MOLECULE AUTHOR GUIDELINES
Molecule Author Guidelines are intended to provide essential guidance for authors submitting manuscripts to Molecule journals. Molecule Author Guidelines include detailed guidelines on manuscript structure, formatting, citations and references, figures and tables, ethical considerations as well as a few suggestions for enhancing clarity and refining author’s writing style.
While authors are not expected to strictly follow all the suggested guidelines provided in the style guide, by following the guidelines, authors can ensure that their work is presented in a clear and consistent manner, increasing the likelihood of acceptance for publication.
INITIAL HINTS & RECOMMENDATIONS
Before submitting a manuscript, authors are recommended to take the following considerations into account can greatly to increase the chances of acceptance and publication.
Choose the Correct Journal
Selecting the appropriate journal to submit your manuscript is crucial, as this will help to ensure that your paper is reviewed by the most relevant experts in your field. Consider the scope of the journal, the target audience, and the specific areas of expertise of the editors and reviewers.
Check the Journal’s guidelines
Before submitting your manuscript, it is essential to read and understand the submission guidelines of the target journal. This will help you to determine if your paper meets the criteria for the journal and to ensure that your submission adheres to their specific requirements.
Prepare Your Manuscript
Once you have read the guidelines of the journal, it is time to prepare your manuscript accordingly. This involves structuring the paper according to the guidelines, formatting it in the required style, and ensuring that the content meets the journal’s requirements. Make sure to include all necessary sections such as an abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, references as well as any other required statements/sections.
There are a few simple ways to maximize your article’s discoverability and search results.
Keywords selection: choose suitable keywords that include both general and more specific terms related to the article subject(s).
Consider Search engine optimization (SEO): Optimizing for search engines can help increase article’s discoverability and reach a wider audience. Here are some recommendations to maximize you article article’s discoverability.
Use keywords: include your key words in the article’s title, abstract, headings and throughout the content.
Title: Keep it concise, be specific, use power words, use keywords but avoid keyword stuffing, and consider the audience and try to tailor your title to their interests
Use relevant keywords: Use relevant and specific keywords that accurately describe the content of the article. Make sure to include these keywords in the article title, abstract, and body.
Use headings and subheadings: Use headings and subheadings to break up the content and make it easier to read. This also helps search engines understand the structure of the article.
Optimize images and other multimedia content: Use relevant and descriptive filenames and alt tags for images and other multimedia content. This helps search engines understand the content of the article.
Share on social media: Share the article on social media platforms to increase visibility and reach a wider audience.
COVER LETTER
The cover letter is a brief introduction to the manuscript that is addressed to the editor of the journal. It should include a statement of the research problem, a brief summary of the findings, and an explanation of why the research is important and relevant to the journal’s readership. The cover letter is also an opportunity to highlight any unique or novel aspects of the research, to address any potential concerns or questions that the editor may have, and to suggest potential reviewers for the manuscript. Additionally, the cover letter should include a statement indicating that the manuscript has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
Title Page
The first page of the manuscript should contain the title of the paper, the names and affiliations of all authors, and the corresponding author’s contact information.
Title
A well-crafted title can help to attract readers and draw attention to your research. Therefore, it is worth taking the time to carefully consider and craft your title to accurately and effectively communicate the content and significance of your work. In brief, the title should be concise, descriptive, and grammatically correct. In general, periods should be avoided in titles of articles, as they can disrupt the flow of the text and make the title appear choppy or disjointed. Instead, other punctuation marks such as commas, colons, or en dashes can be used to separate different elements of the title.
Be concise: A title should be brief and to the point, ideally no more than 15-20 words. Avoid the use abbreviations, acronyms, formulae or unnecessary words that may be unclear to readers.
Be specific: The title should accurately reflect the content of the article and clearly convey the main focus or findings of the research.
Use keywords: Including relevant keywords in the title can help readers find your article more easily when searching for related content. These keywords should reflect the main topics or concepts covered in the article.
Consider the audience: Keep in mind the audience of the journal and tailor your title accordingly. A more technical or specialized journal may require a more specific or detailed title, while a more general audience may require a broader or more accessible title.
Avoid sensationalism: While a catchy or attention-grabbing title may be tempting, it is important to avoid using sensational or misleading language. The title should accurately represent the content of the article and avoid making exaggerated or unsupported claims.
