MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
These instructions are written in a form that satisfies all of the formatting requirements for the author manuscript. Please use them as a template in preparing your manuscript. Authors must take special care to follow these instructions concerning margins. The basic instructions are simple:
- Manuscript shall be formatted for an A4 size page.
- The top, left and right margins shall be 30 mm.
- The bottom margin shall be 25 mm.
- The text shall have both the left and right margins justified.
MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING
The manuscript should be organized in the following order: Title of the paper, Authors' names and affiliation, Abstract, Key Words, Introduction, Body of the paper (in sequential headings), Conclusion, Acknowledgements (where applicable), References, and Appendices (where applicable).
A. The Title
The title is centered on the page and is CAPITALIZED AND SET IN BOLDFACE (font size 12 pt). It should adequately describe the content of the paper. An abbreviated title of less than 60 characters (including spaces) should also be suggested.
B. Author’s Name and Affiliation
The author's name(s) follows the title and is also centered on the page (font size 12 pt). A blank line is required between the title and the author's name(s). Last names should be spelled out in full and succeeded by author's initials. The author's affiliation, complete mailing address, and e-mail address (all in font size 12 pt) are provided below. Phone and fax numbers do not appear.
C. Abstract
A nonmathematical abstract, not exceeding 200 words, is required for all papers. It should be an abbreviated, accurate presentation of the contents of the paper. It should contain sufficient information to enable readers to decide whether they should obtain and read the entire paper. Do not cite references in the abstract.
D. Key Words
The author should provide a list of three to five key words that clearly describe the subject matter of the paper.
E. Text Layout
The manuscript must be typed single spacing. Use extra line spacing between equations, illustrations, figures and tables. The body of the text should be prepared using Times New Roman. The font size used for preparation of the manuscript must be 12 points. The first paragraph following a heading should not be indented. The following paragraphs must be indented 10 mm. Note that there is no line spacing between paragraphs unless a subheading is used. Symbols for physical quantities in the text should be written in italics.
F. Section Headings
Section headings should be typed centered on the page and in capital letters only. The type, fonts and style above (Times New Roman 12 point bold) are an example of a section heading. Do not underline section headings. A bold font should be used for section headings. The headings should be numbered.
G. Subheadings
Subheadings should be positioned at the left margin, in a bold-faced font the same size as the main text (Times New Roman 12 point) with single line spacing above and below. The first letter of each word in the subheading should be capitalized.
H. Sub-subheadings
Sub-subheadings should be typed using italic font the same size as that used for the body of the text (Times New Roman 12 point italics). Only the first letter in the subheading should be capitalized. Note that a blank line precedes and follows the subheading.
I. Equations and Mathematical Expressions
Equation numbers should appear in parentheses and be numbered consecutively. All equation numbers must appear on the right-hand side of the equation and should be referred to within the text. Two different types of styles can be used for equations and mathematical expressions. They are:
- In-line style
- Display style.
In-line equations/expressions are embedded in paragraphs of the text. For example, E = mc2 . In-line equations should not be numbered.
Display style
Equations in display format are separated from the paragraphs of text. They should be flushed to the centered of the column. Fractional powers should be used instead of root signs. A slash (/) should be used instead of a horizontal line for fractions, whenever possible; for example, use 2/3 for two-thirds. Refer to equations in the text as " Eq.(1)" or, if at the beginning of a sentence, as " Equation (1)". Vectors should be typed boldface. Do not use arrows, wavy-line underscoring, etc.
J. Figures and Tables
Figures (diagrams and photographs) should be numbered consecutively using arabic numbers. They should be placed in the text soon after the point where they are referenced. Figures should be centered in a column and should have a figure caption placed underneath. Captions should be centered in the column, in the format “Figure 1” and are in upper and lower case letters. When referring to a figure in the body of the text, the abbreviation "Figure" is used Illustrations must be submitted in digital format, with a good resolution. Table captions appear centered above the table in upper and lower case letters. When referring to a table in the text, "Table" with the proper number is used. Captions should be centered in the column, in the format “Table 1” and are in upper and lower case letters. Tables are numbered consecutively and independently of any figures. All figures and tables must be incorporated into the text (in Portrait orientation).
