For Authors

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

General requirements

The following types of manuscripts can be considered for peer-reviewed publication in the Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences (VJAS): research articles, review articles or short communications. Manuscripts submitted to the journal should not have been published in any other journals or being considered for publication elsewhere. VJAS publishes original and high quality research papers on all fields of agricultural sciences including crop science, plant protection, animal science, veterinary medicine, aquaculture, mechanical and electrical engineering, soil science and plant nutrition, ecology and environment, biotechnology, food technology, economics and rural development, and information technology of agriculture, etc.

Manuscript preparation

An article published in VJAS often includes the following: (1) Title of the paper; (2) Name(s) of the author(s) and affiliation(s); (3) Abstract together with keywords; (4) Main content of the article, including: Introduction, Materials and Methods; Results and Discussion which can also be separated into two sections, Results and Discussion; and Conclusion; (5) Acknowledgements (if needed); (6) References.

Authors are advised to take a look at the recent published issues to see the manuscript format (or check the journal website https://vjas.vnua.edu.vn).

Manuscripts should be prepared in MS Word using a 12 point Times New Roman font, be single spaced with 3-cm left and right margins, 2.5-cm top and bottom margins; and “justified”. Research articles (including references, tables and figures) should be around 6000 words in length (technical fields) or 7000 words in length (socio-economic fields). Review articles (including references, tables and figures) should not exceed 8000 words in length (technical fields) or 9000 words in length (socio-economic fields).

The title of the article must reflect the content of the paper. It must be concise and informative, contains the high-frequency words and illustrates key words. The first letter of each word in the title must be capitalized except for articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.

Abstract should state the objectives of the research, main methodologies, research results and major conclusions. The length of the abstract should not exceed 250 words. There should be 3 to 6 key words.

The symbols and exponents are clearly presented, and noted from the first use. Plants, insects, animals and microorganisms, when presented for the first time in abstracts and articles, should be accompanied by their scientific names (Latin double names). For land terminology, the International Classification System (FAO-UNESCO) or the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Classification System can be used as a reference document when presenting the local classification system. Math equations: please use Equation. Chemical formulations: the ionic chemistry should be specified as Ca²⁺ or SO₄^2- , not as Ca⁺⁺ or SO₄^—. The number of radioactive isotopes must be written before the symbol, for example: ¹⁸O or ¹⁵(NH₄)₂SO₄. As for the statistical significance, please specify the corresponding level of significance. 

Tables and figures

Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text and must include table/figure captions. Tables and figures will appear in the published article in the order in which they are numbered initially. Table titles should be put above the tables, and the figure captions should be under the figures. The notes should be italic. 

For each text citation there must be a corresponding citation in the reference list, and for each reference list citation there must be a corresponding text citation. Each text citation must include at least two pieces of information, author(s) and year of publication. Example for citations: with one author: Smith (1995) or (Smith, 1995); with two authors: Smith and Andersen (1995) or (Smith and Andersen, 1995); with three or more than three authors: Smith et al. (1995) or (Smith et al., 1995). References are listed in alphabetical order (English references and Vietnamese references should not be separated; English references are put in the order of author's surnames, while Vietnamese references are put in the order of author's first name).

References

Authors should follow the models of research article, review paper and short communication as following link: https://vjas.vnua.edu.vn/index.php/vjas/libraryFiles/downloadPublic/6.

ORCID

In an attempt to ensure an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process, VJAS supports ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities ensuring that their work is recognized.

We encourage all authors to include their ORCIDs as part of the submission process. If you do not already have one you can create one on the website https://orcid.org/.

Manuscript submission

All manuscripts must be submitted electronically via the Journal's Web-based submission system at https://vjas.vnua.edu.vn/index.php?journal=vjas&page=about&op=submissions. Author(s) must create an account to submit their manuscript(s) (please see User Guide for Authors for more details at https://vjas.vnua.edu.vn/support/user-guide-author.pdf). The authors can also suggest at least two potential reviewers to the Editorial Board for consideration. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide a rigorous assessment of the manuscript. However, it does not necessarily mean that the manuscript will be assessed by them.

