• Figures

Figure captions containing the title and description of the figure should be prepared in separate files. If a figure is separated into several parts, use lettering e.g. Figure 1(a), Figure 1(b).

When preparing illustrations authors must ensure that: (1) the colours chosen will reproduce well even when printed in black & white and (2) descriptions of figures in text and captions are sufficiently clear. This is the author’s responsibility.

• Graphs

Graphs should be self-explanatory, their purpose evident without reference to the text. Indicate clearly what is being plotted, in both horizontal and vertical directions. Include appropriate units. Orient letters and numbers so that they may be easily read from the bottom or the right-hand side of the graph. Relevant non-graphic material, such as the key to the symbolism in the graph, may be included within the confines of the graph frame if it will fit without crowding; otherwise, put the explanatory material in the caption.

Submitting your illustrations, pictures, tables, audio, video, and other multimedia or other material in an electronic format helps us produce your work to the best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of detail. This process will also ensure that your article can be easily retrieved from the online indexing databases.

Graphic Files

• Please submit each illustration/figure in a separate file (in its original format).
• All files must be cross-platform compatible.
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Provide captions to illustrations separately.
• Please note that we only accept TIFF and EPS formats. (JPEG is only allowed if a TIFF file is not available and highly restricted to a minimum of 500 dpi.)

• Equations explicitly referred in the text need to be sequentially numbered (on the right-hand side of the equation and in parentheses).
• Long equations should be broken apart and continued for several lines for ease of understanding.
• Use the word “equation” in text and label each equation by numbers (e.g. (1),(2) and etc.).
• Greek letters and other non-Latin or handwritten symbols should be explained in the margin where they are first used. Take special care to clearly show the difference between zero (0) and the letter O, and between one (1) and the letter l.
• Subscripts and superscripts should be clearly indicated.
• Symbols should be explained immediately after the equation in which they are first used. Avoid unusual characters or symbols.
• Set variables in italic.
• For simple fractions use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal.
• Use commas between tens, hundreds and thousands (e.g. 1,000, 10,000, 100,000).
• The use of fractional powers instead of root signs is recommended. Also, powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp.

The use of nomenclature and symbols adopted by IUPAC is recommended (Quantities, Units and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1988).

All measurements should be in accordance with the International System of Units (SI).

Example,

When referring to a unit without the numerical value in the text, use full word instead of abbreviation.

Example,

When providing listing, the order should be (1), (2), (3) followed by (a), (b), (c), and then (i), (ii), (iii).

For run-in-list, please use the following example:

White light consists of three colours: (1) red, (2) green, and (3) blue.

Provide short, descriptive headings for each section. Section and subsection should be numbered (to be used in internal reference) as follows:

Text .........................................................................................
Left-aligned, first-line indentation from paragraph 2 onwards

All references made to publications in the text should be presented in a list of reference following the text of the manuscript. References in the list must be numbered in the order in which they were cited. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the information given in the text is exactly the same as that given in the reference list. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references. References in text (the corresponding number should be superscripted and appear after punctuation):

… referring to Nadal.^1,2 OR

…as explained by Matthews et. al.^3–6

References to the literature should be made according to the system described below in the list of references at the end of the article. Examples: -

Book.

No. Author, A. A., Author, B. & Author, C. C. (year). Title of Book. Place of publishing: Publisher, page numbers.
5. Perry, L. M. (1980). Medicinal plant of East and Southeast Asia. Cambridge: MIT Press.

Articles/ chapters in a book.

No. Author, A., Author, B. & Author, C. (year). Title of article/ chapter. In X. Author & Y. Author (Eds.). Title of Book, nth ed (if applicable). Place of publishing: Publisher, page numbers.
10. Fitch, R. M. & Tsai, C. H. (1971). Polymer colloids. In R. M. Fitch (Ed.). Polymer colloids. New York: Plenum Press, 73.


Journal.

No. Author, A. A., Author, B., Author, C. C., Author, D., & Author, E. E. (year). Title of article. Name of Journal (abbreviated), volume number (issue number), page numbers, DOI URL.
13. Kyung, H. R. & Yinzhe, J. (2006). Recovery of catechin compounds from Korean tea by solvent extraction. Bioresour. Technol., 97(5), 790–793, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2005.04.001.

Forthcoming.

No. Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (forthcoming). Title of article. Name of Journal (abbreviated).
7. Puganesh, S., Azlina, N. M. A. & Normisbah, W. C. (forthcoming). How to prepare a manuscript for submission in a physical science journal. J. Phy. Sci.

Web References.

