Instructions for Authors
Guideline for Manuscript
Language
Either British or American English can be used, but be consistent within your chapter or book. In contributed books, chapter-specific consistency is accepted. Check for consistent spelling of names, terms, and abbreviations, including in tables and figure legends.
Chapter Title & Authors
For contributed volumes, please include each chapter author’s name, affiliations, and e-mail addresses after the chapter title. Ensure that the sequence of the author names is correct, and the title of your book is final when you submit your manuscript. Please supply all emails and the address of each author and editor. Once the manuscript has been delivered to production, changes to the title or authorship are no longer possible.
Headings & Heading Numbering
Heading levels should be identified, and each level should be uniquely and consistently formatted and/or numbered. Use the decimal system of numbering if your headings are numbered.
Terminology, Units & Abbreviations
Technical terms and abbreviations should be defined the first time they appear in the text. Please always use internationally accepted signs and symbols for units (SI units). Numerals should follow the British/American method of decimal points to indicate decimals and commas to separate thousands.
Emphasis & Special Type
Italics should be used for emphasized words or phrases in running text, but do not format entire paragraphs in italics. Use italics for species and genus names, mathematical/physical variables, and prefixes in chemical compounds.
Equations & Program Code
Use the Math function, MathType, or Microsoft Equation editor to create your equations. Please don’t include the equations as images.
Tables
Give each table a heading (caption). Add a reference to the table source at the end of the caption if necessary. Number tables consecutively using the chapter number (e.g. Table 1.1 for the first table in Chapter 1) and ensure that all tables are cited in the text in sequential order.
Figures and illustrations
Number the figures using the chapter number (e.g. Fig. 1.1 for the first figure in Chap. 1) and ensure that all figures are cited in the text in sequential order. Do not write “the following figure”.
References
Include a reference list at the end of each chapter so that readers of single chapters of the eBook can make full use of the citations. Include all works that are cited in the chapter and that have been published (including on the internet) or accepted for publication. Entries in the list must be listed alphabetically, except in the numbered system of sequential citation. Scientific Collaborative Online Publishing Universal Academy follows certain standards about the presentation of the reference list, i.e. APA, Chicago, IEEE, and APS.
Code of Conduct
Research & Author Conduct
Results should be presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation (including image-based manipulation). Authors should adhere to discipline-specific rules for acquiring, selecting, and processing data. The Author will deal with the Publisher and its staff professionally and courteously, ensuring their communications are appropriate in both volume and tone, and address all queries received relating to the work promptly.
Authorship Principles
Authorship should be limited to those who contributed substantially to the scholarly work, such as drafting and/or critically revising the intellectual content of the work or significant parts of it. "Honorary authorship" is not permitted. Third parties who added something substantial to the work but do not qualify as Authors should be mentioned in the acknowledgment section.
Authors are recommended to add their ORCID identifier to their manuscript.
Redundant Publication
Recycling data and texts from an Author’s own published manuscripts is generally not allowed. In case of overlap with a previously accepted/published paper, transparency should be provided on how much is new in comparison to the previous publication or work under consideration in a letter to the series editor and/or Publisher, and consequently in the work itself.
Acknowledgement of Sources
The work of others should always be properly acknowledged. Authors should cite and/or list publications that have influenced the reported work. Clarity should be provided on which text is the author’s own and which text has been used from others.
Related Manuscripts under Consideration for Publication
Authors should inform the Editor or Publisher of related manuscripts under consideration for publication by the same Author(s) with another publisher and provide details of these relevant manuscripts. Authors should make sure that proper acknowledgement is given to any publication of related manuscripts in subsequent publications.
Concurrent/Secondary Publication
Concurrent or secondary publication of material in other books is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. Examples (amongst others) are: translations or works with different target audiences and/or co-authors. The Authors, Editor or Publisher must agree to the concurrent or secondary publication; there may be a publication interval negotiated; the secondary version may need to include a note or an acknowledgment that it is based on another first reported manuscript in [journal title/book title, full reference] and the secondary version should cite the primary version or a note or an acknowledgement that the same manuscript was concurrently published in [journal title/book title, full reference].
Permissions
Authors should secure permissions for the unlimited reuse of material (text and images) where necessary (i.e. third-party material), including for print and electronic use. A basic rule is that if the Author is not the creator of everything in the manuscript, they must get permission from copyright owners or have a valid licence to use their content, unless it is ‘fair use/fair dealing’ or in the ‘public domain’. Authors are free to reproduce their own work, but may have to ask for permission for reuse if they have transferred the rights to another party, for example, another publisher.