Article processing charges

To partially cover the cost of publication, authors are required to pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) of 500,000 VND (approximately 22 USD) for manuscripts accepted after the pre-check by the managing editor. However, the APC is waived for authors who are residing and working outside of Vietnam. There are no charges for rejected articles after the pre-check, no submission fees, and no additional fees based on the length of the article, number of figures, or supplementary data. Editorial items (such as Editorials, Corrections, Additions, Retractions, Letters, Comments, etc.) are published free of charge.

Beneficiary's Name: Vietnam National University of Agriculture Press
Beneficiary's Address: Trau Quy town, Gia Lam district, Hanoi, Vietnam
Bank Account Number: 3120 2010 13710
Bank Address: The Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development - Gia Lam Branch - Hanoi - Vietnam.

Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the VJAS’s editorial office as follows: Mrs. Le Kim Dung or Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thuy, VJAS’s Editorial Board, Vietnam National University of Agriculture Press, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Telephone number: +84 24 62617714, Email: vjas@vnua.edu.vn, lkdung@vnua.edu.vn, and nguyenthithuy@vnua.edu.vn.

Peer-review process

After receiving the manuscripts, the Editorial Board Members will send them to reviewers and ensure the review process will last for no longer than two months; however, in some cases, it might last longer depending on the availability of reviewers. VJAS has carried out a double blind peer review policy in which names of reviewers and authors are not revealed to each other. The Editorial Board will inform to the authors the specific reasons for the rejection of a manuscript. In some special cases, especially when the manuscript contains new information or is of a hot topic to the scholarly society, the research article can be recommended to be rewritten into a short communication.

If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the Editorial Board will also reply to the authors and give them a certain time to revise the article depending on the quality of the manuscript. The final revised manuscript will be considered to be the original article. The manuscript will be batched for publication in an upcoming issue of the journal.

After the publication, each first author will receive a free printed issue where their article is published.

Journal website

VJAS provides authors with online access to their final article. All of the electronically published articles are available on the website of the Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences https://vjas.vnua.edu.vn.

VJAS’s Citation Style Guide

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list which appears at the end of your paper.

The use of citation software tools, such as EndNote X7, is highly encouraged. Please download VJAS’s Endnote style here.

1. In-text citation guide

When citing works, always use authors’ names and year of publication.

Citing works by	Examples
One author Use the author's last name (or the firstly mentioned name of a Vietnamese author as originally appeared in the work – either last name or given name) and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005).	According to Ho (2000) and Do (2007), naturally, in Vietnam, amaryllis often flowers from the middle of March until the end of April. Temperature affects the activity of the enzymes, thus affecting the metabolism and growth of the fungi (Kiet, 2012). Nga (2016) reported that a Tetragenococus halophilus isolate had the highest histamine production in Nha Trang fish sauce during the fifth month. According to Zhu (2002), water deficit can be defined as the absence of adequate moisture necessary for a plant to grow normally and complete its life cycle. Drought stress inhibited the growth of the aerial parts of A. pintoi (Sheng, 2013). Nishiyama (1995) reported that the prevalence of cool air temperatures during the flowering stage increases sterility in rice crops by affecting pollination and fertilization.
Two authors Connect the last name of each author (or the firstly mentioned name of a Vietnamese author as originally appeared in the work – either last name or given name) by “&”, followed by the year of publication, for example: Adam & Brown (2003).	According to Ton & Thuy (2003), 10 Xoo strains were identified from the rice growing regions of Northern Vietnam. The nanoparticles obtained are not uniform in size (Trung & Le, 2013). Gioi & Hai (2017) showed increasing bactericidal effects of plant extracts by mixing them with silver nanoparticles. According to Carvalho & Quesenberry (2012), A. pintoi has excellent nutritive value for livestock with high crude protein content and a high in vitro organic matter digestibility. Donoghue & Wishart (2000) stated that chicken semen pH often ranges from 6.0-8.0. The number of spikelets has been shown to be associated positively and highly significantly with grain yield and panicle length (Gebrekidan & Seyoum, 2006).
Three authors or more Use only the last name of the first author, followed by "et al." and the year of publication, for example: Williams et al. (1999).	According to Do et al. (1994), the first successful artificial cultivation of G. lucidum in Vietnam was reported in 1978. Among indigenous chicken breeds in Vietnam, the Ho chicken breed is famous for its massive body weight (3.78kg per cock and 2.64kg per hen) (Duy et al., 2015). Vu et al. (2014) found improved grafting success and growth of grafted tomatoes under light compared to dark. According to Sonseeda et al. (2013), the average mass movement score of Thai indigenous chicken spermatozoa was 4.3. Organic inputs can release a continuous and steady nitrogen source as needed by plants (Moe et al., 2017). Siddaram et al. (2010) reported that the development of leaf area is an important factor that could affect a crop’s response to added nitrogen.

 2. Formatting a references list

The key rules of creating a references list

• Your references should be at the end of your article with the title References put at the very top. Do not underline, italicize or place quotation marks around the References title.

• Alphabetize entries by authors’ last names.

• Create a hanging indent for each individual source you add to the list. A hanging indent is where the second and all the following lines of a paragraph are indented more than the first. To make a hanging indent, highlight your citation and use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+T (hanging indent by 0.7cm).

• In article titles, only the first letter should be capitalized. The title should not be placed in quotations, underlined or italicized.

• All major words in the title of a journal should be capitalized; i.e. International Food Research Journal.

• In the case where the same author is cited multiple times for different works, start by listing these references in chronological order with the oldest reference appearing first and working your way up to the most recent one.

Types of works	Examples
1. A scientific article in print Format structure: Author A. (year of publication). Article title. Journal title. Vol (issue): page range or ID or/and DOI:xxxx. * A DOI (digital object identifier) is an assigned number that helps link content to its location on the Internet. It is therefore important, if one is provided, to use it when creating a citation. All DOI numbers begin with a 10 and are separated by a slash.	Nevin A. (1990). The changing of teacher education special education. Teacher Education and Special Education: The Journal of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children. 13(3-4): 147-148. Rose J. L., Butler D. G. & Ryley M. J. (1992). Yield improvement in soybeans using recurrent selection. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research. 43. DOI: 10.1071/AR9920135.
2. A scientific article published online Format structure: Author A. (year of publication). Article title. Journal title. Vol (issue): page range. DOI:xxxx or Retrieved from http://xxxx on (date).	Jameson J. (2013). E-Leadership in higher education: The fifth “age” of educational technology research. British Journal of Educational Technology. 44(6): 889-915. DOI: 10.1111/bjet.12103. Shixin D., Kankan S., Jiang M., Lili Z., Luyi M. & Zhongkui J. (2019). Effects of Fertilization Ratios and Frequencies on the Growth and Nutrient Uptake of Magnolia wufengensis(Magnoliaceae). Forests. 10(65). Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/10/1/65/pdf on March 29, 2019.
3. A book in print Format structure: Author A. (year of publication). Book title (Vol./edition). Publisher. City/Province.	Kiet T. T. (2011). Macro fungi of Viet Nam (Vol 1). Publishing House for Science and Technology (in Vietnamese). Goodpaster K. E., Nash L. L. & de Bettignies H. (2006). Business ethics: Policies and persons (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Boston, MA.
4. An e-Book from an e-reader Format structure: Author A. (year of publication). Book title [E-reader version]. Retrieved from http:/xxxx on (date) or Doi:xxxx.	Speed H. (2004). The practice and science of drawing. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14264 on May 10, 2018. Rodriguez-Garcia R. & White E. M. (2005). Self-assessment in managing for results: Conducting self-assessment for development practitioners. DOI: 10.1596/9780-82136148-1.
5. A book found in a database Format structure: Author A. (year of publication). Book title. Retrieved from http:/xxxx on (date) or Doi:xxxx.	Sayre R. K., Devercelli A. E., Neuman M. J. & Wodon Q. (2015). Investment in early childhood development: Review of the world bank’s recent experience. DOI: 10.1596/978-1-4648-0403-8.
