Submissions

Author Guidelines

Please read these instructions carefully before preparing your manuscript. Manuscripts that do not follow them may be returned to the authors before review.

Submission

Manuscripts are submitted online through this website using Submit Manuscript; the system guides you step by step and confirms receipt. Submissions must be original, unpublished work in English that is not under consideration elsewhere. Revised manuscripts are due within four weeks of receiving the reviewers' comments and must be accompanied by a point-by-point response. A rejected paper may be resubmitted only as a new submission that cites the original manuscript number in the cover letter.

Article types

Research articles report full-length original studies (on average about six printed pages including tables and figures). Short communications present brief observations or preliminary or descriptive studies; they follow the article layout but combine Introduction, Results and Discussion into one section without headings. Review articles should use headings suited to the subject and normally not exceed twelve printed pages including figures and references. All article types are peer reviewed.

Manuscript preparation

• Microsoft Word file, A4 page, 2.5 cm margins on all sides, double-spaced throughout (including references and legends).
• Times New Roman, 12 pt or larger; Arial or Helvetica for text within figures.
• Number all pages and lines.
• For double-blind review, upload two files: a title page with author details, and the anonymised manuscript (abstract, text, references, figure legends, tables and figures) with all author names and affiliations removed.
• Manuscripts that do not follow these instructions are returned without review.

Structure

• Title page: concise title (avoid main-title/subtitle and full-sentence titles), all author names with affiliations marked by superscript numbers, the corresponding author (marked with an asterisk) with postal address, e-mail and phone, and a running title of no more than 54 characters including spaces.
• Abstract: no more than 250 words, able to stand on its own.
• Keywords: up to six, separated by commas; avoid general terms and non-standard abbreviations.
• Main text: Introduction (not an extensive literature review), Materials and Methods (brief but repeatable; describe new methods in detail), Results, Discussion (interpretation rather than repetition of results). Results and Discussion may be combined where this avoids repetition.
• Acknowledgements: including funding sources, placed before the references.

Tables and figures

• Place each table on a separate page with an Arabic number and a title. Give every column a heading, use no vertical rules, and mark footnotes with superscript lowercase letters.
• Number figures with Arabic numerals; label parts of multi-part figures with bold capital letters (A, B, C). Size figures for one column (84 mm) or two columns (176 mm), keep text legible after 50% reduction, and use lines at least 0.5 mm thick.
• At first submission, include tables and figures in the manuscript file. After acceptance, supply high-quality figure files; blurred images cannot be used.
• Authors bear the cost of reproducing colour photographs.

Units and nomenclature

• Use British English spelling and SI units, with negative-index notation (for example kg ha^-1) rather than "/" or "per".
• Give the scientific (Latin) name of every organism at first mention.
• Define each abbreviation once, at first use.

References

SE uses the name-year style.

• In the text: (Author, year), (Author and Author, year) or (Author et al., year) for more than two authors; list multiple citations chronologically.
• Reference list: alphabetical by first author, naming all authors; works by the same author(s) in chronological order, with a, b, c for the same year. Give journal names in full, in italics.
• Journal article: Reeve, R.C. and E.J. Doering. 1966. Title of the article. Full Journal Name 30: 489-495.
• Book: Author, A.B. Year. Title of the Book, 2nd Ed. Publisher, Place. 340 p.
• Book chapter: Author, A.B. Year. Title of the chapter. p. 319-418. In: C.D. Editor (ed.). Title of the Book. Publisher, Place.
• Website: Author or organisation. Year. Title. URL [Accessed day month year].

Originality, authorship and permissions

All authors must agree to the submission, to the order of authors and to the corresponding author acting on their behalf. The corresponding author provides an originality and authorship certificate signed by all authors. Any change to the author list after submission (additions, removals or re-ordering) requires the written agreement of everyone concerned. Authors must obtain, and submit, written permission to reproduce any copyrighted figures, tables, data or text.

Similarity check

All manuscripts are screened with Turnitin. Manuscripts with an overall similarity index above 19%, or with more than 4% similarity to any single uncited source, are returned for revision or may not be processed further. Common phrases and standard methods text may be disregarded, and similarity with the authors' own earlier work is accepted only when that work is cited.

After acceptance

• Galley proofs are sent as a PDF to the corresponding author once the publication charges have been received. Only one set of corrections is accepted, and the content may not be changed at proof stage.
• Return corrected proofs within the time requested by the Editorial Office.

Publication charges

From 1 June 2025, the following handling, processing and printing charges apply after a manuscript has been accepted. There is no submission fee.

Payment details are sent by the Editorial Office with the acceptance letter. Proofs are issued once payment has been received.

Questions about preparing a manuscript can be sent to the Editorial Office at office@se.org.pk.