Instructions for Authors
Guidelines S.A.P.I.EN.S v2.0
© S.A.P.I.EN.S 2008
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Contents
With 2.5 million scientific articles per annum, neither information nor access to information is a limiting factor so much as critical analysis of scientific content. By providing readers with clear access to relevant advances of disciplines other than their own, S.A.P.I.EN.S wishes to promote interdisciplinary dialogue and encourage thinking at a higher cognitive level.
S.A.P.I.EN.S publishes critical state of the art (Surveys, Analyses, Introductions, Disambiguations) and evidenced-based opinions (Perspectives, Views, Book Reviews). (See our What we published section).
Given the breadth of our readership, a particular attention should be devoted to present concepts, methods and their limits by featuring:
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What is known
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What is not
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Methodological framework
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Uncertainties
Please Note that S.A.P.I.EN.S does not publish original research articles.
Prospective authors should send a short synopsis to the managing editor
General Guidelines
S.A.P.I.EN.S articles substantially differ from standard research articles. Authors are encouraged to browse S.A.P.I.EN.S published articles to prepare their manuscript, and to get feedback from colleagues working in a distant field of research prior to submission.
Manuscripts must be written in clear and concise English and be intelligible to a broad readership. Jargon should be avoided as much as possible and authors are encouraged to propose schemes and figures to convey their views.
To create an environment conducive to interdisciplinary dialogue, technical development specific to a particular field such as equation, software description and alike should be avoided as much as possible.
Articles should strive to represent fairly all significant views that have been published by reliable sources. Hypotheses, research designs, data, uncertainties and interpretations should be clearly stated and separated from each other. We encourage authors to discuss biases, study limitations and potential confounding factors.
Manuscript composition
The pages of a manuscript should be placed in the following order: title page, abstract, table of contents, text, acknowledgements, references and annexes. All pages should be numbered consecutively. Tables and figures with their respective title and legends should appear in the text at the appropriate location. Please make sure that style diversity is kept minimal and properly labelled: (“Title1”, “Title2”, “Title3” for headings, “Normal” for paragraphs). A tutorial on how to use styles in Word is available here.
Title page
The first page should bear:
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The title: Short, informative and without abbreviations, the title should convey the conceptual significance of the paper to a broad readership.
The initial(s) and name(s) of the author(s).
The full institutional addresses of all authors.
The address and e-mail for correspondence.
A list of appropriate key words
A running title of no more than 50 characters including spaces.
For anonymous review, the title page should be duplicated without names and affiliations and the rest of the manuscript should be duly stripped of any information that could reveal the identity of the authors.
Abstract
The abstract (150-300 words) should be intelligible to the general reader without reference to the text. After a brief introduction of the topic, the summary presents the key points of the article and the potential interest for other disciplines when possible. Reference citations and non-standard abbreviations should not be included in this section.
Table of contents
The headings of all sections are numbered and the table of contents present the headings and subheadings in the body of the manuscript up to three levels of sectioning, (e.g. 1.2.2.). Table of contents should be generated directly in Microsoft Word and not edited manually: Please make sure that headings are properly labelled in the text: (“Title1”, “Title2”, “Title3” for subheadings, “Normal” for paragraphs) and use the “Insert a Table of Content” function.
Figures
Preparing figures and tables properly limit unpleasant surprises and speed up the publication process considerably. Tables and Figures that do not follow the guidelines will need to be revised by the author.
Format
Figures must be designed with great care and presented in the best possible quality.They should not take up excessive space, but must nonetheless remain clear and uncluttered. Each illustration should have a title that describes the figure without citing specific panels and a legend that present the different panels (labelled A, B, C…). All symbols and abbreviations used in the figure must be defined, unless they are common abbreviations or have already been defined in the text. Figure legends should be included in the text file and not in the figure files. Scale bars are preferred to magnification factors and the length of the bar should be defined in the legend. The source of each illustration should be provided in the figure legend.
Submission
New submissions and revisions should be uploaded or sent as one file (preferably pdf format) containing the complete text, tables, and figures. Figures are labelled in consecutive numerals (Figure 1, Figure 2…) and should be included as a JPG image in the text file (WORD or PDF).
Publication
Upon acceptance of the manuscript, all figures should be sent as separate files with a resolution of at least 300 dpi with a larger of 17.8 cm or 7.7 inches. We accept PDF, JPG, TIFF and EPS formats. Colour files should be in RGB or CMYK. Composite figures containing multiple panels must be collected into one file before submission. Photographs and images must be provided with a resolution of at least 300 dpi and near to the desired size of the printed version to generate the PDF.
Please do not:
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Supply embedded graphics in your word processor (spreadsheet, presentation) document;
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Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low;
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Supply files that are too low in resolution;
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Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.
Checklist
Before you send us your artwork, make sure you can answer 'yes' to the following:
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My files are in the correct format - TIFF, EPS, JPEG or PDF.
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My colour images are provided in RGB or CMYK.
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The physical dimensions of the illustration match the dimensions of the journal to which I am submitting.
