Comment Articles

Comment articles in JSEP are agenda-setting, authoritative, informed and often provocative expert pieces calling for action on topical issues pertaining to scientific research and/or its political, ethical and social ramifications. These articles are targeted towards post-graduate students and researchers (in academia and industry), and should be accessible to readers working in any discipline.

 

Manuscript elements

Title

The title should be a maximum of 87 characters, including spaces. Abbreviations and punctuation should be avoided.

Author names and affiliations

Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. Present the authors' affiliation (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a superscript number immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate affiliation.

Corresponding author

Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.

Standfirst

Comment articles start with a standfirst (50 words), which should provide a short summary of the topic.

Word limit

In general, Comment articles are limited to two pages (1,300 words). However, upon discussion with the handling editor, an extension of the word limit may be granted.

Main headings 

Main headings should be used to break up the text. They should be no longer than 32 characters, including spaces, and should avoid abbreviations. Each heading should appear on its own separate line. Headings should be numbered 1. (then 2., 3., ...).

Acknowledgements (optional)

Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.). You may also use this section to thank any funding bodies.

References

The number of references should not exceed five for either a one-page or two-page article. Please keep the reference list as up to date as possible and avoid referring extensively to your own published work. Citations of personal communications should be kept to a minimum and not included in the reference list.

Papers in the numbered reference list must have been published or accepted for publication by a named publication. For in‑press articles, embargo times must be considered, and an e‑mail confirming acceptance from the editors of the original research journal may be required. Meeting abstracts and presentations, or articles deposited in recognized preprint servers, should be avoided but may be included at the editor’s discretion.

In the text, references should be cited by author and year (e.g., Mutembei 2018; Mutembei and  Kavisi 2018; Mutembei et al. 2018) and listed in alphabetical order in the reference list. If there is more than one work by the same author or team of authors in the same year, a, b, etc. should be added to the year both in the text and in the list of references.

*Journal papers: name(s) and initial(s) of all authors; year; full title; journal title; volume number; first and last page numbers. If available, the DOI of the cited literature should be added at the end of the reference in question.

Examples

Mutune, J. M., Hansen, R. E., Wahome, R. G., and Mungai, D. N. (2017). What rights and benefits? The implementation of participatory forest management in Kenya: The case of Eastern Mau Forest Reserve. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 36, 230-249.

Kavisi, K. M., Mutembei, H. M., and Kaunga, J. M. (2018). Demographic Factors that Affect Adoption of Biogas Technology in Kiambu County, Kenya. International Journal of Innovative Research and Knowledge, 3, 48-57.

Web references

As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given.

General websites can be provided in a ‘further information’ box, but specific online articles should be cited
as a reference using the following format:
Author. Title of online article. Website name. http address (2015).