6. A book chapter Format structure: Author A. (year of publication). Chapter title. In: (Editor B. (Ed(s).)). Book title. Publisher, place of publication. (page range).	Pizarro E. A. & Rincón A. (1994). Regional experience with forage Arachis in South America. In: Kerridge P. C. & Hardy B. (Eds.). Biology and agronomy of forage Arachis. CIAT, Cali, Colombia. 144-157.
7. A thesis Format structure: Author A. (year of publication). Title. Master/Ph.D thesis. Educational institution. (page range/page number).	Zheng Y. L. (2013). Effects of drought stress onthe growth of Arachis pintoi cv. Amarillo andits physiology and biochemical indexes.Master thesis. Fujian Agriculture andForestry University. 234-238.
8. A book or document published by an organization/institution Format structure: Organization/institution (Year of publication). Title of the document. Editor (if available). (Retrieved from http://xxxx on date).	FAO (2007). The State of the World’s AnimalGenetic Resources for Food andAgriculture. Rischkowsky B. & Pilling R.(Eds.).Retrievedfrom http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a1250e/a1250e00.htm on January 2, 2017.
9. An article in a proceeding Format structure: Author A. (year of publication). Article title. Title of the proceeding. Publisher. Page range.	Aaron M. (1999). The future of genomics. Proceedings of the genomic researchers. Williams H. (Ed.).Boston. 234 pages.
10. A document presented at a conference or seminar Format structure: Author A.(year of publication). Report title. Title of the conference/seminar. Date. Location. Page range.	Yuan L. P. (2002). Future outlook on hybrid rice research and development. The 4thInternational Symposium on Hybrid rice.May 14-17, 2002.Hanoi,Vietnam. 3. Svanchez M. D. (1998). Feed, animal waste andnutrient balances. Proceedings of the Regional Workshop on Area-Wide Integration of Crop-Livestock Activities, Bangkok, Thailand, 18-20 June 1998. (Eds. Y.W. Ho & Y.K. Chan). FAO/RAP, Thailand. 47-53.
11. Online documents published by an organization/institution Format structure: Institution/Organization (year of publication). Title. Retrieved from http://xxxx on date.	American Council of Learned Societies (2000).Fulbright economics teaching Program.Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam. Retrievedfrom   http://www.acls.org/pub-list.html onAugust 22, 2006.

Note

• Do not use a comma to separate author’s surname and given name; separate middlename and given name by a period followed by a gap. For example: Smith A. D.

• Use “&” instead of “and” when listing authors’ names

• Journal title should be fully written and use headline style; i.e.capitalizeall the words,except articles and prepositions. For example: J.Sci & Devel should be written asJournal of Science and Development.

• If the reference is not in English, its title must be translated into English and itsoriginal language should also be indicated clearly. For example: Kiet T. T. (2011).Macro fungi of Viet Nam (Vol 1). Publishing House for Science and Technology (inVietnamese).

• The authors may choose to indicate the total number of pages of the reference. Forexample: 75 pages.

VD: Aaron M. (1999). The future of genomics. Proceedings of the genomic researchers.Williams H (Ed.).Boston. 234 pages.

• Use a hyphen, for page ranges, for example: 21-27.No gaps between the pagenumbers and the hyphen.

• Use "&"before the final author.

• One author, multiple works published in the same year, add a, b, c, etc. to indicatethe oldest and latest works clearly. For example: