Author Guidelines

General Instructions

Diyala Journal of Engineering Sciences (DJES) accepts research articles, review articles, and case studies within the journal’s declared aims and scope. All submissions must be written in English only and must present original, unpublished work that is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Manuscripts should generally be structured as follows: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, and References. Depending on the nature of the study, the Results and Discussion sections may be presented separately or combined. Case studies should follow a clear scholarly structure appropriate to the nature of the case, including sufficient technical background, methods or procedures, findings, discussion, and conclusions.

The recommended length of research articles and case studies is approximately 5,000 words, or within the range of 4,000–7,000 words, excluding references. Authors are encouraged to include no more than 5 tables and no more than 10 figures per research article or case study. If more than 5 tables or 10 figures are necessary, the author(s) may consult the editor assigned to the manuscript. DJES recommends approximately 25–40 references for research articles and case studies. Review articles should generally comprise approximately 8,000–12,000 words, excluding references, with 8–10 figures and 50–100 references.

Cover Letter

Authors are required to include a cover letter when submitting their manuscript to the journal. The cover letter should be uploaded as a separate file through the online submission system. It should be addressed to the journal editor and should briefly explain the importance of the work, its relevance to the journal’s aims and scope, and why it may be of interest to the journal’s readers.

The cover letter should also confirm that the manuscript is original, has not been published previously, is not under consideration by another journal, and complies with the journal’s ethical and submission requirements.

Title Page

A title page is required at submission. The title page should include the article title, author name(s), full affiliation(s), ORCID iD where available, and the name, current address, email address, and telephone number of the corresponding author. The title page should be uploaded as a separate file through the online submission system.

Double-Blind Peer Review Requirements

To ensure double-blind peer review, the main manuscript file must be anonymized and must not include author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, funding details, institutional identifiers, or any information that may identify the authors.

Any identifying information should be provided only in the title page, cover letter, submission metadata, or other separate files where requested. Authors should also avoid self-identifying statements in the manuscript file, figures, file names, acknowledgements, or supplementary material submitted for review.

Manuscript Format

Manuscripts should be prepared using MS Word and submitted as an editable Word file. Submissions in PDF format will not be considered for review. The manuscript must be formatted according to the following instructions:

  • The manuscript must be prepared in full compliance with the DJES Template.
  • Use A4 paper size, 21 × 29.7 cm.
  • All tables should be editable in Word. Use a single grid for each table.
  • Figures should be of high quality, with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Figure legends and labels should be clearly visible.
  • Mathematical equations should be editable and should not be submitted as images.
  • The manuscript should be checked carefully for spelling, grammar, clarity, and consistency before submission.
  • The manuscript must comply with the journal’s publication ethics, plagiarism, artificial intelligence use, data availability, and conflict of interest policies.

Authorship Information

The following information should be included in the title page and submission metadata:

  • Author’s full name.
  • Full institutional affiliation and mailing address.
  • Corresponding author’s email address.
  • Corresponding author’s telephone number.
  • ORCID iD of the author(s), if available.

All authors listed on the manuscript must have made a significant scholarly contribution to the work and must approve the final version submitted to the journal. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all eligible authors are included, that no ineligible persons are listed as authors, and that all authors have agreed to the submission.

Manuscript Title

The title should be brief, concise, informative, and directly related to the content of the manuscript. It should be written in running text, bold, and font size 16. The title should avoid unnecessary abbreviations and should not use the “&” symbol. The title should accurately reflect the main topic, method, or contribution of the study without exaggeration.

Abstract

The manuscript should contain an abstract between 200 and 250 words. The abstract should be self-contained, citation-free, and written in clear English. It should state the purpose of the study, the approach or methodology, the main results, and the principal conclusions of the work.

The abstract should not cite figures, tables, references, equations, or sections of the paper. It should not include undefined abbreviations, unsupported claims, or exaggerated conclusions. The abstract should preferably be written in the third person rather than the first person.

Keywords

For indexing purposes, 4–6 keywords should be supplied below the abstract and separated by commas. The first letter of each keyword should be capitalized. Keywords should be specific, relevant, and useful for indexing and searching. Keywords should not unnecessarily repeat words already used in the manuscript title, should not contain unnecessary abbreviations, and should be written in alphabetical order where possible.

