Guide for Authors

Ready to submit your paper to Detritus? Our guide for authors details how to submit your paper and its related files.

The articles must be typed and edited strictly in accordance with our Template and submitted through the ScholarOne platform.

Download the “Article Template” DOC

Download the Guide for Authors PDF

GUIDE FOR AUTHORS / SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

Authors should verify that:

• Manuscripts have been categorized according to the paper typology (e.g. Full Length Research Articles, Review articole, etc.).
• Manuscripts strictly comply with limits for text length, number & dimension of tables and figures.
• Manuscripts have been splitted into different files: text (including the list of Figures caption, placed at the end of text body), tables (individual file for each Table), Figures (individual file – jpg – for each Figure).
• All materials, including eventual supplementary files, have been regularly uploaded.
• Author names and their affiliations have been provided.
• One author has been designated as corresponding author with updated contact details.
• The manuscript title is short and informative.
• The abstract can be read as stand-alone text, and does not exceed 250 words.
• The manuscript file contains all essential sections (if applicable): Title, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, References.
• In the Reference section: DOI must be cited in a completed linked format (e.g. https://doi.org/10. xxxxxxxxx). This would allow consult the given papers more easily. Please write the DOI at the beginning of each row in order to read the link in the pdf file correctly.
• The manuscript has been checked for spelling and grammar.
• All references mentioned in the References list are cited in the text, and vice versa.
• All figures and tables have a related caption at the end of the text and are mentioned in the text.
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources including the Web.
• Relevant keywords describing the article have been provided.
• All necessary declarations have been made.

1. TYPE OF PAPERS:
Detritus accepts submission of the following types of papers:

• Full Length Research Articles (maximum 7,000 words, including Articles submitted for Special Issues)
• Review Articles (maximum 10,000 words)
• Short Communications (maximum 3,500 words)
• Discussion paper (maximum 2,500 words)
• Case Studies (maximum 7,000 words)
• Position Papers (maximum 5,000 words)
• Country reports (maximum 3,500 words)
• Technology developments (maximum 5,000 words)
• Letters to the Editor (maximum 2,500 words)
• Technical / Methodology reports (maximum 7,000 words)

The word count for all article types does not include the abstract, figures, tables, appendices, funding, acknowledgements, and references.

2. LANGUAGE
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted). If you feel that your manuscript may require language revision, please consider the use of an editing service before submission to ensure your manuscript is understandable and free of grammatical or spelling errors. If you wish to enlist the help of a native speaker to improve the English of your manuscript, please contact the Editorial Office (editorialoffice@detritusjournal.com).

3. COVER LETTER
A cover letter is not mandatory, as we request all essential information at submission. However, you are welcome to provide a cover letter containing any additional information that you would like us to be aware of.

4. MANUSCRIPT ORGANIZATION
Please provide your manuscript in an editable format; any common word processing software is acceptable (e.g. Microsoft Word). The text should be in single-column format and the layout of the text should be as simple as possible. Always use a single font for the whole text, to be chosen amongst the most common, such as: Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri, single-spaced and justified. Manuscripts must be typewritten with a font size of 10,5 pt, with wide margins. Please use page numbers and do not use the word processor options to hyphenate words.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the “spell-check” and “grammar-check” functions of your word processor.
The collective size of all submitted files must not exceed 100 MB.
All manuscripts must contain the essential elements needed to convey the content in clearly defined sections: Title, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods (if applicable), Results, Discussion and/or Conclusions, Figures and Tables with Captions, and any Supplementary Material required.

4.1 Subdivision – numbered sections
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections (1, 2, etc.). Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, …), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not merely refer to ‘the text’. Subsections may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.
4.2 Title
Please provide a title that is concise and informative; ideally it should contain no more than 20 words. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

4.3 Authors
Please clearly indicate the full given names and family names of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. List the authors’ affiliation addresses below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a superscript number immediately after the author’s name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.
Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication (Corresponding Author). Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.

To add, delete or rearrange author names during the peer review process, please send to the Editorial Office a written confirmation from all authors (including those who have been removed or added ) that they agree with the proposed change.

4.4 Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the study, the principal results and major conclusions. Abstracts are often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand-alone. Please avoid the use of references and abbreviations.

4.5 Keywords
Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, using British spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, ‘and’, ‘of’). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

4.6 Introduction
Please provide adequate background information, while avoiding a detailed literature review, and state the objectives of your work in light of previous findings.

4.7 Materials and Methods (if applicable)
Please provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Previously published methods should be shown in a reference; you only need to describe relevant modifications.

4.8 Results
Results should be clear and concise.

4.9 Discussion
A Discussion should explore the significance of the results of the work, not just repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate.

4.10 Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, as a stand-alone section or in form of a subsection of the Discussion or Results and Discussion section.

4.11 Acknowledgements
Please collate all acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article, before the references.

4.12 Appendices
If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) and so on. Similarly for tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.

5. REFERENCES
5.1 Formatting
Please use one of the most popular reference management software programs to include citations in your manuscript (Mendeley, Zotero, EndNote, etc.). Using the word processor plug-ins from these products, please select the latest version of the ‘American Psychological Association (APA)’ style, after which citations and bibliographies will be automatically formatted in the correct style.
Please refer to the template provided.

For further information, please visit: http://www.apastyle.org/index.aspx
We highly encourage the inclusion of DOIs to ensure references are citable and discoverable.
DOI must be cited in a completed linked format (e.g. https://doi.org/10. xxxxxxxxx). This would allow to consult the given papers more easily.
Please write the DOI at the beginning of each row in order to read the link in the pdf file correctly.

References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, etc., placed after the year of publication.
Any missing data will be highlighted at proof stage for you to correct.

5.2 Citation in text

Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa).
All citations in the text should refer to:

1. Single author: the author’s name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;
2. Two authors: both authors’ names and the year of publication;
3. Three or more authors: first author’s name followed by ‘et al.’ and the year of publication.

Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed first alphabetically, then chronologically.

5.3 Citing of websites
The full URL should be provided, along with the date on which the reference was last accessed. Any further available information (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.) should also be given.

6. FIGURE
Figures must be uploaded separately (not included in the text but presented in separate files). Please number figures according to their sequence in the text and provide captions at the end of your manuscript. Therefore, do not import figures into the text file but indicate their approximate locations directly on the manuscript (e.g. ****figure 1**** ). Please, notice that our journal is printed in colour so we kindly recommend to avoid using different shades of grey in the graphs but colours.

6.1 Number of figures
The total number of figures should not exceed 8, unless motivated by a written request.

6.2 Figure captions
Captions should be self-contained and consist of a brief title and a concise description of the illustration. All symbols and abbreviations used should be explained.

6.3 Figure size
Figures should be presented in high resolution, in JPG or TIFF format (with a 300 DPI/inch resolution in the established format), EPS or PDF.

6.4 Figure labels
Please use uniform lettering and sizing in your original figures. To ensure labels are legible, we suggest using the Arial font in your illustrations, sizing it according to final figure size.

7. TABLES

Please provide individual file (.docx) for each Table. Tables should not present a complex structure and should not exceed one A4 page (character Arial 10.5 pt).
Please number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any notes below the table body. Please submit tables as editable text and not as images and use a single table grid for each individual table. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells. Please also avoid uploading the tables twice (once in the manuscript and once in the additional separate files).

7.1 Number of Tables
Tables must not be higher than 3. Whenever possible transform Tables into Figures or trasnfer them to supplementary materials. Exceptions should be applied with a motivated request.

7.2 Table size
The size of Tables should not exceed one A4 page (font Arial 10,5 pt)

RECOMMENDATION FOR FIGURES AND TABLES:
Please do not refer to the position of tables or figures in the text (e.g. using terms such as see the figure above/ the figure below / the following figure) as the placement may change in final published layout of the article. The number of the Figure / Table to be referred to should always be mentioned (i.e. please see Figure 6 or see Table 2, etc)”

8. ABBREVIATIONS
Please define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page of the article. Unavoidable use of these abbreviations in the abstract must be defined on first mention, as well as in the footnote. Please ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

9. NOMENCLATURE AND UNITS
Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). Please consult IUPAC (http://www.iupac.org/) for further information.
Please insert a space between values and measurement units (e.g. 5 kg/d). Do not insert spaces between numbers and percentage symbol (e.g. 10%) or between values and degree symbol (e.g. 37°C).

10. MATHEMATICAL EQUATIONS
Please ensure that mathematical equations are submitted in an editable format and not as images. You should present simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible, and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables should be presented in Italics. You should number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).

11. SUPPLEMENTARY CONTENT
We strongly encourage you to present all information within the main article and eliminate supplementary content whenever possible. Detritus accepts electronic supplementary content when appropriate, such as large dataset files, video and audio files, archives, and any other file containing information that cannot easily be incorporated into the main manuscript. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article.

12. OTHER EDITORIAL RULES
12.1 Hyphens
Hyphen minus -, without spaces either before or after, must be used to indicate an interval between numbers or to separate composed words or else strictly connected (e.g. end-of-life).

Hyphen – is used for sub-sections and is preceded and followed by a space. It is used sparsely, only when absolutely necessary in order to make a phrase less ambiguous; otherwise commas are preferred.

12.2 Lists
Lists must be dotted or numbered.

13. REVISIONS
If your manuscript has been reviewed and the editor invites you to submit a revised version of your manuscript, please carefully consider all editor and reviewer comments. If you are able to suitably address these comments, you should submit a table with a response to each comment alongside your revised manuscript. Please either outline how the criticism was addressed in the revised manuscript or provide a rebuttal to the criticism. Your manuscript and the response to the comments and criticisms will be assessed by the original editor whenever possible and, if required, by the original reviewers.  Please upload a track-changed copy of the manuscript together with a clean version.

14. ADDITIONAL EDITING FEES

Costs for additional items:

• Tables ≥ 3 = 100 € / Table