Guide for Authors

Journal Manuscript Format

Title

Abstract

Keywords

Article Notes

Body of the Article

References

Appendix

Title

The title should briefly identify the subject and indicate the purpose of the document. The title should supply enough information for the reader to make a reliable decision on probable interest. A short informative title is preferred over a long obtuse one. Titles should not exceed 10 words, except in unusual instances. For example: a multi-part article should use a main title for the series and a unique subtitle for each part. Do not use all caps; instead:

· Capitalize the first word of the title.

· Capitalize the first letter of each word in the title except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.

Center the authors' initials and last names directly below the title.

Abstract

The abstract provides a clear and concise summary of the information in an article. The abstract should include a hypothesis or rationale for the work, a brief description of the methods, a summary of the results, and a conclusion:

· The topic sentence states the purpose of the research: What was studied? What hypothesis was tested?

· A brief description of the methods should give the reader an idea of the general approach used by the researcher. The abstract should contain only enough about methodology to provide a context for the results.

·  A summary of the results should include the major trends and the most important results of the study. Data may be given to emphasize the results; group size, p-values, etc., should not be included.

· A concise statement of the conclusions that can be drawn from the study completes the abstract. The researcher may wish to place the work in perspective by stating whether the report confirms or extends the findings of previous researchers.

The abstract should be less than 250 words. Do not include literature citations or references to tables, figures, or equations.

Abstracting and indexing services, such as CAB and Agricola, publish volumes of journal citations each year. Most of these services include abstracts. Brief, well-written abstracts from a specialized publisher, like ASABE, will be included more readily than lengthy abstracts that must be heavily edited.

Keywords

A short list of keywords or phrases should be included immediately after the abstract as index words. These words or phrases are used for indexing by ASABE and other indexing services. ASABE maintains a keyword list for terms that occur frequently in technical material related to agricultural and biological engineering, but you are not limited to this list. Choose keywords that reflect the content of your article. Note that words in the title are not searchable as keywords unless they are also included in the keyword list.

Article Notes

In published articles, the article notes appear as a footnote at the bottom of the first page. In your manuscript, use the article notes to:

· Indicate if the information contained in the article was previously presented at an ASABE conference or international meeting or in another organization's publication.

·  Indicate manuscript approval by your sponsoring organization or employer, if necessary, and list any disclaimers.

· List the full names, ASABE membership, professional titles, and professional affiliations and locations for all authors.

·  List the contact information for the corresponding author, including the full mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.

Body of the Article

The introductory section of the text should include a brief statement of why the research was conducted. It should also define the problem and present objectives (including a description of the subject, scope, and purpose) along with a plan of development of the subject matter. The introductory section also usually includes a brief survey of the relevant literature on the topic.

You will want to organize the text in a manner that can be easily understood by the reader. Depending on the subject matter, this organization may be chronological, spatial, geo-graphical, or any other sequence that develops logically. Manuscripts may be written in either the first or third person. However, avoid passive voice: write "we studied the effects" rather than "the effects were studied."

Clearly indicate subdivisions of the main body with headings and sub-headings, but do not use more than three levels of headings. Subheadings facilitate comprehension for all readers and provide a quick summary for the scanning reader. The following are typical headings in a journal article:

Materials and Methods

Provide sufficient detail so that the work may be repeated. Do not give details of methods described in readily available sources. Instead, refer to the source and describe any modification. Figures that illustrate test apparatus and tables of treatment parameters or equipment specifications are appropriate here.

Results and Discussion

This section describes the solution to the problem stated in the introductory section. Use figures and tables to visually supplement the presentation of your results. The text must refer explicitly to all visuals, and you must interpret the visual elements to emphasize the evidence on which your conclusions are based. Do not omit important negative results.

In addition, relate your findings to previous findings by identifying how and why there are differences and where there is agreement. Speculation is encouraged, but it must be identified. Any controversies should also be presented clearly and fairly.

Conclusions

This is a summary of your results. In this section, state any conclusions that can be drawn from your data. You may also include suggestions for future research. The conclusion may be a subsection of the Results and Discussion section, or it may be a separate section. Data or statements cited in your conclusion must have been stated previously in the article. Do not introduce new information in the conclusion.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements are optional. Use them to thank individuals or organizations that provided assistance in materials, expertise, or financing. The acknowledgements will appear at the end of the text and should be limited to one or two sentences.

References

All sources cited in the text must be listed in the References, and all documents listed in the References must be cited in the text. ASABE generally follows the Chicago style, with a few exceptions. Click here for sample References.

Appendix

Use an appendix for material that is too long to include in the text of the article. An appendix is often used to list and define the terms used in equations. In such cases, the appendix is usually called "Nomenclature."