For Authors

IJSTS publishes original research, comprehensive reviews, and technical case studies across all branches of science, engineering, and technology that advance global sustainability and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

1. Editorial & Ethical Policies

• Peer Review: strict double-blind framework; a minimum of two independent domain experts evaluate each manuscript.
• Plagiarism: all submissions are screened via Crossref Similarity Check (iThenticate). A similarity index exceeding 15%, or significant block plagiarism, results in immediate rejection without review.
• Generative AI: any use of Generative AI or AI-assisted tools (e.g. LLMs for editing) must be disclosed in the Acknowledgements. AI cannot be listed as a co-author.
• Open Data Mandate: authors are strongly encouraged to deposit raw datasets, software code, or models in repositories (Zenodo, Figshare, GitHub) and cite DOIs/URLs in a Data Availability Statement.

2. Manuscript Categories

3. Formatting Requirements

Manuscripts must use Microsoft Word .docx format (preferred), continuous single-spaced text, 12pt Times New Roman, 1-inch (25.4mm) margins on all sides. Do not use decorative headers, footers, or multi-column layouts — typesetting is managed dynamically post-acceptance.

3.1 Mathematical Formulations

Equations must be rendered via the MS Word Equation Editor or LaTeX syntax, centered, and numbered sequentially flush with the right margin, e.g.: η = (E_out / E_in) × 100%    (1). All physical quantities and variables in inline text must be italicized and mapped to SI units.

4. Structural Organization

Original research articles must rigidly adhere to the standard IMRaD layout. Submissions are split into two separate files upon OJS upload to preserve the blind review protocol:

4.1 File 1 — Title Page

• Full descriptive title, reflective of the sustainability theme
• Complete author names, affiliations, addresses, official emails
• Corresponding author marked with an asterisk (*), with phone number and ORCID iD link

4.2 File 2 — Blinded Manuscript

No author names, institutional initials, or identifying details. Sections must progress as:

• Title — replicated exactly from the title page
• Abstract — single unstructured paragraph: problem statement, methods, quantified results, sustainability implications
• Keywords — exactly 5–6 indexable terms, separated by semicolons
• Introduction — background, literature review, knowledge gap, study targets, alignment with relevant UN SDGs
• Materials and Methods — reproducible detail on materials, strategies, synthesis pathways, computational setups, statistical metrics
• Results and Discussion — data presentation; critical discussion against published benchmarks and limitations
• Conclusions — key findings, technical/societal sustainability impact, future research paths
• Declarations — Acknowledgements, Funding Information, Conflict of Interest Statement, Data Availability Statement

5. Visual Assets

• Figures embedded directly after their first mention, minimum 300 DPI, JPEG/TIFF; captions directly below the graphic.
• Tables prepared as editable text matrices (never flat images), numbered sequentially, titles directly above the grid, footnotes in lowercase letters.

6. Reference Format

IJSTS uses the Numbered Citation System (IEEE Style). In-text references appear as sequential integers in square brackets matching order of appearance, e.g. [1], [2, 3], or [4–7]. DOIs must be appended for contemporary sources where available.