Author Names & Affiliations
Presenting clear and accurate author names and affiliations is important for ensuring transparency and credibility in scientific research. By following these guidelines, authors can ensure that their contributions are properly acknowledged and presented in a professional and consistent manner.
List authors in order of contribution: The first author listed should be the one who made the greatest contribution to the research, followed by the other authors in order of decreasing contribution.
Use full names: Authors should be listed using their full names. Given name(s) followed by family name(s) should be clearly indicated, with capitalized initials, and checked for accurate spelling. Middle names can be abbreviated to an initial and a dot should be added after the initial, for example, if an author’s name is Mary Elizabeth Johnson, the abbreviated form of the name could be listed as Mary E. Johnson. Titles (e.g., Prof., Dr., Mr., Ms., etc.) and academic suffixes (e.g., MD, MSc., BSc., etc.) should be avoided.
Provide author affiliations: Authors’ affiliation addresses, where the actual work was carried out, should be listed below the author’s name. Affiliation information can help to identify the authors and understand the context of the research and the potential conflicts of interest. Indicate all affiliations with a superscript number immediately after the author’s name and in front of the appropriate address. The address of each affiliation should include the full postal address in following format: institution, city post/Zip code, and region/state (if applicable) and country. For example, Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla 41012, Spain. In addition, include the e-mail address of each author, if available. If multiple authors have the same affiliation, superscript numbers can be used to indicate this. For example, if three authors are all affiliated with the same university, their names would be listed followed by superscript numbers (e.g., John Smith1, Jane Doe1, and Lucia Johnson1). The formatting of author names and affiliations should be consistent with the manuscript, using the same font size and style used throughout the manuscript. When an author has moved to a different location or has a different affiliation than when the research described in the article was conducted, their present or permanent address may be included as a footnote to their name in the article. The present address footnote can include the author’s current affiliation, address, and email address. It may also include the date of the move or change of affiliation. If the author has multiple affiliations, all of them may be listed in the present address footnote.
Correspondence
The corresponding author, who will be in charge of all correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication, should be clearly indicated and marked with an asterisk (*). Complete and up-to-date contact information for the corresponding author, including their full name, affiliation, email address, and other contact details should be provided in a separate section.
Equal Contributions
Equal contributions refer to situations where two or more authors have contributed equally to the work described in the manuscript. This could include equal contributions in study design, data collection, analysis, or writing and/or sharing first authorship, senior authorship or last authorship. To indicate equal contributions, a symbol (†) should be added next to the authors’ names to indicate that they contributed equally.
For example
John Smith1, Jane Doe1† and Lucia Johnson1†
†These authors contributed equally to this work and share senior authorship
Abstract
The abstract is a brief summary of the research study and its key findings. It consists of one paragraph and must not cite references or contain any images or tables. By following the considerations, authors can craft effective and compelling abstracts that showcase the significance of their research and help to attract readers to their work.
Keep it concise: avoid including unnecessary details or background information and focus on summarizing the most important aspects of the study.
Include key elements: An effective abstract should include a brief introduction or background, a clear statement of the research question or hypothesis, a summary of the methodology or approach, a description of the main results, and a conclusion or statement of significance.
Use clear and concise language: Abstracts should be written in clear and concise language that is easy for readers to understand. Avoid using abbreviations, technical jargon or complex terminology that may be difficult for non-experts to follow.
Highlight the novelty and significance of the study: This can help capture the interest of readers and make them more likely to read the full article.
Revise and proofread: Once you have drafted the abstract, be sure to revise and proofread it carefully to ensure that it is free of errors and effectively communicates the main points of the study.
For the specific structure of the abstract, authors should follow the requirements of the article type or journal to which they are submitting.
Graphical abstract
A Graphical abstract is a visual summary of the article that is designed to provide readers with a quick and easy-to-understand overview of the study.
It should be a high-quality illustration or diagram: minimum requirements for size are 560 pixels × 1100 pixels (height × width) and for resolution 500 dpi (dots per inch). It should be submitted in one of the following formats: JPG (.jpg), PNG (.png) or GIF (.gif).
The following recommendations may be followed by authors to create effective and visually compelling graphical abstracts that help to engage readers and communicate the significance of their research.
Keep it simple and clear: The graphical abstract should be simple and easy to understand, with a clear focus on the main findings of the study. Avoid including too much detail or technical information, and use clear and concise language.
