Author Guidelines

Before You Submit

Before preparing a manuscript for submission to ADES, authors should confirm that:

Manuscript File Preparation

Manuscripts must be submitted as a Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx). PDF files are not accepted at initial submission stage. The following formatting requirements apply to all manuscript types:

Manuscript Structure

All Research Articles must follow this structure:

Title Page (separate file)

The title page must be submitted as a separate file from the main manuscript to allow anonymised review. It must include:

Main Manuscript File (anonymised)

The main manuscript must contain no author-identifying information (names, affiliations, acknowledgements, funding details, or any self-citations that could reveal authorship). It must include the following elements in order:

Supplementary material, if any, must be submitted as a separate file.

Abstract

Research articles require a structured abstract with the following four subheadings: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Review articles and other types require an unstructured abstract. Abstracts must not include citations, abbreviations, or undefined acronyms. The abstract should stand alone as a summary readable without access to the full article.

Keywords

Authors must provide 5 to 8 keywords that accurately represent the content and discipline of the manuscript. Keywords should not duplicate words already in the title. Single-concept terms are preferred over multi-word phrases. Abbreviations should not be used unless firmly established in the field (e.g., DNA, NDVI, CO₂).

Introduction

The introduction should provide a concise account of the background and context of the study, identify the knowledge gap being addressed, and state clearly the aims and objectives of the research. It should not contain results or conclusions. Citations should be limited to directly relevant prior work.

Materials and Methods

This section must be sufficiently detailed to allow replication by an independent researcher. It should describe the study design, study area, sample sizes, data sources, analytical procedures, and statistical methods used. Standard or widely used protocols may be cited by reference rather than described in full, but any modifications must be described explicitly. For studies involving human participants or animals, the ethical approvals and compliance statements must appear in this section.

Results

Results should be presented clearly and logically, guided by the research questions or hypotheses. Tables and figures should support but not duplicate narrative text. Statistical results must be reported in full, including test name, test statistic, degrees of freedom, and exact p-value (not "p < 0.05" alone). Effect sizes and confidence intervals should be reported where applicable.

Discussion

The discussion should interpret the findings in light of existing literature, explain their significance, acknowledge limitations of the study, and identify directions for future research. The discussion should not merely restate the results; it must provide analytical interpretation.

Conclusion

The conclusion should be a brief, standalone paragraph summarising the principal findings and their implications. It must not introduce new information not discussed in the preceding sections.

Language and Style

ADES accepts manuscripts in standard British or American English, provided the chosen convention is applied consistently throughout the text. Mixed conventions (e.g., British spelling with American punctuation) are not acceptable. Manuscripts with significant language problems that impede comprehension will be returned to authors before peer review is initiated. Authors writing in a second language are encouraged to have their manuscript reviewed by a proficient English speaker or a professional editing service prior to submission. ADES does not endorse any specific editing service; use of such services is at the author's own expense and in no way guarantees acceptance.

References and Citation Style

ADES uses the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th Edition citation system. In-text citations follow the author-date format (e.g., Rehman & Ali, 2026; Brown et al., 2022). For quotations, include the page number. The reference list must be alphabetically ordered by the first author's surname, then chronologically. Where an author has more than one work in the same year, letters (a, b, c) are appended to the year. All authors must be listed in the reference list; "et al." is used only in the in-text citation when there are three or more authors. Every reference must include a DOI where one is available. References to personal communications or unpublished works should appear only in-text and not in the reference list. Authors are strongly encouraged to use a reference manager (Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote) and to verify all references before submission.

Reference examples:

Journal article: Ali, A., & Rehman, Z. (2023). Salinity stress responses in wheat under arid conditions: A field-based assessment. Agricultural Water Management, 278, 108–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108119

Book: Younas, M. (2001). Global environmental impacts of agricultural expansion: The need for sustainable and efficient practices. Cambridge University Press.

