Author Guidelines

Preparing for submission in Scandinavian Journal of Materials Science

Please note that Journal of Materials Science (ScandJMS) will cease publication and will be closed down at the end of 2022. All published content will still be available to readers and content will be preserved PKP Preservation Network.

Submission of a manuscript is held to imply that it has not previously been published and is not otherwise submitted for publication (except as an abstract, which in that case has to be stated).

Authorship: All persons designated as authors in a paper must participate sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility in its contents. It is assumed that all authors gave explicit consent to submit the manuscript and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before the work is submitted. All authors of a manuscript should include their full name and affiliation on the cover page of the manuscript. Where available, please also include ORCID identifiers and social media handles (Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn). One author will need to be identified as the corresponding author, with their email address normally displayed in the article PDF (depending on the journal) and the online article. Any individuals who have contributed to the article but who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed by name and affiliation in an ‘Acknowledgments’ section instead. The journal may require authors to justify assignments of authorship.

Length: Articles and reviews should be kept short and written in a succinct manner. Full articles could include up to 40 references. Short Communications (brief definite reports without an Abstract and a maximum of 15 references) should not exceed 2 typeset pages (i.e. approximately 1,200 words in total and one illustration or up to 3 illustrations if the number of words is proportionally reduced).

We encourage authors to avoid repetitions and redundant information in their manuscripts. Extensive figures and tables with a compilation of data can preferably be presented as supplementary material. Similarly, extensive methodological descriptions can be presented in toto as supplementary material.

Submission: Submit the manuscript (including tables and figures) as a styled Microsoft Word file and photographs as separate EPS or TIFF files. For further information please contact the Editorial office.

Language: All papers should be written in English. It is essential that the language be irreproachable. If the Editorial Board should consider it necessary, manuscripts will be subjected to language examination at the author's risk and expense.

Conflict of interest and funding: Authors are responsible for recognising and disclosing financial and other conflicts of interest that might bias their work. They should acknowledge in the manuscript all financial support for the work and other financial or personal connections to the work. If they have no interests to declare, this should be stated (recommended wording: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare).

Acknowledgements: All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an acknowledgments section.  Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chairperson who provided only general support. 

Arrangement of manuscript

Manuscripts should normally be divided into Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References. Please note the following:

  • Textbook knowledge should be avoided in the Introduction; instead the reader should be suggested recent reviews for detailed backgrounds.
  • The title is important; it should be informative and draw attention without being too long.
  • The Material and Methods section should as far as possible be in the form of references to previous reports.
  • The Results should be presented either in the running text or in Tables and/or Figures without repeating all data.
  • The Discussion should not start with a long introduction but more directly discuss the meaning of the results in relation to previous studies; any limitations of the study should be highlighted.
  • The number of illustrations and tables can be kept minimal in the main paper, but additional supplementary material may be used.

Title page: A separate title page is necessary and should bear a) the title of the article, b) name of the authors, c) the institutions of origin, d) a short title and for Letters to the Editor also the corresponding author's name, address, and e-mail.

Abstract: Structured abstracts are required for all original articles. The following headlines should be used where appropriate: Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. The total number of words should not exceed 150. In general, abbreviations are not allowed and references should not be used. Below the abstract: Title of the journal; The principal author's complete address, including e-mail. The Abstract should be typed on a separate sheet.

Lay abstract: Include a lay abstract of a maximum of 150 words, which is easily read and understood by also non-scientific readers. Please explain your work as you would to your “neighbour” and emphasize the relevance of your work.

Key words: A list of 3-6 keywords suitable for indexing terms should be typed at the bottom of the Abstract page. Effective keywords include abbreviations or phrases that may not appear in the title or abstract and that link the work to wider fields of research.

Pagination: Ensure that all text pages are correctly numbered in the top right-hand corner, beginning with the title page.

Headings: Please use the following headings: ABSTRACT, MATERIALS AND METHODS, RESULTS, DISCUSSION, AND REFERENCES.

Subheadings: Use lower case letters italicized or underlined.

References: Should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. No abstracts from proceedings or submitted manuscripts not in press are allowed. Identify references in the text using Arabic numerals in parenthesis (NOT in superscript). The style of references must follow the Vancouver system, and for the abbreviations of journal titles: please use the standard abbreviation of a journal’s name according to the ISSN List of Title Word available at www.issn.org/2-22661-LTWA-online.php

  1. Journal article with up to 6 authors: Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC, Surname DD, Surname EE, Surname FF. Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year;volume(issue):pages xx-x.
  2. Journal article with more than 6 authors: Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC, Surname DD, Surname EE, Surname FF, et al. Title of article. Abbreviated title of journal. Year;volume(issue):pages xx-x
  3. Reference to books: Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.
  4. Journal article in electronic format: Surname AA, Surname BB, Surname CC. Title of article. Title of newspaper [Internet]. Date [cited date]; Available from: URL

Tables and figures: Line drawing and lettering should be large enough to sustain photoreduction. Tables are to be numbered consecutively with Roman numerals. Each table should be typed on a separate sheet and should have a descriptive, self-explanatory title (i.e. no unexplained abbreviations) above the table to which it refers. Highlight an introductory sentence in bold and list footnotes below the table, using a, b, c for referencing. Asterix is used for probability values. Place other explanatory text above the table.

All illustrations should be considered as figures. Each graph, drawing, or photograph should be numbered in sequence with Arabic numerals. All figures should have legends, listed on one separate sheet.

Supplementary material and Video Abstracts

Supplementary material can include for example video- and audio files but also figures, tables, and datasets. Including supplementary material with your article can make it more discoverable, and help maximizing downloads and citations.

Video abstracts can be a good way of getting others to engage with your research, ultimately increasing the visibility and impact of your work. Through a video abstract you can introduce the article in your own words, telling readers what the unique contribution of your article is and why they should read it. We recommend keeping a video abstract short and to the point (no more than a few minutes) and that you use images, charts or tables to help explain the focus of your article. Consider the aim of the video throughout – to get people to read your article. The best video format is MP4 although other video formats such as MOV and MPEG4 are also supported. The minimum dimension is 426 x 240 and the max dimension is 3840 x 2160.

Please make sure to include any supplementary files at the same time as you submit your manuscript, although a video abstract can be sent upon acceptance instead.

Supplementary material that requires language editing or typesetting from the editorial team will involve a fee of 25 €/supplement (extensive material might count as two supplementary files due to the extra workload involved). Video files will be published free of charge.