Use visuals to enhance understanding: Visual elements such as graphs, diagrams, or images can be used to enhance understanding and communicate complex concepts more effectively. However, it’s important to ensure that these visuals are clear and well-designed.
Highlight the significance of the study: Like the abstract, the graphical abstract should emphasize the significance of the study and its potential impact on the field. This can help capture the interest of readers and make them more likely to read the full article.
Ensure that it is visually appealing: The graphical abstract should be visually appealing and well-designed, with attention paid to factors such as color, layout, and font. This can help to make it stand out and capture the attention of readers.
Revise and proofread: Once you have drafted the graphical abstract, be sure to revise and proofread it carefully to ensure that it effectively communicates the main points of the study and is free of errors.
Keywords
Keywords are important for indexing and search purposes, and they help readers to find relevant articles in a particular field of study. Immediately after the abstract, list between 3-8 keywords (depending on the article type). Choose relevant and specific keywords and use standard terminology. Keywords should be separated by commas, and should not include any punctuation other than hyphens or slashes to separate compound terms.
Main Text Structure
The structure of the manuscript may vary depending on the type of the article. Molecule Journals follow standardized format known as IMRAD structure. For more information, please refer to the instructions for authors of the journal and the journal template.
Authors should use clear and concise headings and subheadings to organize the content of the article. The overall structure of a research article typically includes the following sections:
Introduction: This section provides background information on the research topic, which can include a literature review that summarizes previous research in the area, highlighting the gaps or limitations of the existing literature that the study aims to address. The introduction should also clearly state the research question or hypothesis that the study aims to answer explaining the significance of the Study, i.e. why the study is important and what contribution it makes to the field. This can include highlighting the practical, theoretical, or methodological implications of the study.
Materials: This section should provide a detailed description of the materials used in the study, such as chemicals, reagents, or biological samples. The source and quality of the materials should also be described.
Methods: This section should provide a clear and detailed description of the research design, methodology, and data analysis procedures used in the study. It should include details on the sample size, data collection methods, and statistical analyses. The methods section should include a statement on ethics, including any ethical considerations that were taken into account in the study, such as obtaining informed consent from participants, protecting participant confidentiality, and ensuring that the study was conducted in accordance with ethical guidelines.
Results: This section presents the findings of the study in a clear and concise manner, using tables, graphs, and figures to illustrate the data. Results should be analyzed statistically to provide a quantitative interpretation of the data.
Discussion: This section is an opportunity for authors to contextualize their results and provide insights into the broader implications of their research. Some of key components that the discussion section may include are: an interpretation of the results explaining what they mean and how they relate to the research question(s) and the hypotheses tested, a comparison with previous studies including similarities and differences as well as any inconsistencies or contradictions, explanations for the findings including potential reasons for any unexpected or unanticipated results, a description of the implications of findings for the broader field of research and potential applications in practice, a statement on the limitations of the study including potential sources of bias or confounding, as well as and suggestions for future research that could build upon the work findings.
Conclusions: The authors should summarize the key points of the discussion and offer a clear conclusion that addresses the research question(s) and hypotheses tested. The key components in a conclusion section include: a restatement of the main findings of the study and their implications for the broader field of research, recommendations of suggest potential areas for future research that could build upon their findings, as well as any practical applications of their findings in practice. The authors may also conclude the paper with a final thought that summarizes the main message of the study, or an overarching theme that ties together the findings.
References: This is a list of all sources cited in the text of the article, arranged in numerical order according to their appearance in the manuscript. Each citation includes author(s) name(s), title of the source, journal title/book title, volume, issue number, page numbers, and publication year. Use of DOI is highly encouraged.
The references section is an important tool for researchers and scholars, as it allows them to build upon the work of others and connect their own research to a broader academic conversation. It also helps to ensure the credibility and validity of the research by allowing readers to verify the sources used by the author and evaluate the strength of their evidence.
Molecule Journals follow the American Chemical Society (ACS) reference style. Templates for ACS style are available for most common referencing software.
Examples of the most common types of references formatted according to the ACS style are provided below.
Journal Article:
Author, A. B.; Author, C. D. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation Year, Volume, Pagination.
Example:
Wu, Y.; Shen, Y.; Dai, Q.; Zhang, Y.; Gong, H.; Shen, D. High-resolution diffusion MRI through microfluidic neural probes. J. Magn. Reson. 2019, 301, 41-46.
