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It is crucial when writing a research paper to consider your formatting. Although many of our journals have the basic elements of style in common, each journal can have its own guidelines for formatting. This defines how an article will look when it is published online or in print. Find out below how to format a research paper for submission. 

Microsoft Word (DOCX)

File Format

Manuscript files can be in the following formats:

• DOC
• DOCX

Microsoft Word documents should not be locked or protected. 

RTF, PDF and LaTeX manuscripts are not accepted.

Length

Can be  any Manuscripts length?

• There are no restrictions on word count, number of figures, or amount of supporting information.

We encourage you to present and discuss your findings concisely.

Formatting, Fonts and Symbols

When writing symbols, use common, standard fonts where possible. If you are using a template in Microsoft Word, ensure that the font is correctly set for all text, especially when copying and pasting text from a different document. The format painter tool can help.

Avoid using fonts such as symbol, wingdings. Authors should also avoid adding symbols as pictures, as it can lead to difficulties in formatting the final version. If there is a symbol you have difficulty in adding, leave a comment in the text so that the copy-editing team can take note.

Font Family : Times New Roman

Font Size : 12

Headings

Limit manuscript sections and sub-sections to 5 heading levels. Make sure heading levels are clearly indicated in the manuscript text.

If your paper is long you may divide it into sections (for example, "Literature Review," "Research Method and Results," and "Discussion"). In some cases, you may divide one or more of those sections into other sections (for example, you might divide the second section listed above into "Participants," "Interview Protocol," and "Caveats"). Your purpose would be to improve clarity. Divisions might help a reader better follow a discussion that extends for twenty-five written pages. 

Layout and Spacing

Manuscript text should be single-spaced.

Do not format text in multiple columns.(Used Single Columns)

Traditional one-column manuscript are easier to skim through and get the valuable information they are looking for. Therefore, applicants must consider designing a single-column manuscript.

Margins: All margins — top, bottom, left, and right — are set to 1” inch throughout the paper.

Page and Line Numbers

Include page numbers and line numbers in the manuscript file.

Line Number : Use continuous line numbers (do not restart the numbering on each page).

Page Number :  Page numbers should be placed in the right margin one inch from the right side of the paper. The number should appear by itself with no punctuation.

Language

Manuscripts must be submitted in English.

For editors and reviewers to accurately assess the work presented in your manuscript you need to ensure the English language is of sufficient quality to be understood. If you need help with writing in English you should consider:

• Getting a fast, free online grammar check.
• Asking a colleague who is proficient in English to review your manuscript for clarity.
• Visiting the English language tutorial which covers the common mistakes when writing in English.

Reference style

Almost all papers contain a reference list giving details of previous work cited in the manuscript. The purpose of the reference list is to enable others to find works on which the published paper is based.

A citation should be included when what you are writing refers to or is based on previous work. Examples can also be cited. The citation list should contain only references to static content, i.e., something that is not expected to change over time. This includes journal and newspaper articles, patents, and details of specific equipment. Content that does not fulfil these criteria may be listed directly in the main text and might include company websites, or websites to track project development (such as GitHub).

The reference section is highly structured and different types of references are formatted in a specific way. Full details are available from the instructions for authors’ page of the journal you are submitting to, however below are examples of the most common types.

ISRDO uses three reference styles, APA, MLA and Chicago.  Templates are available for most common referencing software.

• Zotero 
• Mendeley