Recommendations for Authors
By the time when it is necessary to prepare an article for a scientific journal, the future author must perform some research on the topic of his master's, candidate's or any other work. It is assumed that the researcher has already chosen the topic of research and approved it, collected and analyzed the primary and secondary information, identified the problems and formulated the research goals, conducted the studies and received the first results. Now he must show these results to the wide scientific community. The time for the article preparation has come.
Article type
Original articles
These articles keep research containing scientific novelty. They should be structured in a following way: Annotation in the text language, Keywords, Introduction, Overview of the external environment, Input data and methods, Research results, Discussion and analysis of results, Closing and conclusions, Expression of appreciation (if sufficient), Bibliography (GOST), Abstract, References (“Harvard” standard), Statement of conflict of interest and financing (if sufficient).
Review articles
Review articles should have a short meaningful title and provide a balanced synthesis of modern knowledge. They should be structured in a following way: Annotation in the text language, Keywords, Introduction, Overview of the external environment and the Main text, Closing and conclusions, Expression of appreciation (if sufficient), Bibliography (GOST), Abstract, References("Harvard" standard), Statement of conflict of interest and financing (if sufficient).
Structure of the scientific article
Each component serves different purposes and has its own narrow function and goal. Identifying the relationship of the article individual components will help the author logically organize the article and eliminate the repetition of the text.
Article header
Abstract
The Abstract represents one paragraph of the text. It is located before the introduction. The Abstract is published many times in various bibliographic descriptions and can be available in library databases. Therefore it is a very important component of the article. The Abstract contains a general introduction to the article, highlights the main problems and goal as well as the main results and a very brief conclusion. The Abstract is shorter than the discussion of the results and conclusion. As a rule, the Abstract does not require references to literary sources, individual publishers do not recommend using mathematical expressions.
The Abstract should inform the reader in a brief form about what the article is about and what the main contribution of the author is, that is considered and discussed.
Keywords
Keywords should reflect the terminology area of the article: what terms are used in the article or with what terms it can be logically linked; with which names of organizations, individuals, geographic regions, etc. article is associated
Introduction
The introduction, apparently, is the most important component of the scientific article. Almost every reader looks through the introduction. The introduction is written taking into account the strict observance of professional terminology adopted in considered branch.
The first paragraph of the introduction should resemble an inverted isosceles triangle: it is necessary to begin with a broad discussion of the situation and detail, going down to the definition of a specific problem which the article is devoted to. The purpose of the first paragraph is to draw the reader's attention to the article by clearly showing him the problem to which the article is directed. This paragraph should show the reader that he is on the edge of the unexplored things. The text of the paragraph should show that the author gives here a squeeze from a deep diagnostic examination of the external and internal situation on the issue under consideration. This paragraph should end with the formulation of the problem that the author of the article intended to solve. Below there are two options for the introductory phrase for entry of the maritime transport practice.
Start with an attention-getting generalized formulation that determines the direction of research.
The next phrase of the introduction narrows the topic. This sentence often contains citation of the sources of other works and shows a specific lack of knowledge that predetermines the formulation of the problem. This part of the introduction can vary in size from one to several sentences but its main goal is to show the reader a lack of knowledge to solve the problems identified.
For example.
"Logistics as a science and practice arose in the beginning of the XIX century. The process of its evolution was accompanied by a number of historical, economic, social and technical transformations that led to its rapid development at the present time. Nevertheless, in our country the level of development of logistics is not enough [reference to the published source]. Logistics - is the management of flows of material and technical resources and production stocks. The main objects of research in logistics are: logistics operations, supply chains, system, function, material information and financial flows. The main operations in logistics are purchase (supply), production, sales. Purchases are made on the basis of contracts. The management of the contract covers the period of time from its formation to full execution. The analysis of the fulfilled contracts of goods deliveries in the mixed messages of the company "HUH" has shown a number of systematically repeating violations of their conditions. Among them the most significant factors are the inconsistency of the actions of individual participants in the process, the violation of the timing of goods movements and payments «because of the use of traditional management schemes" [reference to the research conducted by the author of the article].
Thus, the last rule for entering is following: Complete the introductory paragraph with a general formulation of the problem, stating its specificity with the help of individual factors.