Book:
Author, A. B.; Author, C. D. Book Title, Edition; Publisher: Place of Publication, Year; Pagination.
Example:
Atkins, P. W.; de Paula, J. Physical Chemistry, 10th ed.; Oxford University Press: Oxford, U.K., 2014; pp 1-1127.
Website:
Author, A. B. Title of Web Page. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).
Example:
National Institutes of Health. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ (accessed Jan 4, 2023).
Conference Proceeding:
Author, A. B.; Author, C. D. Title of Conference Paper. In Title of Conference Proceedings, Edition; Publisher: Place of Publication, Year; Pagination.
Example:
Saini, R.; Prakash, J.; Agarwal, A. Comparative analysis of different microalgae cultivation systems for the production of biodiesel. In Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Environmental Protection, 2018; pp 123-130.
Patent:
Inventor, A. B.; Inventor, C. D. Title of Patent. Patent Number, Month Day, Year.
Example:
Katz, J. J.; Lewis, F. M.; Anderson, R. R. Method and apparatus for producing photographic effects on a substrate using laser beams. U.S. Patent 4,223,163, Sep 16, 1980.
In addition to these sections, some research articles may include acknowledgments, funding information, and author contributions.
In addition to these sections, some research articles may include acknowledgments, funding information, and author contributions.
Acknowledgements
This is a brief statement at the end of the article that acknowledges individuals, who provided technical assistance, advice, or other support during the study, or organizations or funding sources, such as grants or scholarships, that helped support the research. The acknowledgment section should not be used to promote commercial products or services or to make political statements. Authors should keep this section brief and should obtain the consent of those they wish to acknowledge before including their names in the acknowledgment section.
Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest refers to a situation where an author’s financial, professional, or personal relationships or activities could potentially influence their judgment, objectivity, or decision-making related to the research being published. Molecule conflicts of interest policy aligns with the recommendations provided by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf). To prevent conflicts of interest, authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may exist when submitting their research articles for publication in Molecule journals. Journal editors can then evaluate the potential impact of these conflicts on the research and take appropriate actions, such as excluding a reviewer or requesting further disclosures from the author.
There are several types of conflicts of interest that authors may have, including:
Financial conflicts of interest: These occur when an author or their institution has a financial stake in the research or its outcome. For example, an author may have received funding from a company that produces a product being studied in the research.
Non-financial conflicts of interest: These arise when an author’s personal or professional relationships may influence the research or its outcome. For example, an author may have a close relationship with an individual or organization that stands to benefit from the research.
Intellectual conflicts of interest: These occur when an author’s personal beliefs or biases may influence the research or its interpretation. For example, an author who strongly believes in a particular hypothesis may interpret the results of the study in a way that supports their beliefs.
Institutional conflicts of interest: These arise when an institution with which the author is affiliated may have a stake in the research or its outcome. For example, a university may have a financial interest in the research being successful or may have a relationship with a company that is being studied.
Author contributions
The author contribution statement should include the specific contributions of each author to the research project and manuscript preparation process.
Author contributions:
[Author name] [insert contribution statement here]
For example:
Author contributions:
J.S. and M.G. conceived the research and designed the experiments. J.S. carried out the experiments and collected the data. M.G. analyzed the data and performed statistical analyses. J.S. and M.G. interpreted the results and wrote the manuscript. Both authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Figures and tables
Authors should ensure that figures and tables in their manuscript are presented in a clear, professional, and informative manner, adding value to the research and enhancing the overall quality of the manuscript. Figures and tables should be numbered sequentially and cited in the main text in numerical order. All figures and tables should be placed within the main body of the manuscript and not in separate files. Each figure and table should have a clear and concise title that accurately describes the content. All sources of data should be clearly cited in the figure or table caption. The font used in figures and tables should be easy to read and consistent with the rest of the manuscript. Any abbreviations or symbols used in figures and tables should be defined in the caption or in a legend. If a figure or table has been previously published, authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder to include it in their manuscript. Permission from the copyright holder is required for any previously published figures or tables that are cited from other sources.
Figures
Resolution: Figures must have a high resolution (at least 500 dpi) to ensure that they are clear and legible.
Format: Figures should be in a standard image format such as JPEG, TIFF, or PNG, and should be editable so that they can be resized or edited if necessary.
