A comprehensive guide to structuring, formatting, and submitting a manuscript that meets the standards of international peer-reviewed journals.
A comprehensive guide to structuring, formatting, and submitting a manuscript that meets the standards of international peer-reviewed journals.
The difference between a manuscript that moves smoothly through editorial screening and one that is returned before review often has nothing to do with the quality of the underlying research. It comes down to preparation. Journals receive far more submissions than they can publish, and editors routinely desk-reject manuscripts that fail to comply with basic formatting requirements, lack essential declarations, or are poorly structured — regardless of the science behind them.
This guide is designed to help authors — whether submitting to Research and Science Today for the first time or preparing a manuscript for any international peer-reviewed journal — avoid the most common preparation errors and present their work in the strongest possible form.
Before You Write: Choosing the Right Journal
The single most consequential decision an author makes before writing is selecting the target journal. A manuscript rejected for being out of scope wastes time for everyone involved — the authors, the editors, and the reviewers who might otherwise have evaluated a suitable submission. Before you begin writing, read the journal’s aims and scope statement carefully. Review recently published articles to understand the types of research the journal favors, the typical article length, and the level of methodological detail expected.
Research and Science Today is a multidisciplinary journal that welcomes submissions across the natural sciences, medical and health sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, environmental studies, data science and AI, business and economics, and physical education. We are particularly interested in interdisciplinary research that addresses global challenges or offers innovative solutions. If your work falls within these domains and presents original findings or analysis, it is likely within our scope.
Manuscript Structure
While specific requirements vary between journals and article types, the vast majority of research articles follow the IMRAD structure — Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion — supplemented by an abstract, acknowledgements, declarations, and references. Each section serves a distinct purpose, and understanding that purpose will improve both your writing and your chances of acceptance.
Title
Your title is the first — and often the only — thing a potential reader will see. It should be concise, specific, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript. Avoid abbreviations, jargon, and rhetorical questions. A descriptive, declarative title improves discoverability in indexing databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. As a general rule, titles should not exceed 20 words.
Abstract
The abstract is a self-contained summary of your work. It should state the research problem, describe the methodology, present the key findings, and articulate the main conclusions — all within the word limit specified by the journal (typically 150–300 words). A well-crafted abstract enables editors, reviewers, and readers to quickly assess whether the full manuscript is relevant to them. Do not include references, abbreviations without definitions, or results not discussed in the manuscript.
Keywords
Keywords are used by indexing services and search engines to categorize and retrieve your article. Choose four to six terms that are specific to your research topic. Avoid repeating words already in your title. Use established terminology from your field — if a controlled vocabulary exists (such as MeSH terms in biomedical research), use it.
Introduction
The introduction should establish the context for your research, identify the gap in existing knowledge that your study addresses, and clearly state your research question or hypothesis. It should move from broad context to specific focus, ending with a clear statement of what this study aims to achieve. Cite relevant prior work, but be selective — the introduction is not a comprehensive literature review.
Methods
The methods section must describe your research design, data collection procedures, analytical techniques, and any tools or instruments used — in sufficient detail to allow replication. For quantitative studies, specify sample sizes, statistical tests, and significance thresholds. For qualitative studies, describe your sampling strategy, data collection methods, and analytical framework. If your study involves human participants, state the ethics approval obtained. If AI tools were used in any part of the research, disclose them here.
Results
Present your findings clearly and objectively, without interpretation. Use tables and figures to organize complex data, and reference them in the text. Every table and figure should have a descriptive caption and should be interpretable without reference to the main text. Do not duplicate data across tables, figures, and text. Report exact values — including confidence intervals or effect sizes — rather than simply stating whether results were statistically significant.
Discussion
The discussion is where you interpret your results in the context of existing knowledge. Address whether your findings support or contradict your hypothesis, explain unexpected results, acknowledge limitations, and suggest directions for future research. Do not simply restate the results. The strongest discussions are those that connect findings to broader implications — particularly important in a multidisciplinary journal where readers from adjacent fields need context to understand your contribution.
Conclusions
Provide a brief, focused summary of your main findings and their significance. Avoid introducing new information. The conclusions should answer the question posed in the introduction and convey the practical or theoretical implications of your work.
References
Follow the journal’s specified citation style exactly. Every reference cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and vice versa. Verify that all references are accurate — incorrect DOIs, wrong publication years, or misspelled author names are among the most common and easily avoidable errors. Do not pad your reference list with tangentially related sources; cite only works that are directly relevant to your argument.
Formatting and Submission Checklist
- File format. Submit your manuscript as a Word document (.docx) unless otherwise specified.
- Line numbering. Include continuous line numbers throughout the manuscript to facilitate reviewer comments.
- Figures and tables. Submit figures as separate high-resolution files. Ensure all figures and tables are cited in the text in sequential order.
- Anonymization. If the journal uses double-anonymous review, remove all identifying information from the manuscript body. Include author details on a separate title page.
- Cover letter. Address the editor, briefly describe your study’s significance, confirm that the work is original and not under consideration elsewhere, and declare any conflicts of interest.
- Declarations. Include statements on funding sources, author contributions, conflicts of interest, ethics approval, informed consent, and data availability, as required by the journal.
- AI disclosure. If generative AI tools were used in any aspect of research or manuscript preparation, declare this in the Methods or Acknowledgements section.
Common Reasons for Desk Rejection
Understanding why manuscripts are rejected before review can help you avoid the same fate. Editors at international journals consistently report the following as leading causes of desk rejection: the manuscript falls outside the journal’s scope; the manuscript does not comply with formatting requirements; the abstract or methods section is insufficiently detailed; essential declarations (ethics approval, conflict of interest, data availability) are missing; the English language quality is too poor for meaningful review; the manuscript shows evidence of plagiarism or substantial overlap with previously published work.
Every one of these issues is preventable through careful preparation.
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Research and Science Today encourages all authors to review our detailed Instructions for Authors before submission.