Introduction

The Introduction should be neither too brief nor too long. It should briefly present the background of the study, provide updated and relevant information, identify the research gap, and state the aim or objectives of the study. The Introduction should be supported by reliable and relevant references from journals, books, standards, or other recognized scholarly sources.

Authors should avoid presenting a general literature review that is not directly related to the research problem. The Introduction should make clear why the study is needed, how it relates to previous work, and what contribution it is expected to make.

Headings and Format

Sections and subsections should be numbered as 1, 2, etc., and 1.1, 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, respectively. Capital letters should be used for the initial letter of each noun and adjective in section titles.

Main section headings should be left aligned, bold, Times New Roman, and 12 pt. Subsection headings should be left aligned, italic, Times New Roman, and 12 pt. Sub-subsection headings should be left aligned, italic, Times New Roman, and 11 pt.

The manuscript should be written in a consistent style throughout. Abbreviations should be defined at first use and used consistently. Symbols, variables, units, and terminology should be checked carefully before submission.

Figures, Photos, Tables, and Equations

A figure, table, equation, and the corresponding explanatory text should preferably be placed on the same page. Otherwise, they may be placed on the immediately following page. One page should not contain images occupying more than two-thirds of its content. Multiple or irrelevant photos should not be included. Where necessary, two figures may be arranged horizontally.

Elements shown in photos or figures should be clearly identified using numbers, letters, or other suitable labels. Photos must be clear and of high resolution to allow visibility of fine details. Text within figures or photos should be consistent in style, shape, and size with the figure caption and the manuscript format.

Each table, figure, or picture must have a caption, such as “Figure 1.” or “Table 1.”, followed by a clear description. For example: Figure 1. The experimental apparatus: 1-test section, 2-thermocouples, 3-flow meter.

Tables, figures, and captions should be centered, Times New Roman, and 10 pt. The initial letter of the first word should be capitalized.

All similar graphics should be generated using the same software, such as Excel, Grapher, Origin, or other suitable software. Importing editable charts as image files, such as JPG, BMP, or PNG, should be avoided where possible. Electronic schematics, charts, program flows, simulated characteristics, and similar graphics should be prepared consistently.

Importing images from other articles or books is not allowed unless proper permission is obtained where required and the original source is clearly cited.

Mathematical equations should be submitted as editable text and not as images. Present simple formulae in normal text where possible and use the division slash “/” instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms. Equations should be numbered consecutively where necessary and should be cited in the text.

Materials and Methods

The Materials and Methods section should be presented after the Introduction. It should provide sufficient details to enable the work to be reproduced. Techniques and methods used should be supported by appropriate references where necessary. Metric and standard international units should be used in this section and throughout the manuscript.

Authors should specify any computer software used for simulation, modeling, design, analysis, or statistical evaluation. The version of the software should be provided where relevant. Authors should define all terms, abbreviations, and symbols used.

Experimental work should include sufficient information about materials, equipment, procedures, measurements, testing conditions, and standards used. Numerical, analytical, or computational work should include sufficient information about assumptions, models, boundary conditions, validation, and limitations.

Results

The Results section should focus on the original results of the study and discuss them in comparison with relevant published work where appropriate. Authors may compare simulations with experimental results. Comparisons based only on simulations should be made only when scientifically justified.

Authors should present their results clearly and should not expect readers to search for the main findings throughout the article or references. Results should not be presented as well-known theory. A good result may include a novel idea, a measurement methodology, a design, experimental findings, simulations, prototype manufacturing, or a combination of these.

Authors should clearly state the nature of their results, such as theoretical results, simulations, simulations followed by experimental measurements, or experimental measurements followed by prototype manufacturing.

Tables and figures should be numbered in the order in which they are mentioned in the text. All tables and figures must have titles or captions and legends where necessary to make them self-explanatory. The same data should not be repeated unnecessarily in both tables and figures unless there is a clear reason.

Discussion

The Discussion section should provide a critical interpretation of the results and should be supported by relevant and updated references where appropriate. Repetition of data should be avoided. The Discussion should explain the meaning of the results, compare them with previous studies, identify agreements or differences, and clarify the scientific or engineering implications of the findings.

