Guidelines for authors
We hope that our guidelines provided for authors will help them prepare papers of substantial scientific value. The reference style that we adopted is universal. We strive to ensure that the publishing process meets international standards so that submitters who send us their paper proposals are aware of every step of the publishing process – from abstract selection, through double-blind review, to editorial notes and final corrections.
We encourage all prospective authors to familiarise themselves with the guidelines for authors before embarking on writing their abstracts and research papers – download from the Resources section.
Abstract
How to write a good abstract? To ensure that your abstract gets through the first stage of the selection process, try to adhere to all the editorial conditions. You may find the following tips useful when putting together your abstract:
– Describe the subject and aim of your research.
– Specify what methodology you followed.
– Report on the results.
– Draw conclusions.
If your abstract is correctly structured and well-written, and providing that the research methodology is clear, it should most certainly get through our preliminary selection.
How to prepare an outstanding abstract? Beside the correct format our Scientific Council will look for creativity and innovation. These qualities can be reflected in innovative methods you have adapted or interesting data that you have gathered. Therefore do make an effort to point out what is original and new about the way you approached your subject. Importantly, do not underestimate the significance of the summary of results and conclusions which are a vital part for every abstract. Do not be discouraged if the results are unexpected and do not prove your primary thesis. In the end, an interesting experiment is always worth sharing with others.
On the other hand, imagine that you are in charge of choosing an abstract for publication and you have a great number of them to look through. Apart from technical correctness, what would draw your attention? Surely a catchy title, although you should ensure that it truly reflects the subject matter of your paper without unnecessary additions, which could be distractive. A reader going through the table of ICAR’s contents should be able to swiftly grasp the idea of what the paper is about. The Scientific Council’s members will have to judge whether the abstract has potential to become a good research paper. Remember that it is the only “sample” they have got!
Paper (main text)
Writing research papers is an art in itself and it is up to you to decide how to spread your wings It all depends on the kind of paper you decide to write. Essays, for example are more freely-composed than scientific articles. The latter are often structured as follows:
– Introduction
– Methodology – e.g. what equipment you used, how did you prepare your samples and what were their exact properties
– Experimental part – a detailed description of every stage of the experiment
– Results and discussion – report on the results and how they fit into a wider context
– Conclusions
Summary
Before you finalise your abstract read other successful abstracts of papers published in various journals. Many of them publish their own tips for authors online. Check out the tips available online – the Internet is full of them. Show it to your colleagues and ask them to share their thoughts on it – we are still learning after all.