Book chapter: FAO. (2022). Climate-smart agriculture in semi-arid regions. In R. Hassan & J. Nhemachena (Eds.), Adapting African agriculture to climate change (pp. 45–67). Springer.

Website: IPCC. (2022). Summary for policymakers. In Climate change 2022: Mitigation of climate change. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/ (accessed 15 March 2024).

Tables

Tables must be submitted as editable text within the Word document, not as image files. Each table must be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals (Table 1, Table 2, etc.) and accompanied by a concise descriptive caption placed above the table. Any abbreviations used must be defined in a footnote below the table. Vertical lines and coloured cell backgrounds should be avoided. Tables should not duplicate data presented in the text. Tables exceeding one printed page in width are not suitable for publication and should be reformatted or placed in supplementary material.

Figures and Illustrations

Authors are responsible for the quality and copyright compliance of all submitted figures. Figures must be supplied as separate files at submission. The following file formats and resolution requirements apply:

Each figure must be numbered sequentially and accompanied by a legend that describes all components, symbols, abbreviations, and scale bars. Legends are listed at the end of the main manuscript file. All lettering within figures should use a sans-serif typeface (preferably Arial or Helvetica) at a minimum 8pt size in the final printed form. Colour should be used thoughtfully; authors should confirm that figures remain interpretable when printed in greyscale. Colour palettes accessible to readers with colour vision deficiency (e.g., avoiding red-green combinations) are strongly preferred. Figures generated using generative AI are not permitted in any form.

Statistical Reporting Standards

ADES applies rigorous standards for the reporting of quantitative data. Every manuscript reporting statistical testing must include:

Bar charts should include individual data points, or be replaced with box-and-whisker plots or dot plots to display data distribution. Graphs should not truncate the vertical axis in ways that exaggerate differences. Avoid the word "significant" without specifying the p-value and the statistical test.

Supplementary Material

Additional data, extended methods, supporting figures, and large tables that are not essential to the main narrative but add value to readers may be submitted as supplementary material in a single merged PDF file. Supplementary files are published online alongside the article exactly as submitted; they are not typeset or edited. All supplementary items must be cited in the main text. Supplementary figures and tables are numbered separately (e.g., Figure S1, Table S1). Supplementary Methods are not permitted; all methodological detail must appear in the main manuscript.

Species Names and Nomenclature

On first mention in the title, abstract, and main text, the scientific name (genus, species, and authority) of any organism must be given in parentheses following the common name. Scientific names should be italicised. For well-known species, scientific names may be omitted from the title but must appear in the abstract. Taxonomic names must follow the relevant authoritative nomenclature databases for the organism group concerned. Gene symbols must follow approved nomenclature from the relevant authority (e.g., HGNC for human genes).

Author Contribution Statement

ADES requires an Author Contribution Statement for all research and review articles, using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) framework. Each co-author's contribution must be identified using one or more of the following standardized roles:

Example: "M.A.: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft. S.K.: Formal Analysis, Data Curation. R.H.: Supervision, Funding Acquisition. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript."

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements should be brief and placed on the title page only. They must include: (i) all funding sources with grant reference numbers, (ii) any individual or institutional contributions (technical assistance, data access, field support) that do not qualify for authorship, and (iii) a statement on the role of the funder(s) in study design, data collection, analysis, and reporting. If the funder played no role in any of these activities, this must be stated explicitly. Acknowledgements must not include thanks to anonymous reviewers or editors.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Authors may use AI-assisted writing tools (such as large language models) as an aid to language editing, grammar checking, or summarization, but not as a substitute for original scientific thinking, analysis, or interpretation. AI tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors. Any use of generative AI in manuscript preparation must be disclosed in a dedicated statement placed after the Conclusion section and before the References, using the following format:

AI use in the production of figures, images, or graphical abstracts is not permitted under any circumstances. Reviewers and handling editors are also prohibited from using AI tools during the peer review process.