Authors should avoid unsupported speculation or overstatement. Limitations of the study should be acknowledged where appropriate. Results and Discussion may be written as one combined section when suitable.

Conclusion

The Conclusion section should present the main conclusions of the paper. Conclusions must focus on the novelty, essential findings, and significant outcomes of the work. Authors should avoid repeating the Introduction or Abstract.

The conclusions should be directly supported by the results presented in the manuscript. Authors should avoid introducing new data, new references, or unsupported claims in the Conclusion section. Recommendations for future work may be included briefly where appropriate.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements of individuals, grants, funds, or institutional support should be placed in a separate section before the reference list in the final manuscript. The names of funding organizations should be written in full. Any financial support related to the study should be mentioned in this section, including grant numbers where applicable.

For initial submissions, acknowledgements and funding details should be removed from the anonymized manuscript file and provided only in the title page, submission metadata, or separate files where requested, in order to preserve the double-blind peer-review process.

References

Authors should ensure that references are well selected and directly relevant to the manuscript content. References should be cited in ascending order starting from [1]. Do not copy text from references without quotation marks and proper citation. Do not use titles for authors, such as PhD or IEEE member. When citing books, reports, standards, or review articles with many pages, page numbers should be included where appropriate.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that the information in each reference is complete and accurate. All references must be cited using Arabic numerals in the order in which they appear in the text. Citations in the text should be identified using numbers in square brackets, for example: “as reported by John [5]” or “as reported elsewhere [9], [10], [15]–[16].” All references listed in the reference section should be cited in the text; otherwise, uncited references may be removed.

DOI should be included at the end of the reference where available. The References section should follow the IEEE style and should be written only in English. List all authors; however, if the number of authors exceeds six, list only the first three authors followed by “et al.” Authors should follow the format and punctuation shown in the journal’s IEEE reference examples. The DJES Template and IEEE reference examples are available through the journal website.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must declare any financial, personal, professional, institutional, or other conflicts of interest that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the submitted work. If there are no conflicts of interest, authors should include a statement declaring that no conflict of interest exists.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure

Funding Statement

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research, including grants, project numbers, institutional support, or sponsorships. If the study received no specific funding, authors should state this clearly. Funding information should be provided in a way that does not compromise the double-blind peer-review process during initial submission.

Data Availability Statement

Authors should include a Data Availability Statement in accordance with the journal’s Data Availability Policy. The statement should indicate whether the data supporting the findings of the study are publicly available, included within the article or supplementary materials, available upon reasonable request, or not available due to ethical, legal, privacy, commercial, or technical restrictions.

Declaration of AI Use

Authors who use artificial intelligence tools in manuscript preparation must disclose this use in accordance with the journal’s Artificial Intelligence Use Policy. The disclosure should be provided in a separate “Declaration of AI Use” statement during submission and, where appropriate, in the final manuscript.

The statement should include the name of the AI tool, the purpose of use, and the parts of the manuscript where it was used. Simple use of spelling, grammar, formatting, or reference-management tools does not normally require disclosure, provided that these tools do not generate scientific content, interpretations, data, citations, or conclusions.

Submission Checklist

Before submission, authors are required to confirm that their manuscript complies with the journal’s submission requirements. Submissions may be returned to authors if they do not adhere to these guidelines.

Authors should ensure that:

  • All authors have read the journal’s publication ethics, plagiarism prevention, and misconduct policies before submitting to DJES.
  • The manuscript is written in English only.
  • The manuscript falls within the journal’s declared aims and scope.
  • The manuscript is original, unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
  • The author guidelines have been read and the manuscript, tables, figures, equations, and references meet the journal requirements.
  • The title does not include the “&” symbol or unnecessary non-standard abbreviations.
  • Author names, affiliations, and contact details are provided in the title page and submission metadata.
  • The corresponding author is clearly identified.
  • The corresponding author’s email address and affiliation are included.
  • The main manuscript file is anonymized for double-blind peer review.
  • A cover letter is uploaded as a separate file.
  • A title page is uploaded as a separate file.
  • Keywords are added and selected appropriately.
  • Tables and figures are properly numbered and captions are provided.
  • The quality and resolution of figures have been checked.
  • Equations are editable and properly numbered where necessary.
  • References are cited in the text and formatted according to the journal style.
  • DOI information is included in references where available.
  • The manuscript has been checked for spelling, grammar, clarity, and consistency.
  • Conflict of interest and funding statements are provided where applicable.
  • A Data Availability Statement is included where applicable.
  • Any relevant use of AI tools is disclosed according to the journal’s Artificial Intelligence Use Policy, where applicable.
  • Ethical approval and informed consent statements are included where required.

