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Manuscripts Submissions Ethics Writing Guidelines

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**> Before you submit** Please carefully read through the website; *especially the "About" page.* **> Types of Manuscripts** **Original Papers:** The Journal publishes original research and experiments that have quantitative results. The results must follow from the experimental observations and be adequately supported by a statistical analysis and a large enough sample size. Conclusions must be supported by the results. Superlative or opinionated words or phrases such as “I believe”, “I think”, etc, are not acceptable. Surveys will generally not be published. Also see the "Writing guidelines" section at the end of this page. **Review Papers:** Review papers must address and describe potential gaps in current quantitative knowledge, non-obvious, non-intuitive incorrect implicit assumptions and/or limitations in the current knowledge base, methodology or design and suggest research trajectory, methods, or design to address these deficiencies. **Reviews that merely present and collate current literature will generally not be published.** The Journal does not publish commentary and/or opinion papers. *The Journal recognizes that our vision of what a Review paper is differs from the conventional view; where a Review paper is a survey of previously published research. We require students to think above-and-beyond the currently accepted paradigms and extract/extrapolate/ information from published research that has not yet been published. This need not be ground-breaking or novel; but should still be a new way of thinking about the problem and proposing a solution. Publication of a review paper in the Journal of High School Science differentiates students who are meticulous, thoughtful and knowledgeable from those who can **additionally** connect disparate concepts in a coherent way, think and/or speculate about the problem differently than has been done before and pose implementable solutions.* **Technical Notes:** A technical note is a concise document that presents the findings of a short experimental analysis or investigation. It typically focuses on a specific technical topic or problem and provides a condensed summary of the methodology, results, and conclusions of the study. Technical notes are often used to communicate preliminary or limited research findings, share experimental techniques or innovations, or provide brief updates on ongoing projects. **> Manuscript Guidelines** * Saved in Microsoft Word as a .doc file * Figures must be submitted separately (as separate JPEG files) from the main body * File name should include last (family) name and a unique keyword * File name cannot be longer than 30 characters, only contain letters and numbers * File size may not exceed 8 MB * Spelling, punctuation, sentence structure, spacing, length and consistency of usage in form and descriptions should be checked before submission. * Check all references for accuracy. * Ensure that all tables are embedded in the text at their appropriate locations, and that all references are cited in the text. > Title Page Guidelines: *Title*: Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible. *Author names and affiliations*: Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was performed) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case 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, 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. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to e-mail address and the complete postal address. *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 immediately below the affiliation address. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. *Abstract*: It should contain a brief and clear description of the aims of the paper, its principal results and major conclusions (100-300 words). The abstract should include all keywords pertinent to the subject. *Keywords*: Indicate 5 to 10 Keywords. They should be carefully selected in order to improve accessibility of scientific information in the manuscript. Keywords commonly used in international abstracting services are preferred. > Main Body Guidelines: Research papers must contain Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion and References. Results and Discussion may be combined into one section if appropriate. For Review papers or Technical notes, appropriate sections may be selected. *Policy and Ethics*: The work described in the article must have been carried out in accordance with the [Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association](http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm) (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans; [EC Directive 86/609/EEC for animal experiments](http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/legislation_en.htm); Uniform [Requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical journals](http://www.nejm.org/general/text/requirements/1.htm). *Statement of informed consent*: Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information, including patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that a patient who is identifiable be shown the manuscript to be published. Authors should identify Individuals who provide writing assistance and disclose the funding source for this assistance. Identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, however, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note. *Materials and Methods*: It should include materials, standard techniques and procedures relevant to the study. Published procedures and techniques should be cited unless significant modifications are involved. Exact specification of relevant materials and equipment must be stated. Chemical terms must conform with IUPAC rules. Trademarks or commercial products must be labelled using a superscripted (r). Names of products and equipment mentioned must be accompanied by the name of the manufacturer or distributor, location with state or country. This information must be stated in parentheses in the text. Any potential hazards connected with materials and procedures must be mentioned. A precise and detailed description of the procedure should be given that is sufficient for carrying out any repetition of the work. *Statistical approach*: The number of repeat measurements and the variance must be clearly depicted in the text and in the illustrations. Reasonable significant figures must be used. *General Format*: Please use Microsoft Word default style settings, i.e., Normal and Times New Roman 12. For each section, the sub-title appears as Bold Times New Roman 12, and subsequent titles as Bold sentence Font Size 10 and then, if required, Bold Italic Sentence Font Size 10. Leave only one (1) space after periods. Do not use spaces to create indents. Use line returns only at the end of paragraphs and do put blank lines between paragraphs. Use the Symbol font for symbols and special characters. Do not use equation editors or footnoting utilities in your files. Equations should be numbered consequtively with Arabic numerals in parentheses on the right side of the page. SI units should be used throughout. Number pages (bottom, center). Use proper superscripts and subscripts; not raised or lowered text. *Figures*: Figures must be submitted SEPARATELY from the main body of the text as SEPARATE JPEG files. They must be numbered in Arabic numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text, and designed to fit the column of page size of the Journal. All parts of a figure must be "grouped" with no segmented text box. Left justify the title in normal Font Size 10 below the figure. Keys to symbols should be a part of the figure, and not a part of the caption. Use the same typeface for all figures. Labels should be in title case. Figure legends should be informative and self-explanatory. *Tables*: Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, referred to by number in the text and designed to fit the column of page size of the Journal. Prepare numerical illustrations (e.g., tables) using the "table" function (rows and columns) when ever practiable. Do not style the tables or make them using text functions such as tabs, spaces or lines. Hide lines except under the column headings. Left justify the title above the table in bold Font Size 10. Captions should be typed separately. Table legends should be informative and self-explanatory. *Footnotes*: Footnotes should not be used. *Abbreviations*: Try to use abbreviations sparingly. When used extensively, provide a list of all non-standard abbreviations on a separate page before the reference section. When symbols are used extensively, include a list of all symbols in the notation section. Do not abbreviate the word "Figure" or "Table" in titles or text. *References*: References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are cited in the text. Cite in the text by the appropriate Arabic numeral enclosed in parentheses, e.g., (1) or (2-5), not super or sub scripted. References to unpublished personal communications should be avoided. Use ( ) for reference citation in the text. Place punctuation AFTER the reference. For each reference, use a single continuous paragraph with no extra space or line break. Do not use "add-ins" such as EndNotes. Abbreviations for journal names should conform to those in the Bibliographic Guide for Editors and Authors (Americal Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.). The references should conform to the following style and punctuation: Journal Article: Davies NM, Jamali F. COX-2 selective inhibitors cardiac toxicity: Getting to the heart of the matter. J Pharm Sci, 7: 332-336, 2004. Book: Mutschler, E; Derendorf, H., Drug Actions, Basic Principles and Therapeutic Aspects. CRC, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, 1995. Contribution to a Book: Jamali, F., Stereochemically Pure Drugs: An Overview, in Wainer IW; Drayer D (eds), Drug Stereochemistry: Analytical Methods and Pharmacology. 2nd ed., Marcel Dekker, INC, New York, NY, pp 375-384, 1993. Patent: E.A. Balazs, Ultrapure hyaluronic acid and the use thereof, U.S. Patent 4,141,973 (1979). *Acknowledgements*: Acknowledgements of financial support, gifts, technical help or other assistance may be stated in an un-numbered paragraph under this heading preceding the references.

