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How to Prepare Manuscripts for Publishing in the Nafta Journal |
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Nafta Journal publishes yet unpublished original scientific papers and reports, interesting literary reviews, and discussions dealing with current topics in petroleum exploration, exploitation and processing, the petrochemical industry, economics in the petroleum industry and related areas. Papers are published in the Croatian and/or English language. Priority is given to articles written in English. Principally, the paper should present the integral text intended for publishing. A cover letter enclosed with the manuscript should contain the author's data (full name, address, academic title, profession, and phone number of the institute or company of employment). The manuscripts are sent to the following address: Nafta Journal , 10000 Zagreb , Savska c. 64/IV, R. Croatia, to the attention of the Editor-in-Chief. Category of papers Papers are categorized as follows:
Original scientific paper Contains yet unpublished results of an original research. It should be elaborated in sufficient detail enabling a qualified scientist, based on the information received, to: • reproduce the experiment and obtain the described results with equal precision or within an error margin as specified by the author; • repeat the author's observations, calculations or theoretic deductions, and arrive to similar conclusions. Preliminary communication Contains new scientific knowledge and results that require immediate publication. The paper is required to contain at least one new fact, scientific information, but it should not contain sufficient detail enabling the reader to test the described results. Review Contains a global review of a specific field or a problem, which has been published previously but which is here integrated, analyzed, suitably presented, and discussed. Professional paper Embraces useful articles dealing with professional fields and engaged in topics unrelated to original research. This means that the subject does not necessarily represent news on a global scale. For instance, this refers to the reproduction of well-known research work that represents valuable material in terms of expanding knowledge and adjusting the original research to specific industrial and scientific requirements. Conference papers Represents a category, which as a rule, shall be published only if not already published in the proceedings. Manuscript A manuscript is submitted in duplicate (one original and one copy), containing the following: 1) work title; 2) full name(s) of author(s); 3) textual part, which as a rule consists of an introduction, experimental part, review of results, analysis of results, and a conclusion; 4) list of references; 5) tables; 6) figures, photos, and/or equations; 7) figure and/or photo captions; 8) acknowledgements (if any); 9) abstract; 10) extended abstract. The work title should be concise. The author(s) full name(s) should be written underneath the work title. Main elements – layout and structure of the paper The Editor's office recommends that an original scientific paper reports the results of one's own investigation, and be presented in the following manner: (a) Introduction – Stating the subject of the paper, its scope and objectives, as well as including an overview of earlier research published in scientific literature. When a well-known subject is involved, particularly when similar papers have already been published in the Nafta Journal, the introduction and the list of references should be as brief as possible. In the description of earlier research work, the references should be in chronological order so as to give an idea of the history and development of the field involved. (b) Experimental – Experiments and measurements should be described in a manner enabling the results to be readily reproduced. When commercial or earlier described instruments are involved, it is necessary to specify the references and conditions in which the experiments were performed (scale). If proper experimental procedure has been developed, it should be presented in the form of prescription, giving all details and easy-to-consult drawings and/or drawings of constructed instruments/devices. (c) Results – The results should be presented in well laid out tables or charts. The charts should record all the results obtained by experiments. Statistical processing of the results is recommended. (d) Discussion – Analysis of the obtained results, comparison with previously published data, established regularities, comments on errors and precision of measurement. In some cases, if the author finds it convenient, the results and discussion may be presented side by side (simultaneously), although it is better to present them separately. (e) Conclusion – Contains an overview of the most important results. It should be written in a manner enabling the reader, by only reading the Conclusion, to form a general idea as to the value of the work and his interests related to it, and to what purpose he may use it. The conclusion may also be written simultaneously with the discussion, but here the rule also applies that it is best to write it separately. The conclusion may also be published at the beginning of the article, as is recently the case in certain US magazines. (f) Key words – The author him/herself should establish the most characteristic words contained in the article. The author should write three to six key words, indicating the very essence of the article, both in Croatian (if possible) and English. For example, an article entitled “Characteristic Trends of Drilling Costs in the Dinarides” has the following key words: Bušenje – Drilling Troškovi – Costs Dinaridi – Dinarides (g) Acknowledgements (if any) – follow at the end of the article but precede References. (h) References – Correct citation of references should be dealt with carefully. References should be typed on a separate page and each reference numbered in order of appearance in the text. (i) Citation of journals – The citation should read in the following order: author's surname, author's first-name initial(s), comma , name of the journal or its international abbreviation, space (without a comma), volume or annual file ( underlined or bold ), comma , page number, year in brackets , full stop . E.g.: Skerlev P., Velebir K., Nafta ( Zagreb ) 29 , 24 (1978). If a journal has separate page numbering for each issue of the same annual file, the number of the journal should be indicated in brackets following the volume, otherwise it will not be unmistakably identified. It should be mentioned that in petroleum literature there are many similar journals and such errors in citation are very common. Thus, the correct way to write the citation is: Jelinek J., Hlavacek V., Hydrocarbon Processing 50 (8), 135 (1971). In order to help the authors in their work, at the end of these instructions we shall quote a list of the most frequently cited journals dealing with petroleum industry along with the relevant abbreviations. If two different journals share the same title, then we should write in brackets the place of publication. This is precisely the case with our journal. The correct citation should therefore read as follows: Nafta ( Zagreb ) to be distinguished from Nafta ( Katowice ). (j) Citation of books - Books should be cited as follows: author's surname, author's first-name initials, book title, publisher, place of publication, year of publication, page abbreviation, page number (commas are placed as shown in the example). E.g.: King C.J., Separation Processes, McGraw-Hill , New York , 1980. p. 59-68. (k) Citation of patents - The details
should be written in the following order: author's surname, author's
first-name initials, in brackets the company in whose name the
patent is registered (or first the name of the company, and then of
the inventor's dependent on who the patentee is), abbreviation of
the country of patent registration, patent number, date of
publication, date as of which the patent is effective (priority
date), number of pages. If the author has not had a letter patent
submitted to him, then the source is quoted (which in most cases is
the reference journal). For example: Phillips Petroleum Co. (By L.W. Pollock). Ger 1,130,100 May 24, 1962 ; Appl. June 19, 1950 ; 7 pp. cited after C.A. (1963) 402 b (l) Miscellaneous - Congressional
communications, internal communications from individual companies,
off-prints and similar, should be cited in as much detail as
possible. This refers especially to data on the publisher and the
date of issue, and in distinction from other references it should
also include the title. For example: (m) Abstract – Should be brief and
informative. It points out conclusions for each new piece of
information the paper supplies. This will help the reader to decide
promptly whether he is interested in the relevant article. An
abstract (as well as the article) is written in the third person and
in connected writing, in the form of a composition (not a list of
titles). It should be clearly phrased, readable, and readily
understandable without having to refer to the text of the original
article. It should not include equations or references, and it
should have a maximum of 500 characters. N.N., Recent methods for determination of hydrocarbon structure. The article supplies a list of literature dealing with analytical methods for determination of hydrocarbon structure in oil fractions, quoting 42 references. And finally, the abstract should include the title of the paper (in the language of the abstract), along with the author's name and surname written underneath the title. (n) Extended Abstract - Written in English for a paper prepared in Croatian, and in Croatian for a paper prepared in English, length 1-2 printed pages. It should be written in a manner enabling the reader to identify the basic content of the work, by consulting the English text in the tables and figures etc., (of which the text should supply pertinent instructions). This refers especially to the results of research work and relevant conclusions. Units of measurement When writing a paper we should strictly use SI-units. The measurements of all relations should be specified. When dealing with specific nomenclature, we should include a list of all the symbols and definitions that have been used in the relevant article, both in English and in the language of the article. The use of Anglo-American units of measurement may be allowed only where customary (for example: oil pipeline diameter in inches, capacity of a refinery in barrels per day). In these cases, we should write the measurements first in our units and then the Anglo-American units in brackets. External form of the manuscript The manuscript must be typewritten on one side of the paper only, on quality, standard-sized paper (A4 - 210 x 297 mm or similar). The recommended maximum volume of a manuscript is 16 typewritten, double-spaced pages, A4 paper size, with all enclosures included (figures, tables, references, etc.). One page may have 28-30 typewritten lines. The first page of the manuscript should have a top margin of at least 5 cm (2"), and a left margin of at least 3.5 cm on every typewritten page for possible symbols and for the copy editor to enter necessary instructions. Each page of the manuscript should be numbered, i.e. marked with an ordinal number starting from l. Tables Tables should be concise but only to the extent
that they ensure quick comprehension of the data and easy reference.
For the same reason, vertical lines should be avoided in a table.
(Table No. 6 - Oil Production and Consumption) Column headings should be concise and perfectly clear. Due to limited space frequent use of abbreviations is necessary, however we prefer the use of standard, generally accepted abbreviations. If column space is very limited, you may use a symbol in its heading (e.g. capital letter or a number), but then it should be explained properly in a legend underneath the table. Each page of the manuscript containing a table should bear a note at the top, as for example: Table(s) of article "How to shorten the time...", by Mr. Petrovic. Note: Each table title should be written in Croatian and English. Photographs Only sharp, clear, well-contrasted, black-and-white or color photographs will be considered. Photographs should not be glued in place. They should be sent with the manuscript as a separate attachment, specifying on the back of the photo its relevant number (if any), and its caption. The location of the photo shall be noted within the text as for example: (Figure No. 4 - View of equipment for the extraction of oil distillates) Photographs should not be folded or creased. If the photographs are sent by mail, make sure to have them packed properly in order to prevent folding or creasing. Figures The same rules for photographs also apply to figures (diagrams, charts, geographical maps and similar). They should be suitably sized (A4-A5 format) on white drawing or tracing paper, without lines. Figures (like photographs) may be stereotyped for printing, reduced or enlarged in relation to the original drawings. Thus, if the author (i.e. drafter) finds it easier to construct an enlarged drawing, he is free to do so, but he should bear in mind that by reducing a drawing by half for instance, not only shall the lines of the drawing be equally reduced and thinned, but also the letters and numbers. He should take care that the letters and numbers are large enough to withstand photographic reduction and to remain clear and legible. (The letters and numbers in figures shall conform to applied standards of technical drawing). The letters should not be drawn manually, but rather with the use of letter stencils. Figures should include the minimum amount of text
necessary for its comprehension, e.g. the name of the measuring
variable on the x- and y-axes, its dimension, brief explanation of
curves, etc. All remaining information should be presented in a
legend underneath the figure. Equations Mathematical and physical symbols in the text (functions, variables and single values) are printed in Italic . The author should underline them in pencil in the manuscript to make them clearly visible for the typesetting process. Footnotes Principally, footnotes should be avoided. Parenthetical observations, data references and similar should be quoted within the text (e.g. within brackets). Hence, the author should avoid frequent use of footnotes and apply them only when he thinks that it is absolutely necessary or unavoidable. In that case, he should indicate them in the text by an Arabic superscript numeral placed immediately after the material to be footnoted. For example: The actual drilling of planned wells 3 proceeded according to schedule. The text of the footnote should be typed on a separate page(s). At the top of the relevant page there should be a note stating, for example: Footnotes of article "Current Trends in the Petroleum Industry..." by R. Protic. Abbreviations The use of standard abbreviations should conform
to established orthographic rules. Author's data The cover letter sent with the manuscript should
naturally include the following: full name of author, qualifications
(e.g. graduate engineer of technology), scientific title (e.g.
doctor of technical sciences), company name and job title i.e. jobs
and assignments he/she performs, precise address, phone number and
the number of the author's transfer account.
Data for establishing universal decimal classification It would be very useful if the author him/herself determines several basic terms of his/her work to be entered into the universal decimal classification (UDC), which the Nafta Journal indicates at the end of each scientific paper. This will certainly help to identify the article more precisely. Note to authors Finally, we should point out that authors are
obliged to suggest the category of their article.
The reviewer should also make his own proposal. In controversial
cases, the editor of the department to which the paper has been
classified will decide on the matter. How soon will the work be published will depend on how well the manuscript is prepared. Principally, articles requiring major modifications will be returned to the author for improvement before reviewing/editing. We would very much appreciate it if the authors send the article in electronic form (on a disc or CD) along with the compulsory original and duplicate of the manuscript. |