Guidelines for Authors

  • THE UEM SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL

The Scientific Journal of Eduardo Mondlane University (RC-UEM) is an academic journal published by the Editorial Unit of the Scientific Journal of the University. It is a biannual Open Access journal (out in May and November) and aims mainly to disseminate the findings of scientific research activities carried out by lecturers and researchers of Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), and other higher education and research institutions.

The RC-UEM is published as a series and is open to works by national and international authors, as long as the editorial norms are observed. The RC-UEM publishes original articles, thematic reviews and notes (short original articles) resulting from research and allied activities. The manuscripts are reviewed by an editorial body.

  • The RC-UEM series

The manuscripts for publication should be within the scope of the topics indicated below:

  • Biomedical Sciences and Public Health;
  • Engineering, Archictecture, Urbanization and Technology;
  • Arts and Social Sciences;
  • Natural Sciences and the Environment;
  • Agronomy, Forestry and Veterinary Sciences;
  • Education Sciences;
  • Legal Sciences;
  • Economic, Administration and Development Sciences.

2      SUBMITTING MANUSCRIPTS

2.1    General Requirements

The RC-UEM will only accept to publish an article where one of the authors is a PhD holder, otherwise, the manuscript must have been scientifically and ethically reviewed and approved by at least one PhD holder, and be submitted together with a reference letter annexed.  Manuscripts that have  been published, or are still in the process of being reviewed, peer-reviewed or in press in other  scientific journals may not be accepted for publication in the RC-UEM. Once the articles are accepted for publication by this journal, they cannot be published in the same format by any other journals without the expressed authorization of the Editorial Unit of the RC-UEM:

  • The manuscripts to be published by the RC-UEM scientific journal should be sent via email to the following addresses: rc_uem@uem.mz, or : www.revistacientifica.uem.mz;
  • All mail, including  notification to the author on the editor’s decision and a request for peer-review of the manuscript will be sent by email, whenever possible;
  • Acceptance or refusal of manuscripts will always be a decision based upon the evaluation by the peer reviewers.

3      NORMS GUIDING THE FORMAT OF MANUSCRIPTS

Articles should be written according to the norms laid out by the Editorial Unit.

3.1    Language

The articles submitted to the RC-UEM must be written in Portuguese or English. The summary (abstract) must be submitted in both languages. In such a case, the summary must be an exact version of the translated text from the original text, and should contain in it the key words.

3.2    Format

3.2.1   Size of the Document

The Editorial Unit has set a maximum of 30 pages for a scientific article. The fragmentation of research, survey reports and small texts is strictly discouraged.

3.2.2   Font

The body of the manuscript should be in a flowing text with 1.5 spacing, in Times New Roman typeface or font, size 12. The page should be in an A4 format with an upper and left margin of 3cm; the bottom right margin should be of 2cm and the text must contain the page number on the lower right hand side.

The paragraphs should be identified by a space and be without indentation.

3.2.3   Graphs and Tables

All pictures, drawings and tables should not be inserted within the format , but shown apart with clear indications, i.e. headings and legends.

3.2.4   Symbols

  • Numerical units, abbreviations and scientific names used in the text must be clearly indicated and should follow the current and valid norms in the International Unit System (IUS). If any other type of unit is used the equivalent in the IUS should be indicated.
  • Scientific names of animal  species and plants must be written in Latin and shown in Italics;
  • Commercial names or abbreviations of the names of chemical products must only be used when followed by the name of the chemical product or corresponding scientific designation. Abbreviations that are not part of the  terminology  used in the field should be avoided at all cost;
  • Mathematical equations should be indicated in bold or in indo-Arabic numeration.

3.2.5   Footnotes

Footnotes (except those in tables) must be identified in superscript using Arabic numbers that should be superscribed at the end of the text to which each note refers to.  Additionally the footnotes must be converted into ‘End notes’ and be presented at the end of the article, i.e. right after the listing of References and Bibliography. The only exception is for data on affiliation of authors which should be in the footnote, on the same page where the data appear in the text.

3.2.6   Annexes

Annexes are only allowed as complementary material to help with the peer reviewing process, and will not be part of the published text.

3.2.7   General provisions

  • The Editorial Unit reserves the right to adjust the style and format of any manuscript to suit the agreed standards.
  • The authors must keep a copy of the original manuscript and or manuscripts. The Editorial Unit will not be held liable for any damage or loss of any manuscripts submitted for publishing. The original manuscripts will be disposed of a month after  publication of the corresponding article, except in cases where the Editorial Unit is solicited to devolve upon the original after publication.

