Guidelines for submission

UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTHERN CARIBBEAN
GUIDELINES FOR THE USC JOURNAL OF RESEARCH
Terms of Reference
1. Name of the Journal
2. Regularity of the Journal
3. Nature of Submission
The papers can be Unidisciplinary, Multidisciplinary or Interdisciplinary in nature.
Professional journals often stipulate a maximum length of 20 pages. This is a general
guideline adhered to, with some flexibility, according to the nature of the material,
and the subject area being treated.
The manuscripts should be double-spaced, typed on one side of standard-sized heavy
white bond paper, (8-1/2 x 11, 20-pound bond).
a. Literature Reviews – 7 to 10 pages b. Book Reviews – 1 to 2 pages c. Position Papers – 12 to 20 pages d. Empirical Work – 12 to 20 pages e. Original Research – 12 to 20 pages f. Research Note – 7 to 10 pages 4. Who may Submit
Faculty and Staff of USC Faculty and Staff of other Universities USC Students/Research Scholars Professionals 5. Deadline of Submission
6. Plagiarism
Zero-tolerance policy will be adopted towards plagiarism. Authors must ensure the originality of their work and citations should indicate relevant contributions to the existing body of knowledge. 7. Ownership of Material
All materials submitted for publication, under normal circumstances, will be the property of the University of the Southern Caribbean. 8. Obligation to Publish
9. Policy on Articles submitted elsewhere
Original work of authors may be published on condition that it is not accepted for publication elsewhere or has been published before. 10. Peer Reviews
All submitted papers would be subjected to Peer Reviews drawn from diverse disciplines relating to the subject areas covered. 11. Policy on Funding for Research Projects
(To be decided)
12. Credit
All authors will be guaranteed professional credit for published work.

Guidelines for Preparation and Submission of Research Manuscripts

Title Page: The title should appear on a separate page and should be followed by the author
name and the institution name and address. The title, author name(s), and affiliations should
all appear on their own respective line of text. Place an asterisk after the name of the author
to whom enquiries regarding the paper should be directed and include that author’s telephone
and fax numbers, and e-mail address. Author affiliations must be footnoted using the
following symbols in order (which should be used as superscripts): †, ‡, §, , |, r, O.
Abstract: The abstract should appear on the second page, detailing in one paragraph, the
problem, conceptual/experimental approach, major findings, and conclusions. It should be
double spaced and should not exceed 200 words for Full Papers and Reviews or 100 words
for Notes and Rapid Communications. The abstract should be on a separate page and should
be untitled.
Introduction: The manuscript should include an untitled introduction stating the purpose of
the investigation and relating the manuscript to similar research.
Review of Literature/Background of the Study/Problem Statement: This section should
provide a framework (can include conceptual, empirical and geographical background) in
which the present research is being conducted.
Results and Discussion: The results should be presented concisely. Tables and figures
should be designed to maximize the presentation and comprehension of all experimental
data. The discussion should interpret the results and relate them to existing knowledge in the
field in as clear and brief a fashion as possible. Authors submitting a manuscript as a Note
should omit the heading “Results and Discussion”. For Full Papers of unusual length,
subheadings may be included within the Results and Discussion section.
Summary and/Conclusion: This section should provide comprehensive summary and brief
concluding remarks including recommendations for future research.
Acknowledgment: The Acknowledgment section should include credits [initial(s) and last
name] for technical assistance, financial support, and other appropriate recognition.
References and Notes: References to the literature and all notes, regardless of their nature,
should be numbered in order of appearance in the manuscript and cited in the text according
to the writing style used by their respective disciplines (e.g. APA, ASA, MLA, Chicago,
etc.).
The author is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all references.
The author should supply the Editor with four copies of related manuscripts that are cited as
“in press” or “submitted” for use by the editors and the reviewers in evaluating the
manuscript under consideration.
Font type and size: should be Times New Roman, 12 point size.
Paragraph, spacing and alignment: Use indentation for paragraphs, double spacing and left
alignment for the entire document.
Abbreviations: Abbreviations are used without periods. Standard abbreviations should be
used throughout the manuscript. All nonstandard abbreviations should be kept to a
minimum and must be defined in the text following their first use.
Graphics: The quality of the illustrations printed depends on the quality of the originals
provided. Figures cannot be modified or enhanced by the journal production staff. Whenever
possible, the graphic files, furnished by authors on disks with revised submissions of
accepted manuscripts, are used in production of the Journal. Hardcopy graphics may be used
and are digitized during Journal production. Contrast is important.
Use dark black ink. Hardcopy graphics should be printed on a high-resolution laser printer on
smooth, opaque white paper. Remove all color from graphics, except for those graphics
that you would like to have considered for publication in color (see Color section below for
details).
(1) Layout: In preparing structures for direct photoreproduction, layout is critical.
Equations, schemes, and blocks of structures are presented in the Journal either in one-
column or two-column format.