There is no clear definition for 'fair use/fair dealing' or the number of words that Authors can use without permission from the copyright holder. Fair use/fair dealing depends on:
(a) The purpose of the use;
(b) The character and interest of the original work;
(c) The scope and impact of the use in relation to the original work.
If in doubt, we recommend contacting the copyright holder.
Content is in the public domain when no intellectual property rights apply, or a copyright term (which may vary per country) does not apply or has expired. Content that is freely accessible on the Internet is not necessarily content that can be freely reused unless there is an explicit licence allowing reuse.
Figures and Illustrations
Illustrations, plans, tables, photographs, videos, animations (amongst others) (hereinafter together referred to as "images") may be protected by copyright. Reusing images with openly editable content (e.g. Wikipedia) or reusing images found via a search engine (Google, Bing, etc) may require permission to reuse the image.
Authors should verify the information source of all content found on Wikipedia and the website hosting the image, and check if the person or entity who posted the material has the authority to grant permission for reusing it. If the Author is unable to find the copyright holder and/or secure permission, it is recommended to find (or create) a replacement image.
Authors modifying an existing image must secure permission from the creator of the image for the modification itself. Modifications to the original image do not imply transfer of ownership of the original image to the creator of the modified version.
When integrating images, it should be considered that not only the copyrights to these images must be observed, but also the rights of the individuals depicted and possibly also the rights to the objects depicted. Please be aware that apart from copyright, other rights (like personality rights of depicted individuals or trademark rights of depicted objects) may also need to be observed when using images. This is especially true concerning images of vulnerable people (e.g. minors, patients) or the use of images in sensitive contexts. In many instances, Authors will need to secure written consent before including images.
Copyright
In most countries of the world, Authors enjoy protection of their intellectual property that appears in books, proceedings, journal articles, and parts thereof. Protected works include literary and scholarly works, such as writings, figures and illustrations, speeches and computer programs.
Conflict of Interest
Authors are requested to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Disclosure of interests provides a more complete and transparent process and helps readers form their own judgements of potential bias. This is not meant to imply that a financial relationship with an organisation that sponsored the research or compensation received for consultancy work is inappropriate.
Interests may include but are not limited to the following: funding (grants, other forms of research support such as salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses), employment, financial interests (stocks, shares, consultation fees, patents and patent applications) and non- financial interests (professional interests, personal relationships or personal beliefs such as position on editorial board, advisory board or board of directors or other type of management relationships; writing and/or consulting for educational purposes; expert witness; mentoring relations).
Ethical Approval and Informed Consent
When reporting studies that involve human participants and/or animals and their data or biological material, Authors should make sure to include statements in a methods (or similar) section in the manuscript that the studies have been approved (or granted exemption) by the appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee and have been performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Authors must - in all situations - include the name of the ethics committee and the reference number where appropriate. In addition, Authors should include a statement that informed consent (to participate and/or to publish) was obtained from individual participants (or parents or guardians if the participant is a minor or incapable).
Avoiding Defamation
Authors should avoid untrue statements about an entity (which can be a person or a company) or descriptions of their behaviour or actions that could potentially be seen as personal attacks or allegations about that person. General rule: Authors should make sure that what they write is true, or, in the case of opinions, is a fair comment.
Dual Use of Research
Research that may be misapplied to pose a threat to public health or national security should be clearly identified in the manuscript. Examples include the creation of harmful consequences of biological agents or toxins, disruption of immunity of vaccines, unusual hazards in the use of chemicals, and weaponization of research/technology (amongst others).
Fundamental Errors
Scientific Collaborative Online Publishing Universal Academy publishes corrections only when significant errors arise from author errors (Corrigenda) or editorial mistakes (Errata). If there is a serious complaint about Book Series’s own procedures, the Editor in Chief will confer with the corresponding author and any relevant member of the editorial board to resolve the problem. The advisory board of SCOPUA will be consulted if further guidance is required, and if the above procedures prove unacceptable, the matter will be referred for outside adjudication as per COPE guidelines.
Authors have an obligation to correct mistakes once they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work. A decision on how to correct the literature depends on the nature of the error. This may be a correction or retraction and will be the decision of the Publisher following the COPE guidelines. The retraction note must provide transparency as to which parts of the manuscript are impacted by the error.