**> Submission Guidelines** Manuscripts will be received by Online Submission only. Careful preparation of manuscripts and subsequent review of page proofs are essential, as the authors are responsible for all statements and content. Copyright and Reference Citation: Submitted manuscripts must not have been published previously or be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. SUBMITTED MANUSCRIPTS THAT ARE FOUND TO INFRINGE COPYRIGHT WILL BE REJECTED, FUTURE MANUSCRIPTS BY THE AUTHOR(S) WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED FOR PUBLICATION AND THE AUTHOR(S) AFFILIATED INSTITUTION MAY BE INFORMED OF SUCH INFRINGEMENT. Authors must cite the source of any quotation or statement inserted in the manuscript. Authors must obtain permission from the publisher for any illustration or table copied or adapted from previously published material. Such permissions must be received in the Journal office via e-mail or fax from the publisher before the manuscript can be published. > Submission checklist: Submit one (1) electronic file of manuscript including all text and tables, in Word.doc format. The file name cannot be longer than 30 characters, and should contain only letters or numbers. Do not use punctuation or symbols in the file name. The file size cannot exceed 8 MB. Submit FIGURES separately from the word.doc file. Figures must be of sufficiently high resolution. Multiple Figures can be submitted in a single separate file. Include a statement of ethics approval for animal and human data if applicable. Ensure that the manuscript has been proofread and spellchecked. Manuscript should include title, authors' complete first and last (family) name, address (including city, province or state, country), and e-mail address. After acceptance One set of page proofs (as PDF file) will emailed to the corresponding author. Please use the PDF annotations function (if available) to list the corrections and submit them to JEFC online. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark your corrections and comments, scan the pages and email them to JEFC online. We cannot accept mailed or FAXed returns. Please use the 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. We will do everything possible to get your accepted article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in ONE email communication submitted online at the Journal's website. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that we may proceed with the publication of your article if no response is received.

