GUIDE TO AUTHORS
The Philippine Journal of Science (Philipp J Sci or PJS) is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary journal in English that publishes reports of original, novel, and significant research results in the natural and applied sciences, engineering and technology, mathematics, and the social sciences. Reports may be in the form of a Regular Article or a Research Note. The Journal also publishes invited reviews and viewpoints on timely subjects. This guide must be followed carefully in submitting a manuscript. Authors are also advised to consult a recent issue of PJS for the current format and style at https://philjournalsci.dost.gov.ph
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published before and are currently submitted elsewhere. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from the original publisher to reproduce or modify tables and figures from previous publications. The Journal has no page charges for accepted manuscripts. At most 10 copies of reprints and an electronic copy are given free to the corresponding author. The authors will be asked to sign a Copyright Transfer form when the manuscript is accepted for publication.
In principle, Reviews, Viewpoints, and Perspectives are written and submitted on the invitation of a member of the Editorial Board, although the Editors would also welcome suggestions. Unsolicited proposals for review articles (approximately 500–1000 words) should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief for evaluation and approval to proceed.
All submitted papers are subject to a refereeing process. Due to page limitations, the inclusion of accepted articles in a journal issue strictly follows the time-order of acceptance except in rare cases when an accepted manuscript is deemed deserving of rapid publication.
Additional information about the Journal may be obtained in the yearly journal status reports.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS
Submissions are sent via email to:
The Editor-in-Chief
Philippine Journal of Science
Science and Technology Information Institute (STII)
DOST Compound, Bicutan, Taguig City 1631 Philippines
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
All submissions shall include the following as attachments:
(a) Cover letter (in .pdf format) from the corresponding author explaining why their manuscript satisfies the Journal publication criteria of originality, merit, scientific novelty, and significance; the letter must contain the email addresses of all contributing authors. It must declare that the manuscript and portions of it have never appeared and is currently not under consideration in other journals elsewhere in the world.
(b) Full manuscript (in .doc and .pdf format; downloadable here) with figures and tables.
(c) List of five (5) possible reviewers (in .pdf format) with complete contact information (full name with the title, affiliation, telephone number, and email address); note that the reviewers must not come from the institution where the author/s is/are currently affiliated. The reviewers must have working expertise and have published papers related to the manuscript submission.
(d) An accomplished authorship sheet (in .pdf format; downloadable here) stating the specific contribution of each author in the conception, design, analysis, writing, or revision of the manuscript.
Incomplete submissions will not be reviewed.
For studies involving animal and/or human subjects, authors must obtain prior official approval from the Animal Care and Use Committee (ACUC) or equivalent ethics committee(s) of the institution where the corresponding author is affiliated. The name of the ACUC or equivalent ethics committee, as well as complete permit numbers, must be provided as a prerequisite for peer review.
Papers dealing with biodiversity involving the collection of biological specimens and their byproducts and derivatives will be reviewed if the authors have been granted a gratuitous permit pursuant to Republic Act No. 9147 (Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act) or any relevant or equivalent permit, if outside the Philippines.
The PJS and its publisher—the DOST—are duty-bound to respect the provisions of Republic Act Nos. 10631, 9147, and 10532, as well as to comply with their respective implementing rules and regulations. The PJS Editorial Office has, therefore, required the submission of a certified copy of the official IACUC approval, the Gratuitous Permit, or the Ethics Review Committee Clearance for manuscripts that report results of research investigations that are affected by any of the three laws. Timely submission will prevent any unnecessary delay in the completion of the peer evaluation process.
Detailed information on these requirements can be found in the editorial of the August 2022 Issue.
Type the manuscript on one side of the page double-spaced throughout the title page, abstract, text, references, tables, figure legends, etc. Lettering in Arial and 12-point font is preferable. Number all pages consecutively on the top-right corner, including those carrying tables, figure legends, and figures. Leave at least a 2.5-cm margin on all sides.
Each page must have line numbers. Do not use footnotes in the text. Ancillary information should appear in the text set off in parenthesis. Equations and formulas set off from the text should be typed in quadruple spacing and should be numbered. All measurements should be given in metric units. Observe clarity and conciseness in writing. Spelling should be according to the Webster Unabridged Dictionary. Limit the number of pages for the research manuscript to 30 pages (including the references).
The following abbreviations are used: h, min, s, yr, mo, wk, km, m, cm, mm, kg, g, mg, mL, etc. without periods. Abbreviate units of measure when used only with numerals. Use L for liter and % instead of percent. Designate temperature as 27 °C. For names of months, use three letters without the period as “Jan, Mar, Apr, Jul,” etc. Symbols, abbreviations, and acronyms should be defined when they are used first. Numbers: write out one to nine unless a measurement (e.g. two species, 3 cm, 4 yr). Day, month, and year are written as “25 Dec 1998.”
Research articles generally present novel, interesting results in response to definite research questions. Minus the appendices section, a research article should have its content limited to thirty (30) pages for the manuscript and fifteen (15) pages for the printed version. Longer articles, with sufficient justification from the authors, require due approval from the Editor-in-Chief.
Research letters/notes are generally shorter than research articles. A research letter/note should have its total number of pages limited to four (4), the total number of words to 800, figures and tables combined to four (4), and reference entries to ten (10).
The title page (page 1) includes the title, running head, name of each author, addresses, and keywords. The title should not exceed 250 characters, without active verbs, abbreviations, and punctuation marks. Avoid waste words such as “Studies on,” “Investigations on,” and “Observations on.” They are useless for indexing purposes. Main title-subtitle arrangement with a Roman numeral, hanging title using a colon, and “question” titles are not acceptable. The running head should have no more than 50 characters and spaces. It is an abridged title suitable at the top of the printed page. Write the full name of each author. Give the full postal address, phone number, and email address of the corresponding author to whom inquiries regarding the paper should be directed. On the bottom of the page, list up to six keywords that reflect the content of the paper arranged alphabetically.
The abstract should occupy page 2 of the manuscript and be written in one paragraph not to exceed 300 words. It should summarize the background and scope of the work, the principal results, and note the implications of these results or main conclusions. References and acronyms should be avoided. Since the abstract will be published separately by indexing services, it should concisely capture the basic content of the paper and be understandable without the text.
The text starts on page 3. It includes the introduction, materials and methods used, results and discussion, and conclusion. They may be written as headings of separate sections or as an integrated text with appropriate headings suitable to the discipline. Headings and subheadings should be aligned to the left of the page and set in boldface and italics.
The introduction should describe the paper’s background and provide the rationale for the present study. Cite only those references that will provide the most relevant background rather than an exhaustive review of the topic.
Methods should be described concisely and clearly to allow experiments to be repeated. For commonly used methods, a simple reference is sufficient. Avoid references that are not readily accessible.
In results, present data in only one of the following: text, table, or figure. Results should preferably have no more than five illustrations (tables and/or figures). Do not use tables or figures to present data that can be more concisely stated in the text. Mathematical equations and relations should be numbered in the following manner:
E = mc2 (1)
Chemical structures should be numbered in the following manner:
(1)
The discussion should interpret results in relation to previously published work. Do not repeat results or reiterate the introduction. The discussion should incorporate the summary of conclusions.
Literature citations should be selective, not to exceed 30 references for a research paper. Avoid citing gray literature or references not accessible through indexes or obtainable via regular library channels. Cite references in the text as follows: single author, White (1998) or (White 1998); two authors, White and Gray (1998) or (White and Gray 1998); more than two authors, Green and co-authors/colleagues/co-workers (1998) or (Green et al. 1998). Cite multiple references in chronological order (e.g., White and Gray 1990; Green 1992; Brown 1994, 1996). Do not cite unpublished work. Note that most of the abstract, methods, and results will be in the past tense, whereas most of the introduction, some of the discussion, and all conclusions will be in the present tense.
Acknowledgments should be brief and are placed under a separate heading immediately before References. Acknowledge any financial support for the work being published and personnel assistance.
Each Appendix sub-section must be labeled with Roman numerals (i.e. Appendix I, Appendix II, etc.). Tables must be sequentially listed before figures (i.e. Table 1, Table 2, ..., Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). After the Acknowledgment section, a Note on Appendices section may be included stating the following: "The complete appendices section of the study is accessible at https://philjournsci.dost.gov.ph"
References. Only published papers are included in the reference list. References should be listed in alphabetical order in the following form:
Journal Articles
MATTHEWS RE. 1982. Classification and nomenclature of viruses. Intervirology 17(1): 1–199.
