.
vii. Manuscript Formatting:
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): Colour 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-ton (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
viii. Manuscript Colour artwork: Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then JWEMPO will ensure, at no additional charge that these figures will appear in color on the Web regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. Please indicate your preference for colour in print or on the Web only.
Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to "gray scale" (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white versions of all the colour illustrations.
3.1 Figures and Tables
i. Figures and tables should appear in numerical order and must be described/cited in the body of the text.
ii. Originals of all figures should be in black ink and all lettering must be readable and big enough to allow reduction for final layout.
iii. Tables should have no visible internal vertical or horizontal lines.
iv. Figures and the tables included in the single file should be 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 above the table.
3.2 Units
Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI.
Always leave a space between number and unit (e.g., 6.4 mg/L, 25 °C, 20 g), however no space should be left before the “%” and "/"signs. Use the international systems and rules for writing the scientific names for various substances such as chemicals.
3.4 Abbreviations
Define abbreviations that are not standard in the field at their first mention. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article if applicable.
3.5 Mathematical formulae
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. Any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text) should be numbered consecutively.
4. Manuscript Structure
4.1 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.
Manuscripts should contain the following parts:
4.2 Title page information
Title: The title must be short and precise. Abbreviations should not be used, except if necessary. The title of the paper should be in bold title case (capitalize all major words) with font size larger than the text (2 points greater than the font size of the text, that is 14 points in this case).
Author information: The title will be followed by the author(s)’ name(s), institutional affiliations(s), postal and e-mail addresses. Indicate the affiliations with a superscript number immediately after the author's name and in front of the respective address. Clearly indicate the corresponding author and provide telephone number(s). The names of author(s) should be in the following order: First name Initials Surname. Example: Victoria, J.M. Serikali.
4.3 Abstract
This should be a brief summary of what was done, the main findings and the conclusions drawn. The abstract should not exceed 200 words. All papers, including short communications must have abstracts. The abstract should not be italicized, except for scientific names and other items that are necessarily required to be italicized.
Keywords: Authors must provide a minimum of 4 to a maximum of 6 keywords below the abstract.
4.4 Introduction
This should contain a brief survey of the relevant literature and the objectives of the work. It should also state knowledge gaps that were filled. Provide background information to support the motivation for the study, and state the study objectives or hypotheses.
4.5 Materials and Methods
Sufficient information should be given, including relevant references, so that the study can be repeated by someone else.
4,6 Results
Provide clear and concise descriptions of all findings. Present all results on which study conclusions or inferences are based (in whole or in part). Report the results in the main text and in tables or figures as appropriate. All illustrations must bear full captions, and must be specifically mentioned in the text, e.g., “Potassium ions enhanced stomata opening (Figure 5)”. The same data should not be presented both in the form of a graph and a table. Short tables or graphs should be combined to save space.
4.7 Discussion
This should emphasize the significance of the results and their relationship with other published work, and with the original objectives of the investigation. A brief concluding statement and recommendations for further work are normally given in the final paragraph. The section on results and that on discussion may be combined to give one section on “Results and Discussion.” The "Results and Discussion” section can be organized in appropriate subheadings.
*Authors may also opt to combine Results and Discussion.
4.8 Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study should be presented in a summary format.
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.
Acknowledgements
This should be very brief, about one to two sentences in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not 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 proof reading the article, etc.).
Funding Information for Authors
Authors must disclose all sources of funding related to their research. This includes funding from grants, contracts, or any other financial support received.
Formatting of funding sources
List funding sources in a standard way to facilitate compliance to any funder's requirements: e.g.
Funding: This work was supported with a grant from The Ministry of Water [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institutes of Peace [grant number aaaa].
If no funding has been provided for the research, please include the following sentence:
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
4.9 References
4.9.1 Citation in text
Single author: Use surname of author and year of publication, e.g., John (2017) or (John, 2017).
Two authors: Surnames and year, e.g., Peter and Suleiman, 2012.
Three or more authors: First author's surname followed by the abbreviation “et al.” and the year of publication should be used in the text (but not in the list of references), for example: Maharage et al. (2018) or (Maharage, et al., 2018).
Different references cited together should be in date order, for example: (Mark, 1999; Peter and Suleiman, 2012; Green, 2014). If a paper has been accepted for publication but has not been published the term “(in press)” should be used instead of a date.
4.9.2 List of references
References should be listed alphabetically at the end of the paper. Only the literature actually cited in the text should be included here. The names of periodicals (e.g., journals or magazines) should be in title case and italicized. Use correct standard abbreviations for the titles of the journals.
