Author Guidelines

Manuscript Preparation

General Format

The UNZA-JONAS requires that all manuscripts be submitted in a singlecolumn and justified format following the following guidelines: The manuscript text should be double-spaced with 25 mm margins on both sides using 12-point type in Times New Roman font. Page numbers must be inserted consecutively from the title page onwards All illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points. Submitted manuscripts must be complete, including the title page, abstract, Manuscript text (introduction/background; Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion, Conclusion), Acknowledgements, References, figures, and tables. Manuscripts submitted without following this format will not be processed until the manuscripts are resubmitted in the correct and JONAS format.

Regular Original research articles:

The Regular original research article manuscript submitted to UNZA-JONAS must be formatted with subsections of Title; Abstract; introduction/background; Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusion; Acknowledgements; and References as detailed below. All portions of the manuscript must be typed double-spaced and all pages numbered starting from the title page.

The title page

The title page should include the following: i) The Title that should be a brief phrase describing the contents of the paper, ii) the list of authors, including their full names, and their respective institutional affiliations (Authors must be restricted only to those who have made material contributions to the research and who contributed to the writing and review of the manuscript), iii) the name, address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the author who should be contacted regarding reprint requests or other correspondence received in the Editorial Office regarding the manuscript.

The Abstract

The Abstract should be informative and completely self-explanatory, briefly present the topic, state the scope of the work, indicate significant data, and point out major findings and conclusions. The Abstract should not exceed 500 words in length. Complete sentences, active verbs, and the third Person should be used, and the abstract should be written in the past tense. Standard nomenclature should be used and abbreviations should be avoided. No literature should be cited.

Key Words

Following the abstract, about 3 to 5 key words that will provide indexing references should be listed.

Abbreviations

A list of non-standard Abbreviations should be added. In general, nonstandard abbreviations should be used only when the full term is very long and used often. Each abbreviation should be spelled out and introduced in parentheses the first time it is used in the text. Only recommended SI units should be used. Authors should use the solidus presentation (mg/ml). Standard abbreviations(such as ATP and DNA) need not be defined.

Introduction/Background

The introduction should provide a clear statement of the problem, the relevant literature on the subject, and the proposed approach or solution. It should be understandable to colleagues from a broad range of scientific disciplines.

Materials and Methods

Materials and methods should be complete enough to allow experiments to be reproduced. However, only truly new procedures should be described in detail; previously published procedures should be cited, and important modifications of published procedures should be mentioned briefly. Capitalize trade names and include the manufacturer's name and address. Subheadings should be used. Methods in general use need not be described in detail.

Results

Results should be presented with clarity and precision. The results should be written in the past tense when describing findings in the authors' experiments. Previously published findings should be written in the present tense. Results should be explained, but largely without referring to the literature. Discussion, speculation and detailed interpretation of data should not be included in the Results but should be put into the Discussion section.

Discussion

The Discussion should interpret the findings in view of the results obtained in this and in past studies on this topic. The Results and Discussion sections can include subheadings, and when appropriate, both sections can be combined.

Conclusion

The Conclusion should summarise the overall findings, preferably in itemised form. State the conclusions in a few sentences at the end of the paper.

Acknowledgements

The Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc should be brief.

References

The Harvard system should be used. References in the text should be quoted in the following manner: Alexander (2000) or (Simate and Mtonga, 1997) or if there are more than two authors, James et al (1990). References should be collected at the end of the paper in alphabetical order by the first author’s surname. If references to the same author have the year, they must be differentiated by using 1995a and 1995b etc. References should be complete (examples are given below) and verified at source by the author(s). Inclusion of confidential and restricted material or internal reports not readily accessible to readers should be avoided wherever possible, as should personal communication. Examples of references:

Journals

Garry P and Phiri Z (1950) Cost implications of industrial waste discharges. The Zambian Engineer, Vol. II (4), pp. 326-340.
Ng’andu A N and Simukanga S (2001) Stress analysis of mechanical components in mineral separation process plants at extremely high temperatures. Journal of Process Plants. Samuel and ST Publishing House, Lusaka, pp. 23-30.
Where possible, journal abbreviations should be used. If the abbreviation is not known, the journal title should be given in full.

Books

Rollson E C (1949) Metallurgy for Engineers. Second Edition, pp. 62-82, London, Edward Arnold.

Conference proceedings

Nkhuwa D C W (2000) Management of groundwater resources in Lusaka, Zambia, and expectations for the future, in Sililo, O. T. N. et al (Eds); Groundwater – Past Achievements and Future Challenges. Proc. XXX. Conf. Of the Ass. of Hydrogeol., pp. 993-998, Balkema, Rotterdam.

Reports

Chama, R. D. (1980) Interfacial structures in nickel-based transition joints after long term service. Report RD/M/N1131, Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation, Lusaka.

Tables and Figures

Tables

Tables should be kept to a minimum and be designed to be as simple as possible. Tables are to be typed double-spaced throughout, including headings and footnotes. Each table should be on a separate page, numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and supplied with a heading and a legend. Tables should be self-explanatory without reference to the text. The details of the methods used in the experiments should preferably be described in the legend instead of in the text. The same data should not be presented in both table and graph form or repeated in the text. Tables should be prepared in Microsoft Word.

Figures

Figures and Graphics should be prepared using applications capable of generating high resolution GIF, TIFF, JPEG or Power point before pasting in the Microsoft Word manuscript file. Use Arabic numerals to designate figures and upper case letters for their parts (Figure 1).

Figure Legends

Figure legends should be typed immediately below each respective figure. Begin each legend with a title and include sufficient description so that the figure is understandable without reading the text of the manuscript.

Short Communications

Short Communications are limited to a maximum of two figures and one table. They should present a complete study that is more limited in scope than is found in full-length papers. The items of manuscript preparation listed above apply to Short Communications with the following differences: (1) Abstracts are limited to 100 words; (2) instead of a separate Materials and Methods section, experimental procedures may be incorporated dinto Figure Legends and Table footnotes; (3) Results and Discussion should be combined into a single section.

Proofs and Reprints

Electronic proofs may be sent (e-mail attachment) to the corresponding author as a PDF file. Page proofs are considered to be the final version of the manuscript. With the exception of typographical or minor clerical errors, no changes will be made in the manuscript at the proof stage.