No. Author, A. A. (year). Title of article. Name of Journal (abbreviated), volume number (issue number), page numbers (if applicable). Retrieved from URL on date month year.
9. Rabbani, S. I., Devi, K. and Khanam, S. (2010). Role of pioglitazone with metformin or glimepiride on oxidative stress-induced nuclear damage and reproductive toxicity in diabetic rats. Malaysian J. Med. Sci., 17(1), 3–11. Retrieved from http://ernd.usm.my/journal/journal/02-171OA1pioglitazone.pdf on 21 March 2010.

No. Author, A. A. (year). Title of article. Name of article, date. Retrieved from URL on date month year.
2. Remington, J. P. & Wood, H. C. (1918). The dispensatory of the United States of America. Retrieved from http://www.henriettesherbal.com on 23 January 2009.


Conferences.

No. Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. (year). Title of paper presented. Paper presented at the Name of proceeding. Venue (province/city, country), date(s), page number(s).
8. Goh, E. G., Wan Nik, W. M. N., Fadhli Ahmad, M. & Amran, A. (2009). The assessment of rheological model reliability in lubricating behaviour of vegetable oils. Paper presented at the National Tribology Conference. Universiti of Malaya, NTC, Kuala Lumpur, 4–5 May 2009, 58–65.

Thesis.

No. Author, A. (year). Title of thesis. Undergraduate/ Masters/ PhD diss., name of university.
6. Abdullah, N. (2005). An assessment of pyrolysis for processing empty fruit bunches. PhD diss., Aston University.

Multiple authors.

List all names for 6 authors, if more than 6 authors, list the first 6 authors followed by “et al.”

No. Author, A. A., Author, B., Author, C. C., Author, D., Author, E. E., Author, F., et al. (year). Title of article. Name of Journal (abbreviated), volume number (issue number), page numbers.
14. Taniguchi, S., Kuroda, K., Doi, K., Inada, K., Yoshikado, N., Yoneda et al. (2007). Evaluation of gambir quality based on quantitative analysis of polyphenolic constituents. Yakugaku Zasshi, 127(8), 1291–
1300.

For further information on preparing and formatting manuscript, please refer to the Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers, 16^th Edition.

Please refer to this list for the final checking of your article before sending it to us.

□ Cover letter
□ A title page, including author(s) name(s), affiliation(s) and acknowledgement (if any).
□ Corresponding Author of the article
□ Name
□ Email address
□ Full postal address
□ Telephone and fax numbers
□ Manuscript title
□ Running title (limit 50 characters)
□ Keywords (up to 5 keywords)
□ All tables (including title and description)
□ References are in the correct format for this journal
□ All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa
□ All necessary files are attached (Figures/Tables) in the CORRECT FORMAT
□ All figure captions
□ The total number of words in the manuscript, including title, abstract, main document, references and appendices

Journal policies

Journal of Minerals and Materials Research and Technology editorial, publishing and peer review policies help us maintain the highest standards for which we are known and respected.

Editorial and publishing policies

Our policies have been carefully developed to ensure that the responsibilities of our authors are well defined and that we publish research that is scientifically robust, original, and of the highest ethical standards.

Review policies

We have rigorous policies to govern every stage and aspect of our peer review process, from initial submission through to revisions, decisions and appeals.

Initial submission

Once submitted, your manuscript will be assigned to a handling editor by the Editor-in-Chief, who will read the paper and decide whether it is appropriate for the journal. Manuscripts that are within scope and seem, on initial assessment, to be technically sound and scientifically valid, will be sent to external reviewers.
Copies of any papers containing similar or related work under consideration or in press at other journals must be included with the submission.

Peer review

Journal of Minerals and Materials Research and Technology practices a single-blind peer review policy. The handling editor may exercise their prerogative to reject a manuscript without peer review if that article is judged to be outside the scope of the Journal, poorly written or formatted or lacking in significance.
As a peer-reviewed international e-journal the evaluation process is often lengthy, therefore allow a conservative estimate of between three to five months before a formal result is announced.

During peer review, reviewers will be able to access your manuscript securely using our online system, whilst maintaining referee anonymity. Authors may also suggest potential reviewers; these suggestions are often helpful, but they are not always followed.
Based on editorial policy, referees are not identified to the authors.

Decision after review

After considering the reviewer reports the handling editor/Editor-in-Chief will make one of the following decisions:

• Accept outright
• Request a minor revision, where authors revise their manuscript to address specific concerns
• Request a major revision, where authors revise their manuscript to address significant concerns and perhaps undertake additional work
• Reject outright

Revisions

In cases where the referees, handling editor, or Editor-in-Chief has requested changes to the manuscript, you will be invited to prepare a revision. The decision letter will specify a deadline for submission of a revised manuscript. Once resubmitted, the manuscript may then be sent back to the original referees or to new referees, at the Editorial Board Member's discretion.