For efficient use of journal space, single-column illustrations are preferred.
Single (preferred)
Double
Width
Minimum 10.5 cm (4.13 in.)
Maximum 8.25 cm (3.25 in.) 17.78 cm (7 in.)
Maximum depth 24 cm (9.5 in.) 24 cm (9.5 in.)
Authors are advised that structural material labeled as a “Figure” is placed at the top of a
page, as is all two-column material.
(2) Dimensions: For best results, illustrations should be submitted in the actual
size at which they should appear in the Journal.
Original illustrations that do not need to be reduced to fit a single or double column will yield
the best quality. Lettering should be no smaller than 4.5 points. (Helvetica or Arial type
works well for lettering.) Lines should be no thinner than 0.5 point. Lettering and lines
should be of uniform density.
Tables: These should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and should be
grouped at the end of the paper. Footnotes in tables should be given lowercase letter
designations and be cited in the table by italic superscript letters. The sequence of letters
should proceed by line rather than by column.
If a footnote is cited both in the text and in a table, insert a lettered footnote in the table to
refer to the numbered footnote in the text. Each table should be provided with a descriptive
heading, which, together with the individual column headings, should make the table, as
nearly as possible, self-explanatory.
In setting up tabulations, authors are requested to keep in mind the type area of the journal
page (17.8-25.4 cm) and the column width (8.5 cm), and to make tables conform to the
limitations of these dimensions. Arrangements that leave many columns partially filled or
that contain much blank space, should be avoided.
Figures: Figures should be constructed in keeping with the column width, line width, and
font size specified above (see Structural Drawings). All illustrations should be numbered as
“Figures”, with Arabic numerals.
(1) Photographs: High contrast prints with a smooth or glossy finish work best.
Photographs that are single or double column width, so that they will not have to be reduced work best. Negatives, slides, or overhead transparencies should not be submitted. Photographs produced on a laser printer and prints cut from a printed publication should be avoided. These do not give good results. The front or back of the image area of the photograph should not be written on. These marks may show through when the photograph is scanned. (2) Color: Color reproduction, if approved by the Editor, will be provided at no cost
to the authors. Color illustrations should be submitted only if essential for clarity of
communication. A surcharge of $100 per 100 reprints will be added to the standard cost of
reprints. Color prints to be printed in black and white should not be submitted.
Copyright Status Form
A properly completed Copyright Status Form with an original signature in ink must be
provided for each submitted manuscript. The form may be photocopied from these
Guidelines.

Manuscript Submission
(1) Web Submission: When creating your own PDF files for submission, it is
essential that all fonts be embedded within your PDF file. For best results, please download the ACS Job Options file for Adobe Distiller. This file will set your Distiller Options to be the same as those used on the ACS PDF conversion servers. Instructions on use of the ACS Job Options file can be found on the Web site (http://pubs.acs.org/JNP; select “submit manuscript”, then “Working with PDF Documents”). High-resolution graphics must be imbedded in the manuscript file. You can upload your manuscript in PDF file to the website for the USC Journal of Research: (2) Submission through email: Manuscripts can be submitted through internet via
(3) Hardcopy Submission: Print the manuscript on one side of standard-sized heavy
white bond paper, (8-1/2 x 11, 20-pound bond). Inkjet and laser printers will generally
produce good and acceptable quality papers.

Authors who prefer hardcopy submission should send the final version of the manuscript in
quadruplicate (original and three copies). A disk/flash drive containing all files should
accompany the final accepted version of the manuscript. The version on the disk /flash drive
MUST exactly match the final version accepted in hardcopy. Check the disk with an up-to-
date virus detection program. The presence of a virus may delay the publication of the
manuscript. Label the disk with the manuscript number and the corresponding author name.
Provide the platform, version of software used, and filenames on the Media Description form. Submissions not in electronic form may face a delay in publication. Manuscripts prepared with the software packages listed below will be used for production, providing adherence to the following guidelines: General File Preparation: When preparing a manuscript:
a. Use the document mode or its equivalent in the word-processing program; i.e., do not save files in “Text Only” (ASCII) mode/ use Word Document mode. b. If a non-Western version of the word-processing software was used to prepare the manuscript, save the file in rich-text format (RTF). Do not include any page-layout instructions such as placement information for graphics in the file. c. The text should be left justified, and automatic end-of-line hyphenation should be turned off. Use carriage returns only to end headings and paragraphs, not to break lines of text. d. Do not insert spaces before punctuation. e. References must conform to the format printed in the Journal. f. Ensure that all characters are correctly represented throughout the manuscript: for example, 1 (one) and l (ell), 0 (zero) and O (oh), x (ex) and _ (times sign). g. Check the final copy carefully for consistent notation and correct spelling. h. The Journal Publications Office conversion program will faithfully translate any i. All text (including the title page, abstract, all sections of the body of the paper, figure captions, scheme or chart titles and footnotes, and references) and tabular material should be in one file, with the complete text first followed by the tabular material. j. It is best to use the fonts “Times” and “Symbol”. Other fonts, particularly those that do not come bundled with the system software, may not translate properly. k. Ensure that all special characters (e.g., Greek characters, math symbols, etc.) are present in the body of the text as characters and not as graphic representations. l. Consult the documentation for the specific software package being used on how to detect the presence of graphics in the files, and replace them with the appropriate text characters. m. Tables may be created using a word processor’s text mode or table format feature. The table format feature is preferred. Ensure each data entry is in its own table cell. If the text mode is used, separate columns with a single tab and use a line feed (return) at the end of each row.
Proofs and Reprints
Correspondence regarding accepted papers and proofs should be directed to The Editor, USC
Journal of Research, University of the Southern Caribbean, Trinidad, W. I.
Page proofs will be sent to the author who submitted the paper. Authors should take care to
provide a valid e-mail address when submitting manuscripts. Foreign contributors may
authorize a colleague in this country to correct proofs. Authors will receive one (1)
complimentary copy of the journal and 3 free reprints of their articles. The journal and
reprints will be shipped within two weeks after the printed journal date.
NB: These instructions and copyright status form are printed in the first issue of each
volume. Please conform to these instructions when submitting manuscripts.

Source: http://www.usc.edu.tt/uploads/file/announcements/Guidelines%20for%20USC%20Journal%20of%20Research%20Vol.%20III.pdf