K. Units
The use of SI units is strongly recommended and mixed units are to be avoided.
L. Conclusion
A conclusion section must be included and should indicate clearly the advantages, limitations and possible applications of the paper. Discuss about future work.
M. Acknowledgements
An acknowledgement section may be presented after the conclusion, if desired. Individuals or units other than authors who were of direct help in the work could be acknowledged by a brief statement following the text.
N. References
The APA format 6 edition referencing system is to be used. In the body of the text a paper is to be referred to by the author’s surname with the year of publication in parentheses. References should be listed together at the end of the paper in alphabetical order by author’s surname. List of references indents 10 mm from the second line of each reference. Personal communications and unpublished data are not acceptable references.
Journal Papers
Hamada, K. I., Rahman, M. M. & Aziz, A. R. A. (2012). Characteristics of the time-averaged overall heat transfer in a Direct Injection Hydrogen Fueled Engine. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 38(11), 4816-4830.
Rahman, M. M. & Ariffin, A. K. (2006). Effects of surface finish and treatment on the fatigue behaviour of vibrating cylinder block using frequency response approach. Journal of Zhejiang University of Science A, 7(3), 352-360.
Journal titles should not be abbreviated. Note that journal title is set in italics.
Books
Juvinall, R. C. & Marshek, K. M. (2000). Fundamentals of machine component design. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Stephens, R. I., Fatemi, A., Stephens, R. R. & Fuchs, H. O. (2000). Metal fatigue in engineering. New York: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Note that the title of the book is italicized and sentence case.
Chapters in Books
Barky, M. E. & Zhang, S. (2005). Fatigue spot welds. Fatigue testing and analysis. Lee et al. (Eds.). New York: Butterworth Heinrahmanemann, 285-311.
Note that the title of the book is italicized and sentence case.
Proceedings Papers
Rahman, M. M., Bakar, R. A., Sani, M. S. M. & Noor, M. M. (2008). Investigation into surface treatment on fatigue life for cylinder block of linear engine using frequency response approach. 15th International Congress on Sound and Vibrations, 2119-2127.
Web Pages
Felippa, C. A. (2011). Advanced finite element methods. Retrieved fromhttp://www.colorado.edu/courses.d /AFM.d/Home.html.
Rockwell Automation. Arena. Retrieved from http://www.arenasimulation.com.
IN-TEXT CITATION
Document your manuscript throughout the text by citing the author (or brief title if there is no author) and year of the works you researched. The reader can then locate the complete source in the alphabetical reference list at the end of your work. The in text citation is highlighted in this example:
One author
Rahman (2010) claimed that … or The theory was first put forward in 1960 (Rahman, 2010).
Two authors
Always cite both authors.
Example: Rahman and Noor (2009) found … or The majority found … (Rahman & Noor, 2009).
Multiple authors for 3-5 authors
Cite all authors the first time.
Rahman, Kadirgama, Noor and Rosli (2008) found that … or (Rahman, Kadirgama, Noor & Rosli, 2009).
In subsequent citations include only the surname of the first author followed by et al. (not italicised and with
a full stop after “al”) and the year.
Example: Rahman et al. (2009) or (Rahman et al., 2009).
Multiple authors for 6 or more authors
With six or more authors, cite only the surname of the first author, followed by “et al.”.
Multiple works (when two or more references are cited to make the same point)
List two or more works by different authors who are cited within the same parentheses in alphabetical order by the first author’s surname. Separate the citations with semicolons.
Example: (Rahman, 2010; Rahman & Kadirgama, 2009; Rahman et al., 2011)
Multiple works by the same author
Arrange two or more works by the same author by year of publication. Give author’s surname once; for each subsequent work, give only the date.
Example: University research has indicated that… (Rahman, 2007, 2010).
Proofs
Page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author for final checking. Corrections to the proofs must be restricted to printer’s errors: any other changes to the text, in equations or grammar, may be charged to the author. Proofs should be returned to the editors within three days of receipt to minimize the risk of the author’s contribution having to be held over to a later issue. The editors do not accept responsibility for the correctness of published contents. It is the author’s responsibility to check the content at proof stage.