Instructions to Author

Updated 16 Feb 2024, 07:29 GMT+8

Malaysian Applied Biology publishes scientific articles on original research in all fields of biology and applied biology or in any related scientific field provided it has not been considered for publication in other journals. Acceptance for publication is based on contribution to scientific knowledge, originality of data, ideas or interpretations and on their conciseness, scientific accuracy and clarity, as judged by two referees appointed by the Editorial Board.

Manuscripts submitted to the journal must be original, previously unpublished and not under the consideration of other journals simultaneously. Authors are responsible to obtain written permission to reproduce any materials from other sources that are used in the manuscript, e.g. figures, tables and illustrations.

Quality Check

Journal Administrator/Managing Editor has the right to return/decline the manuscript submitted if:

  • The manuscript is not prepared following the format provided on the Instructions to Author page.
  • The manuscript is not prepared using the template provided.
  • References and citations are not formatted following the MAB style.
  • Missing authors in the contributor list.
  • The similarity percentage (Turnitin result) is higher than the permitted threshold; 25% for research articles and research notes, and 50% for review articles.

Manuscript Template:

Main Text (Research/Review)

Main Text (Research Notes/Short Communication)

Title Page

Manuscript Categories

The journal publishes research articles, review articles and research notes.

Authors submitting the Review article manuscript must provide the Curriculum Vitae of the corresponding and first authors

Authorship

  • All authors must be listed in the contributor list when submitting the manuscript in the online submission system.
  • Anyone who contributed to the work but does not meet the criteria of authorship should be listed in the acknowledgements section.
  • No addition of author is permitted after acceptance.
  • In the situation where a new author is added before acceptance, a letter of agreement of authorship signed by all authors to the Chief Editor must be presented.  

Preparing the Manuscripts

  • The preferred format for the submitted manuscript is Microsoft Word. Submitting your manuscript in this format ensures it will be handled in the most efficient manner.
  • Manuscripts should be prepared using the template provided.
  • A title page in a separate file should include the title, author's name, affiliation, abstract, key words, affiliation and e-mail of the corresponding author.
  • The title should be repeated in the main text file. Do not include author’s name and affiliation in the main text.
  • All submitted files must be free of the author's information as the journal conducts a double-blind review process.
  • Insert line number continuously on each page
  • Words that should be in italics, must be typed as such or underlined. Do not underline any other word.
  • The manuscript should be divided into the following sections: INTRODUCTION, MATERIALS and METHODS, RESULTS/and DISCUSSION, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (if any), ETHICAL STATEMENT (if any), CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT and REFERENCES.

Abstract

  • The abstract should be clear and informative when read in isolation. It should not be longer than 300 words. The heading should be capitalized followed by the text. The abstract should be in English.
  • For manuscripts in Malay, authors should supply abstracts in both English and Malay. 

Key words

  • Please provide a minimum of four and a maximum of six key words. The key words must be arranged in alphabetical order.

 Tables

  • Authors should take note of the limitations set by the size and layout of the journal. Large tables should be avoided.
  • Each table should be typed immediately after the paragraph in which the table was mentioned. All captions to tables should be typed together in sentence case.
  • Avoid unnecessary use of abbreviations.
  • Each table should be provided with a brief and self-explanatory title.
  • Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns.
  • Wherever possible, large data sets should be presented in two or more tables for clarity.

Illustrations

  • Figures and photographs are to be labeled as figures (Fig.). Full spelling Figure should be used in the main text. 
  • Subfigures must be labeled with lowercase letters e.g., Figure 1a, Figure 2b
  • Illustrations should be numbered according to their sequence in the text. References should be made in the text to each illustration.
  • Line drawings and lettering should be bold enough to allow a reduction of 50% without becoming illegible.
  • The font in the illustrations should be standardized.

  • Photographs should be supplied in high quality. Figures should be edited in any graphic software before being inserted into the manuscript. DO NOT use a text box, canvas etc. to add elements such as labelling, significance notation, arrows etc. to the figure. An example of a Figure can be seen in the template provided.

Scientific names

  • The complete Latin name (genus, species and authority) must be given in full for every organism when first mentioned in the text.
  • Italicize Latin names of genera and species.

Units, symbols and abbreviations

  • Only SI units should be used, e.g. g (gram), µL (microlitre), kg (kilogram), cm (centimeter), ha (hectare), g (gravity), h (hour), min (minute), s (second), °C (centigrade).
  • Please use the correct symbols such as µ, σ, or α using the insert symbol menu of Microsoft Word in Times New Roman.
  • Multiplication symbol × must be used, not the lowercase letter x
  • Degree symbol ° must be used, not using the superscripted number 0 or letter O 
  • With abbreviations, as few periods as possible should be used. Write LSD, SE, IAA, EDTA etc.
  • Isotopes should be indicated:14C, 32P and not C14 or P32; the exception being carbon-14 etc.

Ethical Statement

Provide the ethical statement if the research involved vulnerable populations, human and animal subjects and clinical trials. Refer to Research and Publication Ethics in the Journal Policy page.  


Acknowledgements

Authors should acknowledge the proper party in this section, including the funder. Funding details such as a grant or award number should be clearly stated in this section. 

References

  • If several references are cited in the text, they should be arranged chronologically and not alphabetically.
  • References to unpublished work and personal communications should be kept to a minimum.
  • All papers cited in the text should be given in parentheses, e.g. (Child, 1992; Smith & Cohen, 1993; Joshi et al., 1994) except when the author is mentioned e.g., "and the study of Hillman and Tasca (1990) and Joshiet al. (1994)".
  • The list of references should be arranged alphabetically according to authors' names and chronologically for each author.
  • In cited references, papers with single authorship should be cited before joint authorship.
  • Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 1984a, 1984b etc.
  • Journal names should be spelled out in full.
  • Use the following system to arrange your references:


Journal Articles (include the article ID if the page number is not available)

Author1, A.B., Author 2, C.D., Author3, E.F. & Author4, G.H. Year. Title of the article. Title Of The Journal, Volume(Issue): page number-page number.