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The lettering used in the illustration does not vary too much in size.
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I have used the recommended naming conventions.
Copyrights
Upon acceptance of their work, authors should state that they have the appropriate rights to use all of the material in their publication.
Tables
To create a table, please use the Microsoft Word table function and do not place an Excel table in a Word document. Tables should be self-explanatory and include a brief descriptive title. Horizontal lines should normally only appear above and below the table, and as a separator between the head and the main body of the table. Vertical lines must be avoided.
E.G. Table 1: Synopsis of the various intergenerational theories of justice
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Savings |
Dissavings |
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Indirect reciprocity |
Authorised |
Prohibited |
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Utilitarianism |
Mandatory |
Prohibited |
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Lockean proviso |
Authorised |
Prohibited, unless… |
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Rawlsian Egalitarianism |
Phase 1: Mandatory |
Prohibited |
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Egalitarianism revisited |
Phase 1: Mandatory |
Phase 1: Prohibited |
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Brundtland's Sufficientarism |
Authorised, unless… |
Authorised, unless… |
Methodology
1.4.1 Descriptions of methodology is encouraged, all the more so in technical disciplines. However, when applicable, this section should reach the right level of detail so that non-specialist readers can safely get a sense of how conclusion are drawn without risking drowning by numbers. A typical methodology section should provide answers to: What is measured? How? With what precision? In accordance to which model(s)?
Verbosity
Please eliminate verbiage; examples (verbiage italicized) with improved versions:
'Numerous studies in recent years, such as those by Smith (1994) and Wesson and colleagues (2001), have shown that the concept of intentional injury perpetuates an oversimplified view of both injurer and injured.
The concept of intentional injury perpetuates an oversimplified view of both injurer and injured (Smith 1994, Wesson et al, 2001)'.Example 2: 'This frequence of tomatic stimulation was chosen because past studies have shown this to slightly enhance the response of the yelling Prima Dona (Cantatrix Baldus) (Chou & Lai, 1927, Perec, 1984).
'This frequence of tomatic stimulation slightly enhances the response of the yelling Prima Dona (Cantatrix Baldus) (Chou & Lai, 1927, Perec, 1984).
References
Articles and Books
Works published or accepted for publication are listed alphabetically at the end of the paper under the first author's name. Works "submitted to" or "in preparation" or "in review" must be referred to as "Private communication" in the text.
Please use the following style for references:
Articles
Sinon E., Evero I & A. Ben Trovato (1948). 45-years tomato throwing on amateur Singers. New Records Ass. J. 27(1): 37-38.
La Couche S. et al. (1998). The case for data-less marine resource management: examples from tropical nearshore alpine swift nurseries. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 13(6): 243-246.
Dendritt A. & B. Haxon (2009). "Synaptic contacts: From the Lily Pons to the Helles Pont". Brain Res. (in press).
Book sections
Dewey J. (1927). The Public and its Problems. in: The Collected Works of John Dewey: The Later Works, 1925 1953, Vol. 2, edited by: Boydston, J. A., Carbondale, Southern Illinois, 1984.
Books
Gasper D. (2004). Ethics of development or development of the ticks?, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.
Note: "et al." should only be used after 4 authors.
Websites
To ensure that cited material will remain available to readers in the future, we recommend webpages to be permanently archived using WebCite.
Ex: http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Why_stable_versions
Please see http://www.webcitation.org/5JYNWhHaZ
Highlighting references
Up to ten key papers can be highlighted from the references. These should appear in red or in bold and their importance should be introduced by a short comment.
Glossary
To avoid ambiguity and insure an interdisciplinary understanding, a precise and duly referenced definition may be given for concepts central to the paper. The glossary may be fleshed out upon reviewers and editors request. e.g: Quality of Life: the extent to which objective human needs are fulfilled in relation to personal or group perceptions of subjective well-being (Costanza et al, 08).
Annexes
Annexes should be labelled with capital letters: Annex A, Annex B etc…
Footnotes
Footnotes should be numbered consecutively. Footnotes to tables should be marked by lowercase letters.
Legal issues
Authorship
The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all appropriate contributors are listed as authors and that all authors have agreed to the manuscript’s content and its submission to S.A.P.I.EN.S
Conflict of Interest
S.A.P.I.EN.S requires all authors to disclose any financial conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. Authors must declare any such conflict in the cover letter accompanying the manuscript and in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript itself. As a guideline, any affiliation associated with a payment or financial benefit exceeding $10,000 p.a. or 5% ownership of a company or research funding by a company with related interests would constitute a conflict that must be declared. This policy applies to all submitted research manuscripts and review material.
Examples of statement language include:
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This work was supported in part by a grant from COMPANY.
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AUTHOR is an employee and shareholder of COMPANY;
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AUTHOR is a founder of COMPANY and a member of its scientific advisory board;
Copyrights
S.A.P.I.EN.S articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Users are free to read, download, copy, distribute and adapt S.A.P.I.EN.S articles as long as authors retain control over the integrity of their work and are properly acknowledged and cited.