Following this procedure, the introduction will contribute to the goal of attracting the reader by revealing the problem and determining the main direction of the article.
Overview of the external environment
Traditional paragraphs which provide an overview of literary sources and current trends go after the introductory paragraph. Their number varies depending on the topic and the number of identified publications. At the beginning of the literature review you should briefly focus on the historical contribution of researchers on the issue dealt with in the article and the direction of scientific and technological progress. The goal is not to cover all research as it is done when preparing a review of literary sources in the thesis. It is necessary to focus attention only on those researches and their incompleteness which concern the solution of the identified problem. The following paragraphs should briefly disclose the current state of science on the issue under consideration and the significant differences between what has already been published and the author's new contribution. All intermediate paragraphs must obey the following rule: a literature review establishes a fundamental historical contribution and outlines the boundaries of knowledge and thus, confirms the novelty of the author's contribution.
The literature review should be based on articles from refereed journals. When speaking at a scientific conference, it should be noted that the proposed approach has not been published anywhere before. The material published on the site must have a multimedia character. References to non-referenced material are not considered to be a sufficient argument. Therefore, the review of the literature raises the reputation of our predecessors and confirms the need for and novelty of the contribution of the article proposed for publication. Then goes the formulation of the purpose of your research – by reformulation of the negative situation noted in the problem, into the desired and realistically achievable situation in the future.
It ends with a paragraph with “a road map”. This paragraph outlines the remaining parts of the article in general terms. This can be presented in a generalized form as a result or in the form of a brief description of each remaining part of the article
For example.
Multiple laboratory experiments with the deployment of the fleet of the company "XXX" showed that with the available initial data reflecting the current operating conditions of the linear or tramp fleet, the previously developed mathematical models are not applicable. We also carried out approbation of mathematical models used in the project methodology. Modeling showed the expediency of further use of such models for the placement of the tramp fleet with access to the schedule of traffic and vessel handling. (This is paragraph 1).
In paragraph 2 a description of the initial data for the placement of the fleet on several mathematical models in different operating conditions is presented. Paragraph 3 provides, for example, fleet deployment models for various operating conditions in tramp and linear shipping. In paragraph 4 in this example the simulation results for the options are reflected. In paragraph 5 in this example the simulation results are discussed and analyzed.
The road map has two important functions. Firstly, it reflects the full contribution of the proposed article in the context of previous studies, that is, it expresses the novelty and extent of the new contribution. Secondly, she directs the experienced reader-specialist to the most interesting part of the article for him. Thus, we have the last rule for forming an introduction: Complete the introduction by emphasizing to the reader the specific contribution of the article to the treasury of knowledge and explain him its general organization.
This paragraph will also help you organize the logic of the presentation of the material: if the introduction is incomprehensible, then the subsequent part of the article will be built on a weak foundation.
Input and Methods
Usually this part of the article describes the initial data and methods used in the research. The field of research shows what kind of activity is being studied (for example, the composition of data on maritime transport as a branch of the national economy, shipping in international maritime communications or standards for the construction of tankers, the characteristics of the port control system, etc.). Further the methods and models for processing data or modeling processes are disclosed (for example, the placement of a fleet for shipping in the directions for an operational period of time). You should also describe how the results were obtained. They must be specific. The basic rule here is following: Describe all the techniques used and ways for conducting the experiment separately.
The description should be short, precise and clear. Complex sentences should be excluded as well as minor details.
Having read this paragraph, the reader should be able to form his own opinion on the quality of the research results from the presented facts.
Research results
The paragraph characterizing the results and the paragraph following it, devoted to their discussion, allows the greatest flexibility in structure and content. In any case, first of all, correct and objective results should be presented without interpretation. These results should be presented in the form of data on the previously established indicators system, on the results of calculations using the models and methods proposed by the author. The results are just figures that do not carry qualitative conclusions. Often paragraphs that consider the results and discuss them are combined but in this case there should be a clear boundary between the presented results and their consideration. This can be done with the help of paragraphs and the logical distribution of information between them.
The main goal of the paragraph on results is to present data on your experiment so that other researchers can draw their own conclusions and fully understand the basis for your conclusions. The usual content of this paragraph is a series of indicators obtained as a result of calculations to justify your decision. They can be presented in graphical or tabular form. Graphic form of data representation is preferred. They should reflect the uniqueness, objectivity and depth of the research. The results should be interrelated. Here we refer to the following rule: The results should be clear, convincing and generalized.
