Guide for Author

  1. Manuscript must be prepared in English.
  2. The document is available in Microsoft Office format (doc, docx, rtf) and PDF format. The file in PDF format is uploaded as the main file and .doc file is uploaded as a supplementary file.

Submission checklist:

  1. One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details: Email and full postal address.
  2. Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked'
    • Include keywords
    • All figures (include relevant captions)
    • All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
    • Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided
    • Indicate clearly if colour should be used for any figures in print
    • Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable)
    • Supplemental files (where applicable)
  3. All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa.
  4. Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet).
  5. Relevant declarations of interest have been made.
  6. Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed.
  7. Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements.
  8. To facilitate the review process, Forensics encourages authors to submit a line-numbered version of their final manuscript as a supplementary file, in Microsoft Office format (doc, docx), in addition to the main manuscript. The line-numbered version will help reviewers to identify precisely the location of issues within the manuscript.
  9. A cover letter is included for each submission of a manuscript. Name, address and email address (institution's email) of  two possible referees outside the authors' institution are provided. The names will be used as suggestion and not a definite reviewer.

Article Structure:

Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

Material and methods
Provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should be described.

Results
Results should be clear and concise.

Discussion
This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.

Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.            
 

Abstract

A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions, within 150-250 words in English. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself. 

Keywords

Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 5 keywords, using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes. Please refer to this keyword catalogue as a guide.

Acknowledgements

Please provide Acknowledgements in the manuscript. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.).

Artwork

Electronic artwork
General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Fonts: Times New Roman (or Times)
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Indicate per figure if it is a single, 1.5 or 2-column fitting image.
• For Word submissions only, you may still provide figures and their captions, and tables within a single file at the revision stage.
• Please note that individual figure files larger than 10 MB must be provided in separate source files.

Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please 'save as' or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as 'graphics'.
TIFF (or JPG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF (or JPG): Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF (or JPG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.

Please do not:
• Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low.
• Supply files that are too low in resolution.
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Color Artwork
 
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF), or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures then we will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for color: in print or online only.

Figure Caption

Ensure that each illustration has a caption. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

Tables

Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules.