Research Article Template and Guidance

Aug 31, 2026

This document provides submission guidance and formatting requirements for research articles intended for journal review. It instructs authors on how to structure key components such as Highlights, Abstract, and Keywords, emphasizing concise, factual wording and strict character or length limits. It also specifies authorship presentation rules, including accurate naming, affiliation formatting with superscript letters, and clear designation of the corresponding author with up-to-date contact details. Additional requirements cover manuscript layout, line numbering, section numbering conventions, and careful handling of acronyms, references, and terminology.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryGeneral

FormatDOCX

Pages10

Reading Time4 min

AccessFree to download

Highlights

Title and author information

Abstract

Keywords

Introduction

Manuscript formatting and structure

Highlights* Include 3 to 5 bullet points that convey the main findings of the work. Methods and results are not “findings,” so they should not appear as highlights. Bullets are limited to a maximum of 85 characters, including spaces. Bullets should be complete sentences, not sentence fragments. Highlights should be able to stand alone, so avoid acronyms or specialized terms. * Please note: Highlights are not part of the manuscript document but should be submitted in a separate editable file in the online submission system. Please use “Highlights” in the file name. Also, in the submission’s cover letter, authors should clearly state what are the key contributions of their work and why their contributions are novel and worthy of journal consideration. The Title Should Be Concise without Unfamiliar Terms or Acronyms or Subjective Terms, such as “Novel” or “Innovative” List all authorsa in a comma-delimited list*, with their respective affiliationsb footnoted immediately belowc a Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. Most COMPAG papers have three to six authors (please refer to the Author Statement guidance on the last page of this document). b Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter 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. c Authors are expected to carefully consider the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal Editor. * Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about Methodology and Materials. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author. Abstract A concise and factual Abstract is required, which should not be longer than 400 words. An Abstract should succinctly summarize a paper’s content, including: the purpose of the research, the methods employed, principal results, and major conclusions/findings. Results should be described in specific terms, using numbers where appropriate and avoiding statements such as, “Results of our tests were good” or “Implications are discussed.” Because an Abstract provides a summary of the paper, there is no need to include a summary section or paragraph near the end of the paper, e.g., in the Conclusions section. An Abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, literature references should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, nonstandard or uncommon abbreviations or acronyms should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the Abstract itself. Keywords. Provide a maximum of six keywords, using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, “and,” “of”). Use abbreviations sparing; only abbreviations (or acronyms) firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes. Introduction An Introduction should contain three components: (1) one or more paragraphs describing the problem, which justifies, and provides a context for, the research, (2) a concise review of pertinent past international research related to the problem and how the current study expects to extend those prior results, and (3) objectives for the current research

FAQs

What should be included in the Highlights section, and how should it be written?

Include 3 to 5 bullet points that convey the main findings. Bullets must be complete sentences, no longer than 85 characters including spaces, and should be able to stand alone without acronyms or specialized terms.

What are the key requirements for the Abstract?

The Abstract must be concise and factual, not exceeding 400 words. It should summarize purpose, methods, principal results, and major conclusions, describing results with specific terms and numbers where appropriate while avoiding non-informative phrases.

How should authorship and corresponding author details be handled?

Authors must list names in a comma-delimited list with affiliations footnoted immediately below using lower-case superscript letters and full postal addresses. The corresponding author must be clearly identified at all stages, with an email address provided and kept up to date.

Aug 31, 2026

Upload by Quinn Holloway