Instruction for authors
1. Policy
1.1 Manuscript submission
The manuscript should be submitted online via email to the address at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
On receiving the manuscript, a manuscript code number and a copy of Publishing Agreement will be assigned and sent to the corresponding author, and the subsequent peer-review will be arranged by the editorial team. In two months, comments and suggestions for revision from the reviewers will be forwarded to the corresponding author.
On receiving reviews’ comments and revising suggestions, the author(s) should revise the manuscript in response to the comments and return the revised manuscript together with a list of changes and/or rebuttals against each point raised by the reviewers within one month. After this stage, no substantial change to the text is allowed; the editorial team will only make some necessary editing to improve the language and presentation without changing the originally intended meaning of the author(s), and double-check with the author(s) to finalise the manuscript. The final version will be sent for layout after going through all the above-mentioned procedure.
Before publishing, one set of page proofs in PDF format for proofreading will be sent to the author by e-mail. Please use this proof to check the typesetting, typographical errors, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures only. No significant changes to the article are allowed at the proofreading stage. To facilitate the timely and accurate publication of the manuscript, it is important to have all corrections returned altogether in one communication. Please check carefully before returning the revised proofs, making sure all corrections, revisions, and additions are made properly. Proofreading of the page proofs is solely the author's responsibility. Revised proofs should be returned to the editorial office within three days.
To submit your manuscript, please follow the instructions given below. In order to submit a manuscript you will need a single Microsoft Word file that contains the text, all figures and tables, and any Supporting Information associated with the manuscript, if needed, together with a compressed package of stand-alone high-resolution files of figures and tables.
1.2 Types of manuscripts
The Bulletin of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (BCAS) welcomes original research articles, short communications, reviews, and essays that fit in its Aims and Scope. In particular, BCAS welcomes contributions addressing globally relevant S&T issues, aimed at sustainable development, peace and prosperity of the human society. For contributions in these fields, special columns are open: Green Development, Poverty Mitigation/Reduction, Carbon Policy, Science Ethnic, and Biodiversity Reservation.
Only manuscripts that deliver inspiring science thoughts or original research results will be considered; such manuscripts shall be organised in a clear intellectual structure supported with well-grounded research and investigations, and written concisely and clearly in correct English.
Articles should describe original and innovative results from high-quality and up-to-date investigations.
Short communications should give opinions on an issue from an innovative perspective, or share a research proposal focusing on a specific science question.
Reviews should summarise the recent research in a field or domain, and predict the potential development or possible solution.
1.3 Copyright notice
Submission of a manuscript implies the following:
- The work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis);
- It is not under consideration for publication elsewhere;
- Its publication has been approved by all co-author(s), and the author(s) warrant(s) that their contribution is original and that they have full power to make this grant;
- The corresponding author signs for and accepts responsibility for releasing this material on behalf of any and all co-authors;
- Transfer of copyright to BCAS becomes effective if and when the article is accepted for publication; and
- After submission of the Publishing Agreement signed by the corresponding author, changes in the authorship or the order of the authors listed will not be accepted by BCAS.
Please note that the copyright covers the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline and online) or other reproductions of similar nature.
While the advice and information in this journal is believed to be true and accurate at the date of its going to press, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publishers can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
1.4 Conflicts of interest
Authors should reveal all sources of funding for the work presented in the manuscript and indicate relevant conflicts of interest if any, including specific financial interests relevant to the subject of their manuscript, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, etc.
2. Manuscript Preparation
Text of the submitted articles must be prepared with Microsoft Word, preferably arranged in normal style set to single column, 1.5 line spacing, using 11 pt Times New Roman font. Articles should be written in correct, concise English.
2.1 Title
The title should reflect the content of the manuscript. It should be concise, accurate and specific, and the first letter of all notional words in the title should be capitalized, except for specific terms that begin with a letter in lower case.
2.2 Authors and affiliations
Authors should have participated in the research work, and they are responsible for the content of the full paper. Also the authors should respond to the questions and comments raised by the editors. In the byline, the names of authors should be separated by commas and the corresponding author(s) should be (each) marked with an asterisk. The detailed contact information (phone, fax and e-mail) should be listed and the corresponding author(s) is responsible for the communication with editors. Evincive letter of affiliation should be provided in the case where the holder of intellectual property right needs to be changed. The whole surname and the first letter of the given name of any author should be capitalized (e.g. WANG Xiaoning, John SMITH). The different affiliations of the authors should be indicated by a superscript number after the author names.
2.3 Footnotes
The financial support for the work and a brief biography of the corresponding author should be presented in footnotes along with the contact information (e-mail).
2.4 Abstract
The abstract should be a short paragraph of no more than 350 English words that briefly describes the key contents of the full paper.
2.5 Introduction
The introduction should concisely summarise the background of the research, clearly describe the specific scientific question addressed in the research, explaining how it has risen and why it should be dealt with. The abstract should also describe the underlying theories and research methods, and the research design. It should clearly state the purpose of the paper, especially the significance and novelty of the research.
2.6 Nomenclature, symbols, units, and Numbers
The units of measurement and symbols of calculation must follow the Chinese Calculation Unit Law (shortened for Calculation Unit Law) based on the international unit system. Please also refer to Quantity and Unit (Beijing, China Standard Press). Abbreviations and acronyms shall be used sparingly and consistently. Where they are used in the manuscript, make sure that their complete forms are given when first appearing in the text.
The Latin names of biological species and genera should be written in italics, with the full name always used when it appears for the first time in the text (e.g., Homo sapiens); the abbreviated form (e.g., H. sapiens) may be used thereafter.
Variables should be in Italic, and vectors, tensors and matrices shall be in Black Italic. Units in illustrations and tables shall be in the “symbol/unit” form.
Numbers are generally expressed by the Arabic number system. The numbers between 0.1~1,000 can be written as they are, and scientific notation system is encouraged for more complicated numbers.
2.7 Tables and figures
Tables and figures should be designed reasonably and inserted in the text where appropriate. The captions should be self-explanatory so that they can be understood without reference to the text. Lettering should be readable (preferably in 8 point Times New Roman) in uniform size across all figures. Tables and figures must be cited in the text and numbered sequentially in the order of appearance with Arabic numbers. Figures and illustrations should be of sufficient quality for the printed version, i.e. 300 dpi at minimum. On submission, figures should be of good enough resolution to be assessed by the referees, ideally in JPEG format. High-resolution figures (in JPEG/TIFF format) will be required if the paper is accepted for publication (The high-resolution graphs should be provided separately and submitted together in a compressed package).
Tables should be prepared in the Microsoft Word document of the manuscript as usual Word tables. The captions should be placed beneath the table and be self-explanatory.
2.8 Results and discussion
This section should include the findings and conclusions achieved through the explorations delivered in the previous sections of the text, and give reflexive analysis of limitations of the research. Avoid repeating the results and do not review the literature in this part. Speculative deductions and conclusions without supporting evidence are not allowed.
2.9 Acknowledgments
This section is optional. Sources of financial support may be recognized here or in a footnote on the title page. Persons, who made contributions to the research but not on the author list, could be listed here.
2.10 References
The references should be arranged in APA style. References are generally literature reports that have been published. Papers that have been accepted for publication should be marked as “In press”. Authors are expected to check the original sources for accuracy. Literature references should be listed at the end of the main text in alphabetical order of the surnames of the authors.