Revised Submission

When revising a manuscript, authors should upload the revised submission files as follows:

Revised manuscript with changes highlighted

Authors should clarify the changes made since the original submission by using the “Track Changes” option in Microsoft Word. This file should be uploaded as “Revised Article with Changes Highlighted.”

Revised manuscript clean copy

Authors should upload a clean copy of the revised manuscript without tracked changes. This file should be uploaded as “Final Revised Manuscript.”

Response to reviewers

Authors should respond to each point raised by the reviewers and editors. The response should list the changes made to the manuscript and should be uploaded as “Response to Reviewers.” Any disagreement with reviewers’ suggestions should be clearly, respectfully, and scientifically justified.

Proof Correction

After the manuscript is accepted following successful peer review, a PDF proof in journal format will be prepared before final publication. A copy of this PDF proof will be emailed to the corresponding author for checking.

Authors should proofread the article carefully and return corrections within the specified time. Proof corrections should be limited to typographical errors, formatting, author information, affiliations, figures, tables, and reference errors. Substantial changes to the accepted manuscript are not permitted at the proof stage unless approved by the Editor-in-Chief.

The proofreading and correction of the article should be thorough before sending the proof corrections back to the editorial office, as repeated proof correction rounds may not be allowed.

Change of Authorship

After a manuscript is submitted, any request to add, remove, or rearrange author names must be submitted formally by the corresponding author to the Editor-in-Chief through the official journal email: [email protected]. The request must clearly explain the reason for the proposed change and must include written confirmation from all authors, including any author being added or removed.

Changes in authorship are not permitted unless there is a clear and justified reason. Authorship changes must comply with the journal’s authorship policy and publication ethics standards. The journal may reject any authorship change request that is not properly justified, is not approved by all authors, or raises concerns related to authorship disputes, gift authorship, guest authorship, ghost authorship, or any other unethical publication practice.

Please note that:

  • Adding a new author to a manuscript may be considered before acceptance and publication, subject to editorial approval and written agreement from all authors.
  • Removing an author from a manuscript may be considered before acceptance and publication, subject to editorial approval and written agreement from all authors, including the author being removed.
  • Rearranging the order of authors may be considered before acceptance and publication, subject to editorial approval and written agreement from all authors.
  • Adding, removing, or rearranging authors after acceptance is not permitted except in exceptional cases approved by the Editor-in-Chief and supported by written agreement from all authors.
  • Adding, removing, or rearranging authors after publication is not permitted except in exceptional cases where a formal correction notice is required and approved by the Editor-in-Chief in accordance with the journal’s correction policy.

All authors must agree to any requested change in authorship. If an authorship dispute arises, the journal may suspend the editorial or publication process until the dispute is resolved by the authors and/or their institution. The journal will not adjudicate personal or institutional authorship disputes but may request documentation or clarification where necessary.

The Change of Authorship Form is available upon request from the editorial office through the official journal email: [email protected]. The final decision on any authorship change request is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief, based on the submitted justification, authors’ confirmations, the stage of the manuscript, and the journal’s publication ethics policies.

Ethical Approval and Consent

Research involving human participants, animals, personal data, clinical information, identifiable images, surveys, interviews, or sensitive data must include an appropriate ethical approval statement, informed consent statement where applicable, and the name of the approving body. If ethical approval was not required, authors should state the reason clearly in the manuscript.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all research has been conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards, institutional requirements, legal regulations, and the journal’s publication ethics policies. The journal may request documentation of ethical approval, informed consent, permissions, or related evidence during editorial screening or peer review where necessary.