MOJICA ERE. 2007. Copper oxide as mediator for the amperometric determination of hydrogen peroxide. Philipp J Sci 136(1): 25–32.
Book
DAY RA. 1995. How to write and publish a scientific paper, 4th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 223p.
Portion of Book
HIRANO S. 1996. Chitin biotechnology applications. In: Biotechnology Annual Review Vol. 2. El-Grevery MR ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier. p. 237–258.
Theses and Dissertation
ALOSTA H. 2002. Effects of linoleic, oleic and stearic acids on the anaerobic fermentation of glucose. [MS thesis]. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Oklahoma State University. 212p. (Available at the OSU Library)
Paper from Proceedings
PANTASTICO EB, MENDOZA DB. 1988. Climatic constraints to rice production in the Philippines. In: Cardenas A. editor. Climate and Rice Production. Proceedings of a Symposium on the Agrometeorology of the Rice Crop at the 27th meeting of the World Meteorological Organization; 1987 April 8-14; Los Banos, Laguna, Philippines: International Rice Research Institute. p. 107–119.
Organization as Author
[AOAC] Association of Official Analytical Chemists. 1984. Official Methods of Analysis, 14th ed. Washington, DC: Association of Official Analytical Chemists, Inc. 1042p.
Patent
PAULETTE T. 1998. Pigments manufactured from minerals. Can Patent 2, 186, 964.
Electronic References. To direct to the whole website: https://www.usda.org. For a web document: Retrieved from https://www.usda.org on 16 June 2002 (date of retrieval)
Personal communication should appear only in text parenthetically with the names of persons who supplied the information. They should not be listed in the References section.
Authors are urged to check references with special care that all references in the text appear at the end of the paper and vice versa, and that the names and dates are consistent as no editorial responsibility can be taken for their accuracy.
Type each table on a separate sheet. Never use vertical lines to separate columns. Prepare tables so that compared data are read down, not across. Columns that show no significant variations should be omitted. Do not use tables for word lists. Titles should be clear, and column headings should be brief with units of measurements in parenthesis. Symbols and abbreviations should be defined below the table. Indicate table footnotes with a, b, c, etc. Do not present the same data in both graphical and tabular form. Tables should be self-explanatory or understandable without reference to the text.
Each figure should have a legend or caption typed on a separate sheet and should be self-explanatory. Figure legends should be in lowercase print type, except for the first letter of the first word. Abbreviations and symbols on figures should be defined in the legend. Figures include line drawings, photographs, and computer plots. They should be clear. Magnification of figures if needed should be given by scale. The size should not exceed a full manuscript page. Glossy prints of photographs should be sent mounted on regular bond paper, with lettering about 3 mm high. Write lightly with a soft pencil on the back or margin of figures, or use the self-adhesive label, indicating the figure number and name of the lead author. For guidance in the preparation of figures and manuscripts in general, authors are urged to refer to a good style manual, such as Robert Day’s How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 4th ed. (1994) or The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th ed. (1993).
PEER-REVIEW POLICY
Under a single-blind peer-review system, PJS invites two to three experts to evaluate—without exception—each submitted manuscript for scientific merit, originality, novelty, coherence, and clarity. The name and affiliation of the author will be made known to the referees, the identities of which shall not be fastidiously disclosed.
The author shall be given an opportunity to revise the manuscript in accordance with the evaluation of the referees. The Editor-in-Chief will ultimately decide on its acceptability for publication based on the final recommendations of the referees and, where necessary, the members of the Editorial Board.
The review process will be closed immediately if none of the referees are recommending either the acceptance or further revision of the manuscript. This is to provide the authors with an opportunity to decide whether to have the manuscript resubmitted for another round of evaluation or even submitted to another journal.
The names and affiliations of the referees that substantially contributed to the evaluation of accepted articles will appear indeterminately in the final issue of each volume per publication year.
By submitting the manuscript, the author tacitly agrees to abide by this policy and recognizes its consistency with the best practices of internationally authoritative organizations—in particular, the Committee on Publication Ethics (https://publicationethics.org).
To follow up on the status of a manuscript, correspondence should be directed to the Managing Editor at telefax (632) 837-7520 or email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