4      LAYOUT OF MANUSCRIPTS

Except where justified, as in the case of reviews, syntheses, etc, all manuscripts should in general have the following:

4.1    Face (Initial page)

This page should contain the heading, names of author or authors and respective affiliation. The heading should be short and descriptive and should not have any abbreviations. The heading should be presented in two languages (Portuguese and English or vice-versa), the second language being an exact translation of the original text. The names of all the authors should be listed  as subscript, with respective email addresses underneath. In cases where there is more than one author, the contact author, i.e. the one responsible for the exchange of mail with the Editorial Unit should be clearly indicated.

4.2    Summary and Abstract

The summary and abstract should have no more than 250 words. These should include a brief description of the methods used in the study and the conclusions must highlight any novel findings resulting from the research work, with their implications or potential applications.

Following the summary and the abstract the author(s) must indicate three or four keywords. Keywords should be separated by commas.

4.3    Introduction

This section must include a brief literature review and the theoretical background and rationale behind the study and the main objectives.

4.4    Materials and Methods

The article should have enough data to make it possible for others to replicate the same methodology. Only details concerning new methods and procedures should be described in depth.

4.5    Results

Can be presented text, tables, pictures, drawings and graphs. Text should be as  brief as possible in cases where the same information is already presented in tables or graphs.  Figures and tables must be numbered   in the same order as these are referred to in the text.

4.6    Discussion

The discussion should be concise and should contain an interpretation of the results in each respective chapter/section, and a description of how these agree (or not) the results of other published research works. At the end the main conclusions of the study should be presented in a succinct manner.

4.7    Acknowledgements

This section should be used to acknowledge the contribution of individuals, institutions and financial support provided for the study. When submitting the manuscripts for publication, the authors must assure that all potentials conflicts of interest have been already taken into account. Acknowledgements must be inserted as notes at the end/.

5      BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NORMS (basic norms)

5.1    Quotations

Quotations in a text can be direct or indirect according to the explanation below:

5.1.1   Direct Quotation

This is literal transcription of an author’s text. In this case, the citation should be shown between inverted commas (“ ”), followed by author’s name, date and page number form which the quote has been extracted. Direct citation may occur within the following modes, as in the examples below:

  • Example 1: quotation can be direct or indirect where “direct quotation refers to the literal transcription of the authhor’s text” (MACAMO, 2000, p. 20);
  • Example 2: According to Macamo (2000, p. 20), a “ direct quote refers to the literal transcription of the authors’s text”.

However, t the author’s name is in CAPITAL LETTERS when it is immediately after the quoted text, and in minuscule when it is prior the quoted text, as in the examples above.

5.1.2   Indirect Quotation

Indirect quotation is the same as paraphrasing, i.e. when the author’s text is not directly inserted. In this case, the mentioning of the author’s name should be followed by the date of publication of the article. Thus the indication of the page number from which the text has been cited is not necessary.

5.2    Indicating the author

The authorship of a scientific work can be shown as indicated below:

  • One author: indicate name (surname) and date (year) of publication;
  • Two to three authors: indicate names of authors separated by semi-colon and or the conjunction and   to separate the last name followed by year of publication;
  • More than three authors: indicate name first, then the latin expression et al., followed by year of publication.

5.3    Bibliography and References

Bibliography and references should be indicated using the ISO (International Standard Organization) and in accordance with the general provisions, type of material and examples shown below:

5.3.1   General Provisions

  • The indication of the author’s names should be inverted, i.e. surname first and in CAPITAL LETTERS;
  • Authorship with three authors: indicate authors ‘names separated by semi-colon and the conjunction e  to indicate the last name;
  • For more than three authors indicate first name first then the latin expression et al.
  • There should a space separating the names of the authors and between different authors;
  • The indication of the title should be highlighted (in bold, italic or underlined).

5.3.2   Examples

Articles in Scientific Journals

  • JONAS, M. Origem do cancro da mama em pacientes jovens. Revista Médica de Moçambique. Maputo, v.14, p.45-55, May, 1987.

P.S.: when articles in journals, the name of the journal should be highlighted rather than the article’s heading.

Books

  • MONDLANE, E. Lutar por Moçambique. 2 ed. Maputo: CEA, 1995. 199 p.

Chapters in Edited Books

  • SILVA, T. C. e. Instituições de ensino superior e investigação em ciências sociais: a herança colonial, a construção de um sistema socialista e os desafios do século XXI, o caso de Moçambique. In: SILVA, T. C. e.; ARAÚJO, M. G. M. e CARDOSO, C. (ed.). Lusofonia em África: história, democracia e integração africana. Dakar: CODESRIA, 2005. p. 33-44.

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

  • KOOGAN, A.; HOUAISS, A. (ed.). Enciclopédia e dicionário digital 98. São Paulo: Delta, 1998.
  • FOULKES, H.; CARTWRIGHT, R.Sleep. In: ________Online Britânica Encyclopedia . Available at : <http://www.britanica.com/bcom/eb/article>. Accessed 5 february 2000.

