Instruction for Author
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Journal Description
The Sarawak Museum Journal
Journal Policies
The Sarawak Museum Journal is published by the Sarawak Museum Department. As it is a Government Department in the State of Sarawak, it should be clearly understood that responsibility for facts and opinion rests exclusively with authors of the articles, and their writings do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the Sarawak Museum Department, or that of the State Government of Sarawak. The Sarawak Museum Journal practises a double-blind peer-reviewed system on each manuscript prior to its publication in the journal. All manuscripts considered for publication will be peer-reviewed by independent referees.
The Sarawak Museum Journal (SMJ) is devoted to the advancement of knowledge in the natural and human sciences. It publishes articles pertaining to the whole region in general with emphasis on areas related to Sarawak history and heritage. The SMJ accepts manuscripts from international and local scientists to publish their research findings and to provide a forum for their scholastic discourse.
- One issue is published annually by the Sarawak Museum Department in printed and electronic versions.
- The Sarawak Museum Journal encourages submission of manuscripts dealing with all interdisciplinary topics related to Ethnography, Archaeology, Natural History, History, Conservation and Museology.
- The Sarawak Museum Journal published original research work, either as full length articles or as short communications, review articles and special issues.
Publication Ethics
SMJ is very committed against publication malpractices and encourages the editors, authors, and reviewers to seriously recognise the standard of proper ethical behaviour. This journal follows the guidelines issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on publication ethics to deal with potential acts of ethical misconduct. Manuscript submission to SMJ implies that:
- The manuscript has not been published in other scientific journals and conferences/seminars proceedings except as a part of academic thesis and abstract.
- The manuscript is submitted to this journal after approval from all of its co-authors.
- The manuscript submitted is declared to be the author(s’) original work and there is no plagiarism and fabrication of data and the images.
Indexing
Malaysian Citation Index (MyCite)
Processing and Publication Fee
No Processing and Publication Fee
GUIDE FOR AUTHORS
Submission Checklist
Authors are therefore requested to submit:
- The manuscript in Microsoft Word (.docx / .doc) format and concisely written in English language or in Malay (please provide a Title and an Abstract in English).
- Cover letter: The submission must include a cover letter explaining the novelty of the work and in what way does the manuscript benefit Sarawak or the journal.
- Title page: A separate title page of the manuscript should include:
- Title
- Name of Author(s), Email address(es) and Affiliation(s)
- Acknowledgements
- Author Contribution
- Declaration of Competing Interest
- Running Title
- Please submit via Email to gafellgt@sarawak.gov.my or online submission at https://forms.gle/hump7N4aBqNjxqyU6
ARTICLE TYPE
Original Full Length Research Paper
Authors are therefore requested to submit:
- Abstract (Please provide an abstract of 150-300 words)
- Keywords (Please provide 3-6 keywords related to the manuscript)
- Introduction
- Materials and Methods
- Results
- Discussion
- Conclusion
- References
- Figures and Tables
- Appendices (where applicable)
Short communication
Shorter report on research results follows the similar structure as an original full length research paper.
Review Articles
Review articles encompass manuscripts that review previously published primary research papers. It should give a critical overview of current trends and thoughts. The articles should be ordered accordingly in the following sequence:
- Review articles encompass manuscripts that review previously published primary research papers. It should give a critical overview of current trends and thoughts. The articAbstract (Please provide an abstract of 150-250 words)
- Keywords (Please provide 3-6 keywords related to the manuscript)
- Introduction
- Sub-section
- Conclusion
- References
- Figures and Tables
- Appendices (where applicable)
STYLE AND FORMAT
File Format
The manuscript to be typed using Times New Roman font with double spacing. Manuscript files can be in the following formats: (.docx / .doc ) Microsoft Word documents.
Length
No limit of length. There are no restrictions on word count, number of Figures, Tables and supporting information. However, the authors are encouraged to present and discuss the findings concisely.
Font Sizes
Headings
Please use NO more than three levels of displayed headings. Follow this guide to show the level of the section headings in your article:
- First-level headings: Bold, All uppercase letters (e.g. INTRODUCTION, MATERIALS AND METHODS)
- Second-level headings: Bold, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns. Bold, with upper and lowercase letters (e.g Study Area, Morphological Studies of Brachyuran Crab)
- Third-level headings: Italics, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns. Italics, with upper and lowercase letters (e.g Animal-Relationship with Environmental Parameters)
Spacing
Page and line numbers
Abbreviations
Figures
Footnotes
Nomenclature
Citation And References
Cite references in the text by the author’s surname and year of publication. The following are examples of citations:
- Single author: ….(Yeap, 2004)
- OR ...as reported by Yeap (2004)...
- Two authors: …...(Simon & Micheal, 2001)
- OR…. Simon and Micheal (2001) stated that…...
- Three or more authors: …..(Tan et al., 1988)
- OR ….following method by Tan et al. (1988)
- Single author or same authors in the same parenthesis: (Sara & Rose, 2015a, 2015b)
In-Text Quotation
- Single author: ….(Yeap, 2004, p. 123)
- OR ...as reported by Yeap (2004, p. 123)...
Reference List
The References section at the end of the manuscript should list all references cited in the text in alphabetical order of the first author’s surname. Titles of the journals or conference proceedings are not to be abbreviated.
All references mentioned in the text must be included in reference list.
The following are examples of reference writing:
Hadil, R. (2007). The second resource assessment of the tiger shrimp, Penaeus
monodon of Kuala Baram, Miri, Sarawak. Malaysian Fisheries Journal 6(2): 111-124.
Smith, T. J., Boto, K. G., Frusher S. D. & Raymond, G. L. (1991). Keystone
species and mangrove forest dynamics: The influence of burrowing crabs on soil nutrient status and forest productivity. Estuarine and Coastal Shelf Science. 33: 419-432.
Likens, B. (2005). Ecology: Population ecology. In Biology, edited by Campbell
N.A. & Reece J.B. Seventh Edition. Pearson-Benjamin Cummings: San
Francisco.
Erséus, C. (1992). Hong Kong’s marine oligochaetea: a supplement. In:
Morton, B. (ed.) The marine flora and fauna of Hong Kong and southern China III.
Proceedings of the Fourth International Marine Biological Workshop. 11-29 April 1989.
Plates
Author Contribution
Acknowledgments
FURTHER INFORMATION
Proof
- Before the / an article can be published, one set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. At this stage, No changes in, or additions to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed.
- Corrected proofs should be returned within 3-5 days upon receipt of the proofs by the author.
- The SMJ Production team reserves the right to proceed with publication if corrections are not communicated and will do everything possible to get articles corrected and published as quickly and as accurately as possible.
- In order to do this the cooperation of authors is much-needed.
Language-Editing and Copyediting Manuscripts
- Proof-reading is solely the responsibility of the author.
- Prior to submission, authors are encouraged to use language-editing and copyediting services. Obtaining this service is the responsibility of the author, and should be done before initial submission. These services can be found on the web engine search terms (e.g. use search term “proofread editing service” and “language editing service”).
Copyright Transfer Agreement
- All authors must sign the copyright transfer agreement once the manuscript / article is in the final form.
