Author Guidelines
The following sections will give a thorough guide to authors who wish to publish in the Ghana Journal of Technolgy. The intention is to provide a concise guide covering all aspects of the publication. It does not, however, aim to provide comprehensive information on detailed stylistic features.
2.1 Manuscript Preparation
The paper should have a concise title, name(s) of author(s), an abstract (not exceeding 300 words), the main text (divided by headings and subheadings), acknowledgement (where necessary) and references.
The text should be one and half line spacing, double column and paginated from 1 onwards including the title/abstract page. The font type should be Times New Roman. A font size of 10 pt should be used. A paper size of A4 and normal margins (top, bottom, left and right = 2.54 cm) should be employed. British English should be adopted.
2.1.1 Title
The title should indicate the contents and scope of the paper in as few words as possible. Phrases such as 'investigations into…' and 'observations on some aspects of …' add nothing significant to the title and should be avoided. While the title should be as brief as possible it should be accurate, descriptive and comprehensive, clearly indicating the subject of the investigation and must not contain any abbreviation.
2.1.2 Abstract
The abstract is a brief information or summary of the research. It outlines the objective(s) of the research, the research methods and procedure employed, as well as the major results and conclusions. The abstract should always start with a topic sentence that is a central statement of the major theme of the paper. It should be as concise as possible. The Ghana Mining Journal will not accept an abstract of more than 300 words.
2.1.3 Main Section
The main text of the paper may be divided into three sections: the introduction; the central section comprising the major report of the study, divided into logical divisions; and the concluding section, which should contain the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the research.
Introduction
The introduction should present the statement of the problem, underlying theory and hypothesis and objectives of the research.
Central Section
It is impossible to give specific directions for organising all the studies and findings, because of the wide variety of topics investigated, techniques employed, and kinds of data accumulated. It suffices to state that the central section of the paper should constitute the author’s contribution to knowledge. All other portions of the manuscript are subordinate to what actually has been discovered and is here being made known. The author should, therefore, take great pains to present his/her material in a clear and orderly fashion, in terms that will be readily understood. Basically, it should address the literature governing the research, data collection, results, analysis and discussions.
Headings and Numbering: The arrangement of headings of various levels (hierarchical positions) reflects the organisation of the contents of the paper. The following headings and numbering with the typeface and format are to be used:
TITLE
1 First Level Heading
1.1 Second Level Heading
1.1.1 Third Level Heading
Fourth Level Heading
Fifth Level Heading: This leads into the text on the same line.
These are demonstrated in this Note to Contributors.
Latin Words and Phrases: Latin words which are used to identify technical structures or entities are always italicized; similarly phrases like et al., in situ, in vivo, versus, per se are to be italicised. On the other hand, commonly used abbreviations such as etc., viz. and e.g. do not require italicisation.
Acronyms: Authors should avoid jargons, abbreviations and acronyms which are not in common use in the field or which have not been defined. Certain acronyms like, 'radar' [RA(dio) D(etecting) A(nd) R(anging)] have become dictionary words. In general, however, authors should use acronyms sparingly and when using them for the first time, spell them out. Where the acronym is not an accepted dictionary one it should be in capitals e.g. AGA (AngloGold Ashanti).
Numbers: In the text, authors should use words rather than numerals for integers below ten. Exceptions to this rule occur in illustrations and tables, or when integers are associated with unit symbols. For numerals above ten, use whatever provides optimum clarity and good appearance. Avoid writing out large and small numbers by using either accepted prefixes or exponential notation, e.g. 253 x 109 or 0.253 × 1012. Where large numbers must be written out these should be separated by a small space into groups of three counting from the left of the decimal sign, e.g. 5 241.2 or 0.52465. They must never be separated by a comma, point or any other means. For numbers less than unity, a zero should precede the decimal sign, e.g. 0.352 not .352. When listing numbers - as in a table - always align them on the decimal sign.
Tables, Illustrations and Equations: Tables and illustrations must be numbered sequentially. All illustrations and photographs must be in colour and labelled as figures (e.g. Fig. 1). Photographs should be sharp and processed within 800 dpi and 1200 dpi in JPEG or Window metafile. Maps, sketches, etc should include a metric bar scale. SI units should be used throughout the text. Footnotes to the text should be avoided. All equations should be numbered and symbols clearly defined. MS Equation should be used to generate all equations.
Concluding Section
The concluding section should be a summary, restating the developments of the main text and showing succinctly the more important findings and conclusions of the whole study. The author may list unanswered questions that have occurred to him/her but which require research beyond the limits of the undertaking reported. Recommendations may be offered in the solution of the problem.
2.1.4 Acknowledgements
Assistance received in carrying out the research and writing the paper should be acknowledged, although it is not usual to acknowledge routine checking, minor assistance or general advice. It is, however, usual to acknowledge the assistance of a supervisor, financial assistance, permission to publish, as well as special facilities offered by a company, university or research institution.
2.1.5 Referencing
References cited should indicate the source of the writer's statements, to acknowledge another person's work, and to provide a source of additional information. The relevance of any reference should be carefully considered and the number of references kept to a necessary minimum. All references within the text must appear together at the end of the publication as a list of references. The citations must be given in sufficient detail for easy retrieval of the information.
Referencing within the Text
The references are cited in the text by the author's surname followed by the year e.g. (Cobblah, 2005) or Cobblah (2005) depending on the sentence structure. If a number of articles by the same author are cited for a given year the letters a, b, c are used to distinguish the articles e.g. (Amegbey, 2009a) and (Amegbey, 2009b). If there are more than two authors, only the first author's surname is given in the text followed by 'et al.' e.g. (Temeng et al., 2013). The full list of names is given in the reference list.
GHANA JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY