Submissions

Author Guidelines

About the Submission Process

Authors of Journal of Sustainable Smart Materials and Structural Systems should ensure that manuscripts submitted to the Journal are original, clearly written, scientifically rigorous, and within the Journal’s aims and scope. Manuscripts should be prepared according to the requirements below and submitted through the Journal’s designated online submission system. Submission of a manuscript confirms that all authors have approved the submitted version and consent to its consideration for publication.

Article Types

The Journal considers original research articles, review articles, systematic or scoping reviews, short communications, case studies, methodological papers, technical notes, and other scholarly contributions appropriate to its scope. Authors should select the article type that most accurately reflects the content and purpose of their submission. The Journal may modify available article categories according to its editorial requirements.

Originality and Exclusive Submission

Manuscripts must present original work that has not been published previously and is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal. Authors should disclose any closely related manuscripts, conference papers, preprints, or previously published material that substantially overlaps with the submitted work. Appropriate citations and explanations should be provided where overlap exists. Submission of substantially identical work to more than one journal is not permitted.

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise, and consistent academic English and prepared according to the requirements of the selected article type. Authors should ensure that the manuscript is logically organized and contains sufficient information for readers and reviewers to understand and evaluate the work.

For original research articles, the following structure is generally recommended:

Title: The title should be concise (no more than 130 characters), specific, informative, and accurately represent the subject and contribution of the study.

Abstract: The abstract should briefly describe the background or rationale, objectives, methods, principal findings, and conclusions. It should be free from subheadings, and references and unexplained abbreviations should be avoided in this section.

Keywords: Provide approximately 6–8 relevant keywords that accurately represent the major concepts, methods, materials, or applications discussed in the manuscript. Authors should avoid using abbreviations as keywords.

Introduction: Present the background and significance of the research, summarize relevant literature, identify the knowledge gap or problem being addressed, and clearly state the objectives, research questions, or hypotheses.

Materials and Methods / Methodology: Describe the study design, materials, participants, datasets, procedures, analytical methods, and statistical techniques in sufficient detail to permit appropriate evaluation and, where applicable, reproducibility. Ethical approval and informed consent should be reported where required.

Results: Present the findings in a clear and logical sequence. Results should be supported by appropriate statistical analyses, tables, figures, or other relevant evidence and should not unnecessarily duplicate information already provided elsewhere in the manuscript.

Discussion: Explain and interpret the findings in relation to the research objectives and relevant literature. Authors should address the implications of the findings, important strengths and limitations, and possible explanations for the observed results.

Results and discussion sections may be combined or presented separately.

Conclusion: Summarize the principal findings and their significance without introducing unsupported information. Where appropriate, practical, scientific, or research implications may be identified. Directions for further research in the area may also be suggested in this section.

Other article types may follow a different structure appropriate to their content.

References and Citations

Authors should cite relevant, reliable, and current scholarly literature and ensure that all references cited in the manuscript are included in the reference list and vice versa. References must be accurate, complete, and formatted in Vancouver style [References numbered sequentially in the order they appear in the text; correct journal abbreviations (Index Medicus/MEDLINE; for three authors or fewer: list all; for more than three, list the first three followed by et al. (in italics)]. Authors should avoid excessive self-citation, irrelevant references, and reliance on unverifiable sources. DOIs should be provided where available.

Figures and Tables

Figures and tables should be numbered consecutively according to their first citation in the manuscript. Each should have an informative title or caption and be clearly cited in the text. Figures must be of sufficient resolution for publication, with readable labels, legends, symbols, and units. Figures should be submitted as separate files in TIFF/JPEG (min. 300 dpi) or EPS (min. 800 dpi). Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for any copyrighted material reproduced from other sources.

Tables should be numbered in Arabic numerals, clearly organized and appropriately formatted. Authors should ensure that cell borders are visible and each table has been cited in the text of the manuscript.

Equations, Units, Symbols, and Abbreviations

Mathematical equations should be presented clearly and numbered consistently where appropriate. SI units should be used wherever applicable. Non-standard units should be accompanied by suitable conversions. Specialized symbols should be defined when first introduced, and abbreviations should be written in full at first use, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses. Unnecessary abbreviations should be avoided.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary files may be submitted when they provide additional information that supports the main manuscript but is not essential to its primary presentation. These may include additional tables, figures, datasets, questionnaires, code, methodological details, or other supporting resources. Supplementary materials should be clearly identified and referred to at the appropriate points in the manuscript.

Appendices

Appendices may be used for important but detailed information that would otherwise interrupt the flow of the main text. Each appendix should be clearly labelled (as Appendix A, B, and so on.) and appropriately cited within the manuscript. Essential findings, arguments, or methodological information should not be placed exclusively in an appendix.

Authorship, Statement of Author Contributions

Authorship should be restricted to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or development of the work and who have participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript and approved its final version. All authors share responsibility for the integrity of the work. An Author Contributions Statement at the end of article should clearly describe the contribution of each author. Individuals who provided assistance but do not qualify for authorship may be recognized in the Acknowledgements section, after obtaining their permission.