**> Submission Ethics** It is necessary to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the Journal editor, the peer reviewer and the publisher. Our ethic statements are based on COPE's Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. *Publication decisions:* The editor of the Journal is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the Journal should be published. The editor may be guided by the policies of the Journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision. *Fair play:* An editor will at any time evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors. *Confidentiality:* The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers and the publisher, as appropriate. *Disclosure and conflicts of interest:* Unpublished materials disclosed in a submited manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author. **> Duties of Reviewers** *Contribution to editorial decisions:* Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the manuscript. Generative AI at **http://reviewpaperai.com** is used to perform a preliminary review of received manuscripts. *Promptness:* Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in the manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself/herself from the review process. *Confidentiality:* Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor. *Standards of Objectivity:* Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. *Acknowledgement of Sources:* Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have the personal knowledge. *Disclosure and Conflict of Interest:* Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers. **> Duties of Authors** *Reporting standards:* Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable. *Data access and Retention:* Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial reivew, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with ALPSP-STM statement on Data and Databasees), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication. *Originality and Plagiarism:* The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this is appropriately cited or quoted. *Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication:* An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. *Acknowledgement of Sources:* Proper acknowledgement of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. *Authorship of the paper:* Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication. *Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest:* All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. *Fundamental errors in published works:* When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

**> Guidelines for writing a scientific manuscript** > These are general guidelines for writing a scientific manuscript for publication and are not specific to this Journal. Review the aforementioned guidelines to make sure your manuscript adheres to the specific publication requirements of this Journal. * Title: Choose a concise and informative title that accurately reflects the content of your research. * Abstract: Write a clear and succinct abstract that summarizes the objectives, methods, key findings, and implications of your study. * Introduction: Provide a comprehensive overview of the background and significance of your research, including a clear statement of the research question or hypothesis. * Methods: Describe your study design, materials, and methods in sufficient detail to allow replication of the study. Include information about data collection, measurements, and statistical analyses. * Results: Present your findings in a logical and organized manner, using tables, figures, and graphs where appropriate. Provide clear and concise descriptions of the results without interpretation or speculation. * Discussion: Interpret your results and relate them to existing literature. Discuss the implications of your findings and any limitations or potential biases in your study. Consider alternative explanations and address potential future directions for research. * Conclusion: Summarize the main findings of your study and their broader implications. Avoid overstating or making claims beyond the scope of your research. * References: Cite all relevant sources accurately and consistently following the appropriate citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, or specific journal guidelines). Ensure that your references are up to date and include a wide range of sources to demonstrate a thorough review of the existing literature. * Structure: Organize your manuscript into logical sections (e.g., Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) with clear headings. Use subheadings to further divide sections, if necessary. * Clarity and Conciseness: Use clear and precise language to convey your ideas. Avoid jargon and define technical terms when necessary. Eliminate unnecessary words or information that do not contribute to the main message. * Figures and Tables: Ensure that all figures and tables are clear, well-labeled, and directly support the main findings of your research. Include captions that provide sufficient context and interpretation. * Ethical Considerations: Address any ethical concerns related to your research, such as human or animal subjects, conflicts of interest, or informed consent. Adhere to ethical guidelines and obtain necessary approvals. * Proofreading and Editing: Thoroughly proofread your manuscript for grammatical errors, typos, and formatting inconsistencies. Seek feedback from colleagues or mentors to improve clarity and readability. * Journal Guidelines: Familiarize yourself with the specific guidelines and formatting requirements of your target journal. Adhere to their instructions regarding word limits, referencing style, manuscript structure, and supplementary materials. * Review and Revision: Be open to reviewer comments and revise your manuscript accordingly. Address each comment thoughtfully and provide clear responses or revisions when submitting a revised version. * Intellectual Property: Respect intellectual property rights by properly attributing and referencing the work of others. Obtain permission for the use of copyrighted material, such as figures or tables, when necessary. * Accurate Data and Analysis: Ensure the accuracy and integrity of your data and analysis. Double-check calculations, statistical methods, and reported results for errors. * Reproducibility: Provide sufficient details and documentation of your methods, materials, and data to enable other researchers to replicate your study. * Writing Style: Write in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. Use active voice, appropriate verb tenses, and consistent terminology throughout the manuscript. * Persistence and Resilience: Be prepared for the possibility of rejection or revisions. Scientific publishing is a competitive process, so maintain a positive attitude and be persistent in your efforts to improve and disseminate your research.

A study on the implications of redlining, greenspace density, housing age, and income on heavy metal soil contamination