Technical Reports, Dissertations and Theses

  • MANGUE, M. V. Informatização e integração do Sistema de bibliotecas da Universidade Eduardo Mondlane. 2002. 117f. Dissertation (Masters in Computer Science) – Post Graduate Course in Computer Science , Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 2002.

Popular Magazines and Periodicals

  • BROWN, G. Um acordo sobre o crescimento mundial. Notícias Newspaper, Maputo, 25th  Feb 2011. Economia, p.7.

Electronic sources (CD-ROMs, Websites)

CD-ROMs

  • KOOGAN, A.; HOUAISS, A. (Ed.). 98 Digital Encyclopedia and Dicitionary . São Paulo: Delta: Estadão, 1998. 5 CD-ROM.

Websites

  • MOÇAMBIQUE. MCT. Informe sobre os recursos atribuídos ao sector da C&T 2005 a 2008. Available at: http://www.mct.gov.mz/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/ NEWS_EVENTS/CONSELHO_COORDENADOR/FINAN%C3%87AS%20HELENA-FINAL.PDF. Accessed 06 March 2011.

Information from interviews

  • COSTA, L. Docentes móveis não são necessariamente “turbos” [31st January, 2011]. Maputo:  Notícias Newspaper. Interview with  Arsénio Manhice.

Multimedia (vídeos, movies)

  • CAPOVILLA, F. C.; GUIDI, M. A. A. Recursos de hardware para análise experimental do comportamento humano. [Film-video]. Produced by Fernando César Capovilla, Directed by Mário Arturo Guidi. São Paulo, Instituto de Psicologia da Universidade de São Paulo, 1990. 1 VHS / NTSC, 22 min. color. son cassette.

Symposiums, Conferences or Seminars  Chronicles

  • ZARIFIAN, Philippe. O modelo da competência e suas conseqüências sobre as ocupações profissionais. In: SEMINÁRIO INTERNACIONAL: EDUCAÇÃO PROFISSIONAL, TRABALHO E COMPETÊNCIAS, 5., 1998, Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro: CIET-SENAI, 1998.

Personal Communication

  • C. M. Martins (personal communication, 3rd March, 2010).

6           ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Tables and Figures

Each table should be prepared on a separate page with the same font and spacing as the text. The heading should be descriptive, concise and annotated. Explanatory details if any should be presented immediately after the table. Symbols and abbreviations should be defined in the legends.

Pictures and drawings should be submitted in an appropriate format for a quality printing and electronic publication, being if needed, reduced without any distortion. Pictures, graphs, drawings or diagrams are all referred to as figures. Use an annotation (a), (b), (c), etc to identify sub-figures.

Maps and photographs should always be presented using the same scale. Color illustrations must be submitted only in cases when the color is necessary to better comprehend the information. The legends for the figures must be written with simple spacing below the figures and not within them. The heading of figures should be indicated below them.

Tables and figures must be carefully reviewed. Any changes to figures will not be accepted, especially after the manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Ethics when using Animals

All manuscripts that report having involved animals or human beings in their studies must be accompanied with a consent certificate issued by an accredited institution in the country where the study has been carried out.

Proofs

Evidence of manuscripts will be sent to the authors indicated as mail exchange receptors. The manuscripts shall be carefully reviewed and send back to the Editorial Unit within 72 hours upon reception.

Printed Copies (Offprint)

The author of each published article will receive two full copies of the respective journal (use the same spelling for journal throughout) in which the article was published, free of charge.

Change of Authors

Request to remove or add authors and/ or the re-arrangement of the names of the authors should be sent to the Chief Editor by the main author, prior to publication of the manuscript. The request must include (a) the reason why the author’s name must be removed from, added or rearranged in the list of authors; (b) a written confirmation (email, facsimile or letter) from all authors of the article certifying the change. In case of an addition or removal of authors’ names, this should also include a written confirmation (email, facsimile or letter) from the authors whose names are being proposed to be removed from or added to the edition.

Author’s Copyright

The authors are responsible for obtaining a written consent to reproduce published material from other sources and an author’s copyright transfer agreement, as demanded by the Editorial Unit of the RC-UEM, will have to be signed by the authors. All accepted manuscripts, respective illustrations and pictures will become the property of the Editorial Unit.

Upon acceptance of an article, the main author will asked to fill in a copyright transfer form to be deposited with the Editorial Unit of the RC-UEM. This form may be sent to the main author by email or attained from the RC-UEM web page.

Reviewers

The Editor urges the authors of the manuscripts to indicate up to four names and addresses of experts who may act as reviewers, as long as these do not belong to the same institution as that of authors. The Editor naturally reserves to himself/herself the right to select and contact these experts or any other reviewers.