Acknowledgements

Individuals who contributed to the research or manuscript but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged, subject to their permission. Authors should also acknowledge relevant institutional, technical, administrative, or other assistance where appropriate.

Statistical Analysis and Reporting

Where statistical methods are used, authors should describe the analytical procedures sufficiently to allow their appropriateness and interpretation to be assessed. Relevant information may include the statistical tests or models used, assumptions, sample size considerations, and criteria for statistical significance. Effect estimates should, where appropriate, be accompanied by confidence intervals or other measures of uncertainty. Statistical findings should be interpreted in context rather than on the basis of p-values alone.

Data Availability and Research Materials

Authors should provide a statement describing the availability of the data and other materials supporting the findings. Where ethically and legally appropriate, datasets, research materials, analytical code, or other supporting resources are encouraged to be deposited in suitable repositories. Any restrictions arising from privacy, confidentiality, ethical, legal, or proprietary considerations should be clearly stated. Further details may be found in editorial and ethical policies of the journal.

Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants, or other regulated materials must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional or national requirements. Where applicable, authors should identify the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board and provide the approval or reference number. Studies involving human participants should state how informed consent was obtained, where required, or waived.

Funding and Conflict of Interest Statements

All sources of financial, institutional, or other support for the research and manuscript preparation should be disclosed. Where applicable, authors should describe the role of the funding organization in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and publication. Authors must also declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest. If no relevant conflicts exist, an appropriate declaration should still be provided.

Plagiarism, Originality, and Research Integrity

Authors must ensure that manuscripts are free from plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling, fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data or images, and other forms of research misconduct. Ideas, findings, quotations, figures, tables, and other material obtained from external sources must be appropriately acknowledged and cited. Manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism-detection and research-integrity tools. Where concerns are identified, the Journal may conduct an investigation and take appropriate action in accordance with its publication ethics policies. For more details, see editorial and ethics policies of the journal.

Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Tools

Authors may use AI and AI-assisted technologies for limited purposes such as language improvement, grammar correction, readability, and clarity. AI tools must not replace the authors’ intellectual contribution, scientific reasoning, analysis, interpretation, or scholarly judgment. AI systems cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. Any substantive use of AI beyond routine language assistance should be transparently disclosed, including its purpose and extent. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and authenticity of all submitted content.

Permissions and Copyright of Published Material

Authors must obtain appropriate permission before reproducing copyrighted figures, tables, photographs, substantial text, or other protected material where permission is required. All third-party content must be properly attributed. Authors should ensure that they possess the necessary rights to submit all components of the manuscript and should comply with the Journal’s copyright and licensing policies.

Short Reports
Reports should be concise yet complete—approximately 1,500 words including tables and figures. Only well-formed, clearly written reports with definitive findings will be considered.

Manuscript Checklist before Submission

Before submission, authors should confirm that the manuscript falls within the Journal’s scope, has been approved by all authors, and is not under consideration elsewhere. Authors should verify the accuracy and completeness of references, ensure that all figures and tables are cited, and provide the required ethical, authorship, funding, conflict-of-interest, data availability, and AI-use statements. The manuscript should also comply with the Journal’s formatting and submission requirements.

Editorial and Peer Review

All submissions are subject to an initial editorial assessment and then independent peer review. The Journal may return or decline manuscripts that do not meet its scope, basic quality, formatting, ethical, or submission requirements before peer review. When revisions are requested, authors should respond systematically to editorial and reviewer comments and clearly indicate the changes made.

Suggested and Excluded Reviewers

Authors may provide the names and professional contact details of a limited number of potential reviewers (up to three) with relevant expertise who could independently evaluate the manuscript. Suggested reviewers should have no personal, professional, institutional, financial, or other relationship that could create a conflict of interest. Authors may also identify individuals whom they believe should not be invited to review the manuscript because of a potential conflict, competing interest, or other legitimate concern that could affect impartiality. Such requests should include a brief explanation where appropriate. Reviewer suggestions and exclusion requests are considered advisory and do not influence the Editor’s independence; the Editor retains complete discretion over reviewer selection.

Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions

Authors should promptly inform the Journal if they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work. Where necessary, the Journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other appropriate notice to preserve the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. Such actions will be handled in accordance with the Journal’s publication ethics and research integrity policies.

Author Responsibility

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their manuscript is accurate, original, ethically conducted, appropriately referenced, and compliant with the Journal’s policies. By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm their agreement to follow these guidelines and any additional instructions issued by the Journal during the editorial and publication process.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

Journal of Sustainable Smart Materials and Structural Systems follows an Open Access publishing model, under which all published articles are freely and immediately accessible to readers upon publication. No submission fee is charged at the time of manuscript submission. For manuscripts accepted following successful peer review and editorial evaluation, an Article Processing Charge (APC) of AUD 450 applies to support the costs associated with editorial and publication services. The APC may be paid by debit/credit card or bank transfer, with the total bank-transfer amount being AUD 480, inclusive of applicable bank charges.