Author Guidelines

The Philippine Scientist is an annual publication of University of San Carlos Press, Cebu City, Philippines. All communications should be addressed to The Editor, The Philippine Scientist, USC Press, University of San Carlos, Talamban Campus, Nasipit, Cebu City 6000, Philippines or by email to editorphilsci@usc.edu.ph. Preferably, submission of manuscripts should be done electronically through this OJS portal subject to specific guidelines below.

The Philippine Scientist is devoted to the promotion of all basic and applied aspects of the natural and physical sciences and mathematics as they pertain to the Philippines and the western Pacific region as a whole. Contributions are accepted anytime from everyone regardless of geographic origin and institutional affiliation.

This publication is included in the abstracting and indexing coverage of the Biological Abstracts of BIOSIS Previews, the Zoological Record, and the Master Journal List of Thomson Reuters–ISI, Aquatic Sciences and Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA, Part 1) of Cambridge Scientific Abstracts (CSA), FishLit/Fisheries Review, Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index (CASSI), Ulrich’s International Periodicals Directory and the Ulrich’s Update, and is a member of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals and the International Association of Scholarly Publishers. Beginning in July 2008, The Philippine Scientist is also published online using the Philippine Journals Online (PhilJOL) portal and is available on delayed open access.

General

Research papers submitted to The Philippine Scientist must be original and must not have been published nor being considered for publication elsewhere. Once received, the manuscript will be acknowledged, reviewed for content suitability and adherence to the style guide, and then sent for double-blind peer review. Authors must provide complete contact information on the first page of the manuscript or in a cover letter. In addition, authors may recommend two or three referees for their submitted papers.

Preferably, an electronic copy of a manuscript should be submitted using this OJS portal or by email to editorphilsci@usc.edu.ph as a Microsoft Word (or equivalent Open Source software) document.

Manuscripts should be written in English using Times New Roman 12 pt font (except those using specialized symbols) and double spaced with 3 cm margins on all sides. Every page of the manuscript including the title page, references, tables, etc. should be numbered.

Manuscripts in general should be organized in the following order: 

First page – Title (should be clear, descriptive and not more than 30 words, including symbols and formulas), Name(s) of author(s) with complete postal address(es) of affiliations, full telephone and fax numbers and e-mail of the corresponding author, present address(es) of author(s) if applicable, and complete correspondence address to which the proofs should be sent.

Second – Abstract (double spaced and not to exceed 300 words) and Key Words (indexing terms, normally 3–6 key words in alphabetical order and should characterize the scope of the paper).

Third and succeeding pages – Introduction, followed by Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion and Conclusion. After the body of the manuscript, continue with Acknowledgments, Literature Cited, Tables, Figures, and their respective Captions, if any.

Tables

1. Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals according to their sequence in the text. The text should include references to all tables.
2. Each table should be written on a separate page of the manuscript and should not be included in the text. Authors may recommend in the text where a particular table should be inserted.
3. Each table should have a brief and self-explanatory caption at the top, including any additional explanation essential to the understanding of the table.
4. Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently satisfactory with standard abbreviations in SI units added between parentheses.

Figures

1. All figures should be submitted separately from the body of the text. Each figure should be printed on a separate page. Authors may recommend in the text where a particular figure should be inserted.
2. Illustrations (line drawings, molecular structures, and photographs) should be submitted as jpeg files of sufficient quality (~300 dpi) suitable for printing. Charts and graphs should be constructed in Microsoft Excel (or equivalent Open Source software) and may be submitted separately or embedded in a Word document.
3. Figures should be numbered with Arabic numerals according to their sequence in the text. References to each figure should be made in the text.
4. If a scale should be given, use bar scales on all illustrations instead of numerical scales that must be changed upon resizing.
5. Each figure should have a caption. Captions to all figures should be printed on a separate sheet of the manuscript.

References

1. All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references (Literature Cited) following the text of the manuscript. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of author’s names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list.
2. In the text refer to author’s name (without initials and comma) and year of publication. For example:

“Results obtained by Malinao (1990) suggest….”

“This is in agreement with results obtained later (Bernil 1995) which….”

3. If reference is made in the text to a publication written by more than two authors the name of the first author should be used followed by “et al.” However, this indication should never be used in the list of references. In the list of references, names of first author and all co-authors should be mentioned.
4. References cited together in the text should be arranged chronologically.
5. The list of references should be arranged alphabetically based on authors’ last names, and chronologically per author. If an author’s name in the list is also mentioned with co-authors the following order should be used: publications of the single author arranged according to publication dates, publications of the author with more than one co-author. Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 1974a, 1974b, etc.
6. Use the following system for listing literature cited:

(a) For periodicals

Duray MN. 1995. The effect of tank color and rotifer density on rotifer ingestion, growth and survival of milkfish (Chanos chanos) larvae. Philipp Scient 32: 18–26.
Forms of citation: Duray (1995) and (Duray 1995)

Hillis DM, Dixon MT. 1991. Ribosomal DNA: molecular evolution and phylogenetic inference. Q Rev Biol 66: 411–453.
Forms of citation: Hillis & Dixon (1991) and (Hillis & Dixon 1991)

Steiner U, Klein J, Eiser E, Budkowski A, Fetters LJ. 1992. Complete wetting from polymer mixtures. Science 258: 1129–1129.
Forms of citation: Steiner et al. (1992) and (Steiner et al. 1992)

(b) For edited symposia, special issues and multi-author books

Douglas SE. 1994. Chloroplast origins and evolution. In: Bryant DA, editor. The molecular biology of the cyanobacteria. Kluwer, Dordrecht, 91–118.

Meyer B, Hermanns K. 1985. Formaldehyde release from pressed wood products. In: Turoski V, editor. Formaldehyde: analytical chemistry and toxicology. Proc Symp 187^th Mtg Am Chem Soc, 101–116.

(c) For books

Hagenmaier RD. 1980. Coconut aqueous processing. 2^nd ed. San Carlos Publications, Cebu City.

Holmgren PK, Holmgren NH, Barnett LC. 1990. Index herbariorum, Pt. I: The herbaria of the world. 8^th ed. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx NY.

Formulas

1. Formulas should be written using Microsoft Word, if possible. Leave ample space around the formulas for clarity.
2. Subscripts and superscripts should be distinct.
3. Greek letters and other non-Latin symbols should be explained in the margin where they are first used. Take special care to show clearly the difference between zero (0) and the letter O, and between one (1) and the letter l.
4. Give the meaning of all symbols immediately after the equation in which they are first used.
5. For simple fractions use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line, e.g., I_p/2_m rather than . For complex fractions, a horizontal line may be used.
6. Levels of statistical significance which can be mentioned without further explanation are *P < 0.5, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001.
7. In chemical formulas, valence of ions should be given, for example, as Ca²⁺ and CO₃^2– not as Ca⁺⁺ or CO₃^{– –}.
8. Isotope numbers should precede the symbols, e.g., ¹⁸O.

Nomenclature

1. All biotica (crops, plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc.) should be identified by their scientific names when the English term is first used, with the exception of common domestic animals.
2. For chemical nomenclature, the conventions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) and the official recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Combined Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature should be followed.
3. The authorities of scientific names should be given in accordance with the relevant code of nomenclature (thus for plants the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN), for animals the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN), and for bacteria the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (ICNB), when first used in the paper.

Review and Acceptance

Manuscripts that comply with the style guide and have appropriate content shall be sent for double-blind peer review. Anonymous copies of the reviews will be sent to the authors to facilitate the revision of their manuscript. Authors should provide a written explanation to The Editor if reviewers’ comments are not incorporated into the revised manuscript. Manuscripts may undergo a subsequent round of review as necessary.

The Editor will issue a letter of acceptance once a manuscript has passed the review process. Authors must submit a signed Transfer of Copyright agreement prior to the publication of their paper.

Proofs and Off-Prints

One set of proofs will be sent to the corresponding author as given on the title page of manuscript. Only typesetter’s errors may be corrected; no significant changes in, or additions to, the edited manuscript will be allowed. The author will be allowed one week after receipt thereof to return the corrected proof to the editorial office. On failure to do so, the Editors reserve the right to correct the proofs and to edit the material for publication.

Twenty-five off-prints of each article are supplied, free of charge, to the corresponding author, who is responsible for distributing them among the co-authors, if any.