Author1, A.B., Author 2, C.D., Author3, E.F. & Author4, G.H. Year. Title of the article. Title Of The Journal, Volume(Issue): article ID.

Example:

Mohd Ikmal, A., Noraziyah, A.A.S., Wickneswari, R., Amira, I. & Puteri Dinie Ellina, Z. 2021. Interéaction of submergence tolerance and drought yield QTLs (Sub1 and qDTYs) enhances morpho-physiological traits and survival of rice (Oryza sativa L.) under submergence. Annals of Applied Biology, 178(2): 355– 366.

Books

Author1, A.B., Author 2, C.D., Author3, E.F. & Author4, G.H. Year. Title Of The Book. Publisher, Place of Publication. number of pages. (Language if other than English)

Author1, A.B., Author 2, C.D., Author3, E.F. & Author4, G.H. Year. Title Of The Book. Edition. Publisher, Place of Publication. number of pages. (Language if other than English)

Example:

Ismail, B.S. 1992. Sains Rumpai. Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur. 242 pp. (Malay).

Hall, J.L., Flowers, T.J. & Robert, R.M. 1982. Plant Cell Structure and Metabolism. 2nd Ed. Longman, Singapore. 544 pp.

Ali, J. & Wani, S.H. 2021. Rice Improvement. Springer, Cham. 498 pp.

Work in an edited collection/Chapter in a book

Author1, A.B., Author 2, C.D., Author3, E.F. & Author4, G.H. Year. Title of the chapter. In: Title Of The Book. J.K Editor1, L.M Editor2 & N.O Editor3 (Eds.). Publisher, Place of Publication. pages-pages of the chapter.

Author1, A.B., Author 2, C.D., Author3, E.F. & Author4, G.H. Year. Title of the chapter. In: Title Of The Book. J.K Editor1 (Ed.). Publisher, Place of Publication. pages-pages of the chapter.

Example:

Yamori, W. 2021. Strategies for engineering photosynthesis for enhanced plant biomass production. In: Rice Improvement. J. Ali & S.H. Wani (Eds.). Springer, Cham. pp. 31-58.

Shukor, J. & Ismail, B.S. 1989. Effects of shade and flooding on growth and development of Asystasia intrusa. In: Weed Management. B.A. Auld, R.C. Umaly & S.S. Tjitrosomo (Eds.). Biotrop Special Publication No. 38, Seameo-Biotrop, Bogor. pp. 63-69.

Puteri, D., Ismail, A. & Farzana, M.E. 2019. Using LICOR-6400XT to measure photosynthesis. In: Physiology of Rice. T. Henry & A. Sammy (Eds.). Kita Publication, Bangi. pp. 74-85.

 
Newspaper

Ishak, M. 2017. Effect of global warming to rice. Berita Harian, February 15, p. 17.

Magazine

Bouman, S. & Lafitte, R. 2009. How much water does rice use? Rice Today, September, pp. 28–29.

Ika, M., Avi, R. & Sarah, S. 2010. Gravitational pull. Cosmology, June, pp. 45-47.

Reports

Sarimah, M., Aqlili, A., Saman, E. & Aminah, W. 2002. The fifty-year report of river pollution, Report Number 15. Public Awareness Publisher, Mersing.

Thesis/Dissertation

Author, A.B. Year. Title Of The Thesis/Dissertation (Degree Level). Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Example:

Hana, M.N. 2014. Evaluation of Rice for Grain Zinc Content (Ph.D). Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Website

Author1, A.B. Year. Title of the article in the website [WWW Document]. Website Name. URL https://linkofthewebsite.com (accessed MM.DD.YY)

Example:

Jusop, S. 2020. Climate change threatens our food security [WWW Document]. News Straits Times. URL https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2020/04/587294/climate-change-threatens-our-food-security (accessed 7.23.20).

The Malaysian Times. 2014. Kerosakan padi akibat kemarau dibanci [WWW Document]. URL http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/kerosakan-padi-akibat-kemarau-dibanci/ (accessed 8.23.18).

Proceedings

Author1, A.B. Title of paper. In: Title of The Proceeding. Publisher, Place of Publication. pp. page-page.

Example:

Faeiza, R. 2006. Effects of nutrient on growth performance of Shorea. In: Proceeding of Nature Malaysia. Routledge, London, pp. 65-72.

Wana, M. & Aliah, K. 2018. Flowers of Borneo. In: Annual Conference of Plant Scientist Proceeding. Kita Publisher, Kota Kinabalu, pp. 104-112.

Language and editing

  • Manuscripts submitted which contain many typographical errors will not be published. Authors from non-English language speaking countries who have poor English language writing skills are advised to contact a professional language editing company before submitting their manuscripts to the journal. Manuscripts which are accepted for publication on condition that the written English submitted needs to be corrected must provide proof from the professional language editing company to ensure the manuscripts are free from typographical errors.

Galley Proofs

  • When proofs are received, they should be corrected and returned to the Editor within 3 days. No changes other than editorial corrections should be made.

Research Notes

  • The journal offers the opportunity to publish Research Notes, e.g. on methods or preliminary results.
  • The manuscript should not exceed three printed pages inclusive of tables and illustrations.
  • The presentation and format of Research Notes in typed form are similar to those of a normal paper but without section headings.
  • An abstract is not required.

Submission of articles

  • Three potential reviewers should be suggested upon submission of the article in a separate file. 
  • A cover letter to the Chief Editor should be submitted with the manuscript.