References by the same author(s) should be arranged chronologically. References by the same author(s) published in the same year should be cited using a, b, c, etc., after the year of publication in the text and list.
4.9.3. Journals reference style
In this case, reference should be written in such order that author’s names followed by initials, the year of publication, the title of the article, the name of the journal, the volume, the issue number in brackets (incase issue number exists), and the first and last pages of the article. For example:
Hecky RE, Mugidde R, Twongo T, Balirwa J and Mavuti K 2000 Ecosystem change in Lake Victoria. Tanz. J. Sci. 28: 50-61.
La Vignera S, Condorelli RA, Vicari E, D'Agata R and Calogero AE 2012 Effects of the exposure to mobile phones on male reproduction: a review of the literature. J. Androl. 33(3): 350-356.
Fisher, T.R., Peele, E.R., Ammerman, J.W. & Harding, L.W. 1992: Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 82: 51–63.
4.9.4. The Books reference styles
(a) Standard book:
Names and initials of all authors, year. Title of the book. Publisher, location of publisher, total number of pages.
Fennel, W. and Neumann, T., 2004. Introduction to the Modelling of Marine Ecosystems. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 297 pp.
(b) Article/Chapter in a book:
Names and initials of all authors, year. Title of paper. Names and initials of the volume editors, title of the edited volume. Publisher, location of publisher, first and last page numbers of the paper.
Thomas, E., 1992. Middle Eocene-late Oligocene bathyal benthic foraminifera (Weddell Sea): faunal changes and implications for ocean circulation. In: Prothero, D.R., Berggren, W.A. (Eds.), Eocene Oligocene Climatic and Biotic Evolution. Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, pp. 245-271.
Boyton WV 1984 Cosmochemistry of the rare earth elements: meteorite studies. In: Henderson P (ed) Developments in Geochemistry vol. 2, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 63-114.
(c) Thesis/dissertation:
Use of unpublished theses and reports is strongly discouraged. If they are essential and the editors agree, you must supply:
Names and initials of all authors, year. Title of item. All other relevant information needed to identify the item (e.g., technical report, Ph.D. thesis, institute, current status i.e., in press/unpublished etc.).
Moustakas, N., 1990. Relationships of Morphological and Physiochemical Properties of Vertisols under Greek Climate Conditions. Ph.D. Thesis, Agricultural Univ. Athens, Greece, unpublished.
Magufuli JPJ 2009 The potential of anacardic acid self-assembled monolayers from cashew nut shell liquid as corrosion protection coatings. PhD thesis, University of Dar es Salaam.
(d) Conference proceedings papers:
Names and initials of all authors, year. Title of paper. Name of the conference. Publisher, location of publisher, first and last page numbers of the paper.
Smith, M.W., 1988. The significance of climatic change for the permafrost environment. Final Proceedings International Conference on Permafrost. Tapir, Trondheim, Norway, pp. 18-23.
(e) 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 should be included in the reference list.
5. Headings
Indicate the section headings in the article as follows:
First-level headings (e.g., Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements and References) should be in bold title case.
Second-level headings should be in bold sentence case.
6. Ethical Guidelines
JWEMPO will acquire membership of the global Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) as an individual journal membership and adhere to its guidelines as well as ensure the ethical quality of the publications and the respective authors. COPE Guidelines are attached in Annex No. 3.
Ethical standards for publication will be observed to ensure high-quality scientific publications, public trust in scientific findings, respect for human and animal rights, intellectual and property rights and that people receive credit for their ideas.
Studies on human or animal subjects must provide statements clearly showing that the responsible Ethical Committee(s) approved the experiments and which should be in accordance with the international standards, e.g., Declaration of Helsinki (1964).
Authors must avoid unethical conducts such as data fabrication and falsification, plagiarism, multiple submissions, redundant publications, etc. Else, relevant national laws will apply in punishing the offences.
Editors and reviewers shall treat the articles they handle with maximum confidentiality and shall not use knowledge of the work before its publication to advance their own interests. Reviewers will remain anonymous. As well, reviewers/editors shouldn’t display favoritism of own work through recommendation of own citations as guarantee for paper acceptance.
Policies will be put in place for addressing such issues related to allegations of misconduct, complaints and appeals, conflicts of interest and competing interests, authorship and contributor ship, data and reproducibility, ethical oversight, intellectual property, journal management, peer review processes, post publication discussions and corrections.