Discussion and analysis of results
In the paragraphs devoted to the discussion and analysis of the results, an interpretation of the results of the research is presented in order to obtain a general conclusion. This is the place where the author's opinion seems to represent his own picture with all the details and colors. Here is the author's argument. Authors often combine the presentation of results and their discussion. In any case they should avoid repeating the same data, the same text. That is, the authors must give their conclusions in parallel with the results. A large proportion of scientific articles in international practice, however, describes the results and their discussion in separate paragraphs.
Here we usually compare the report indicators and the data obtained as a result of the application of various models and methods recommended by the author of the article. These two aspects are more often considered: the results are compared with earlier works and what new and significant is in them. Another area of consideration of the results is how they contribute to solving large engineering or economic problems at the level of a large science. Thus, the main direction of discussion of the results has the following direction: In the paragraph "Discussion and analysis of results" the results are interpreted to obtain the main conclusion on the article.
The paragraph "Discussion and analysis of results" gives the scientist the greatest freedom and the opportunity to attract the reader to his side. Warning: never claim what you are not 100% certain - do not open the door to a negative review or the final rejection of your article. As a rule, in this case it is better to be conservative. Most review experts reading your article will make their own conclusions. In this part of the article it is allowed that the author emits the conclusions that seem most important to him.
Closing and conclusions
The final paragraph of the article does not provide any new information or explanations: here are only generalization and conclusions. This paragraph is longer than the annotation and usually includes more specific conclusions. There are more quantitative evaluations in it than in the annotation. However, the presentations of equations, formulas or references to literary sources are undesirable. The conclusion differs by freer style of presentation of the material than the annotation.
A good format for this paragraph is two paragraphs. The first paragraph summarizes the individual parts of the article. The second paragraph is final and describes the main conclusions. It describes the facts about which the reader already knows from the text of the article. In the end, main result is emitted. There are two possible approaches to the formation of the main conclusions in the second paragraph. Present the conclusions in their logical sequence and relationship or start with the most important conclusions. It is important to remember that in this paragraph there should not be any new information. There may be a combination of the information presented above in order to obtain an important conclusion. Information that has not been discussed above is not allowed.
The third paragraph in the conclusion may indicate the direction of subsequent researches which naturally flow out the article.
The guiding rule for forming closing and conclusions can be formulated in the following way: A paragraph in which the closing and conclusions tell the reader what they have already read and present the main conclusions in a brief form using specific terminology.
If the reader needs to find out the specifics of the problem that is considered in the article then most likely he will read the introduction and then closing and conclusion. Therefore, it is desirable that all important findings to be summed up and combined in the main conclusions. Following these instructions you will achieve that your article will have the maximum impact and receive the most positive review.
Expression of appreciation
This paragraph is placed at the end of the article and at least it should reflect the most important sources of research support which have a significant impact on the preparation of the article. Here you can pay tribute to all the specialists who contributed to the preparation of the article or the provision of the data you used but at a level of their efforts that does not give grounds for considering them co-authors.
At present time the tendency of expressing gratitude to the contribution of reviewers is developing. This is a controversial issue. Since the paragraph with gratitude can not serve as a reference or a summary, the reviewer will agree with the refined text and agree with its publication. In fact, if the comments of the reviewer led to a substantial rework of the research and results and the articles respectively, then reviewer can be invited as a co-author. It is not ethical to praise the reviewer and create the visibility that each article gets wide recognition thanks to his "most valuable" remarks.
Bibliography
All the works of other authors mentioned in the article must be put in the list which is located at the end. List of literature sources on paper and electronic media is made in accordance with the standards adopted in the country. It must fit all basic requirements and specific instructions
Abstract (in English)
The summary of the article in English consists of similar subsections as in your article. Each section includes several sentences containing the basic information of the section. Abstract should inform the English-speaking reader in a brief form about what the article is about and what the main contribution of the author is that is considered and discussed.
References. (Harvard standard)
List of literature for foreign citations. It is designed according to the "Harvard" standard. While designing the automatic link creation system can be useful: http://www.bibme.org/apa/journal-citation/new (choose InPrint or OnLine).