Size: Figures should be sized appropriately so that they can be easily viewed and understood.
Legends and Captions: Figures must be accompanied by a legend or caption that clearly describes the content and any relevant details, such as the source of the data or the statistical analysis used.
Placement: Figures should be placed in the appropriate section of the manuscript, near the relevant text.
Copyright: If a figure has been previously published, authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder to include it in their manuscript.
Clarity and Legibility: Figures must be clear and legible, with appropriate font sizes and styles. Axes, labels, and symbols should be clearly labeled and easy to understand.
Ethical considerations: Authors must ensure that figures are not manipulated or falsified in any way, and that any adjustments or enhancements are clearly disclosed in the figure legend or caption.
Figures should be accompanied by a brief description of the methods used to generate the data and any relevant statistical analyses. Any manipulation or adjustment of images should be clearly disclosed and explained in the figure caption.
Tables
Presenting high-quality tables can increase the chances of acceptance and help ensure that the research is communicated effectively.
Structure: Tables should be well-structured and organized, with clear and concise headings and subheadings.
Content: Tables should contain only essential data that is relevant to the research question. Tables should not duplicate information presented in the text or figures.
Formatting: Tables should be formatted consistently, with appropriate font sizes and styles for headings and data.
Copyright: If a table has been previously published, authors must obtain permission from the copyright holder to include it in their manuscript.
Size: Tables should be sized appropriately so that they can be easily viewed and understood.
Authors must ensure that tables are not manipulated or falsified in any way, and that any adjustments or enhancements are clearly disclosed in the table caption.
Each table must have a clear and concise caption that describes the content and any relevant details, such as the source of the data or the statistical analysis used.
Tables should be organized in a logical and easy-to-read manner, with clear headings and subheadings.
For specific guidelines regarding figures and tables and any additional requirements or recommendations, please consult the author guidelines of the journal.
Supplementary Material
Supplementary material refers to additional data or information that supports the main findings and conclusions presented in the paper. It can include figures, tables, raw data or any other relevant material that could not be included in the main body of the manuscript due to space constraints or other reasons. The purpose of supplementary material is to provide readers with additional information that could enhance the understanding and interpretation of the main findings, but it should not be essential to the understanding of the paper. Supplementary material should be carefully prepared and organized, and should be clearly labeled and referenced in the main manuscript to ensure readers can easily access and understand it.
Some examples of supplementary material that may be included in a manuscript are:
Additional figures or tables that provide detailed information or supporting data
Raw data or statistical analysis
Technical details or protocols that may be of interest to specialists in the field
Supplementary discussion or results that expand upon or clarify the main findings.
Supplementary material should be submitted along with the manuscript during the initial submission. After the manuscript has been accepted for publication, they are made available online alongside the published article. It is important to note that supplementary material is subject to the same peer-review process as the main manuscript, and it should be of high quality, well-organized, and relevant to the main findings of the study.
Abbreviations
Define each abbreviation when it is first introduced in the text, even if it is a common abbreviation. Make sure you use abbreviations consistently throughout the article. It is recommended to limit abbreviations for terms that are used frequently in the text. If the article includes a large number of abbreviations, a list of abbreviations may be included at the end of the article.
Research Data
Molecule journals require authors to make their data openly available for others to access and use, unless there is a valid reason for withholding it such as when research data are confidential. Authors should describe their data collection and analysis methods in sufficient detail so that other researchers can replicate their experiments and analyses. This transparency and reproducibility is critical to ensuring the reliability and credibility of scientific research. In addition, some funding bodies or institutions may require data to be openly available
There are several ways to make data available. Data can be included in the Supplementary Material or deposited in a public repository or archive, such as datacite, GenBank, figshare, GlobSnow or Dryad. Molecule strongly encourages authors to deposit their datasets in platforms that assign digital object identifiers (DOIs) to their data.
Data Availability Statement
Authors are required to include a Data Availability Statement in which they provide a brief statement on the accessibility and location of data used or analyzed during research.
Data availability statements may follow different forms. Below are some common examples.
- “All data created during this research is available in the [NAME] repository, [insert WEB LINK TO DATASETS or DOI here].”
- “All data supporting this study is provided as supplementary information accompanying this paper.”
- “All data is provided in full in the results section of this paper.”
- Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
- The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
For more information and examples on data availability statements please visit University of Bath Research Data Archive.