A revised manuscript should be submitted via the revision link provided in the decision letter, and not as a new manuscript. The revision should also be accompanied by:

1. A point-by-point response to referees explaining how the manuscript has been changed
2. A revised manuscript with changes highlighted
3. A clear copy of revised manuscript

Final submission and acceptance

When all editorial issues are resolved, your paper will be formally accepted for publication. After acceptance, galley proof will be sent but only minor non-technical related changes can be made. All corrections will be approved by the handling editor and/or Editor-in-Chief. Journal Of Minerals and Materials Research and Technology reserves the right to make the final decision about matters of style and the size of figures.

Appeals

Even in cases where Journal of Minerals and Materials Research and Technology does not invite resubmission of a manuscript, some authors may ask the handling editor to reconsider a rejection decision. These are considered appeals, which, by policy, must take second place to the normal workload. In practice, this means that decisions on appeals often take several weeks. Only one appeal is permitted for each manuscript, and appeals can only take place after peer review. Final decisions on appeals will be made by the handling editor the paper.

Decisions are reversed on appeal only if the relevant handling editor is convinced that the original decision was a serious mistake. Consideration of an appeal is merited if a referee made substantial errors of fact or showed evidence of bias, but only if a reversal of that referee's opinion would have changed the original decision. Similarly, disputes on factual issues need not be resolved unless they were critical to the outcome.
If an appeal merits further consideration, the handling editor may send the authors' response and the revised paper out for further peer review.

Publication Ethics

Journal of Minerals and Materials Research and Technology adheres to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) standards on publications ethics. Submission of an article implies that:

• The work described has not been published previously except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis.
• That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• That its submission and publication in the journal is known and approved by all Authors.
• The work is the Author’s own and there are no falsifications or fabrication of data, plagiarism including duplicate publication of the authors’ own work without proper citation and misappropriation of.
• Any cases of ethical misconduct are treated very seriously and will be dealt with using the guidelines issued by the COPE. For further details please visit:
  
  Code of Conduct for Journal Editors
  https://publicationethics.org/files/Code%20of%20Conduct.pdf
  
  Core Practices
  https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

Copyright Policy

Upon acceptance of an article, Authors will be asked to transfer copyright. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A letter will be sent to the corresponding Author confirming receipt of the manuscript.

If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the Author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article.

Download Declaration and Copyright Transfer Form
https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.usm.my%2Fjes%2FDECLARATION%2520AND%2520COPYRIGHT%2520TRANSFER%2520FORM.docx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK

Authorship Policy

Corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal and between co-authors. Ensure that all authors are included in the list in an agreed order, and that all authors are aware that the paper was submitted. Any changes to the author list after submission needs to be approved by a letter signed by every author.

Authors retain rights of personal use of the material, such as in derivative works, thesis or dissertation, and educational purposes, provided that full acknowledgement is made to the original publication in the journal.

Authors may upload their accepted manuscript PDF to institutional repositories (including PubMed Central); however, the following clause should be included:

This is a pre-copyediting, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication Journal of Minerals and Materials Research and Technology following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version [insert complete citation information here] is available online at: xxxxxxx [insert URL that the author will receive upon publication here].

Conflict of Interest

Authors are requested to disclose any conflict of interest, either financial or personal, that could affect or influence their work.

Originality

Articles must be originally written by the author. Work/words of others have to be appropriately cited or quoted.

Open Access Policy

All articles are freely available to read, share and download. In accordance with publication ethics and best practices of scholarly publishing, authors and journals must be properly credited.

All articles are accessible via the journal's website and selected indexing databases.

Publication Charges

There are no submission charges or article processing charges (APC).

Language Policy

Manuscript must be written in English.

Publication

Preprints

Manuscripts that have been accepted for publication will be uploaded on the journal’s website. This will occur in advance of the cover date of the published issue. Authors should take this into account when planning their intellectual and patent activities related to a manuscript.

Proof

Galley proof will be sent to corresponding authors via email as a PDF file. It is therefore essential that all submissions contain the e-mail address of the corresponding author. To avoid delays in publication, proof should be checked carefully and immediately for typographical errors and returned within 48 hours.

Offprint

Author can retrieve their published article from the journal’s website.

License

All articles published in Journal of Minerals and Materials Research and Technology are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

You are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.