Guidelines for Authors:

Authors can electronically submit articles throughout the year using the Article Submission System. Authors can format their article either in (i) a single-column format or (ii) as per the journal template. The submitted articles should not have been previously published or are currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. The journal does not accept brief or short notes for publication. The editors retain the right to reject any articles that lack quality or originality without sending them for review.

All articles must fall within the journal’s scope and will undergo a double-anonymized peer-review process. Authors must confirm that they have read and understood the content of their submitted article and ensure that it meets acceptable English grammar and usage standards.

To help with the proofreading process, authors can use tools like Grammarly or similar applications. As an open-access journal, authors must pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) to publish their articles and retain copyright. Additionally, authors should familiarise themselves with the editorial and publishing policies of the journal.

Article Submission Criteria:

Authors must familiarise themselves with the publishing standards outlined below before submitting their articles.

Types of Articles
Authors must ensure while submitting the article, it falls under the appropriate category from the list of options:

  • Case Study – A case study is a detailed investigation of a specific problem, using experiments or surveys to find potential solutions. It examines the problem from different angles and provides a comprehensive analysis.
  • Occasional Review – Review articles summarise and assess primary research in a field, focusing on recent developments.
  • Original Research – Research articles should clearly describe confirmed findings and detailed experimental methods for verification by others. The length of the article should be sufficient to interpret the work effectively.

Submission Checklist:
Author (s) can use this list to complete a final check of article submission before sending it to the journal for peer review. Authors should ensure to have the following items in the article which should be available:

  1. Authorship:
    The corresponding authors oversee the author group and must disclose any use of editorial services to avoid conflicts of interest. They are also responsible for ensuring accurate contribution listings and preventing ghost authorship. For more detailed information, please visit the Authorship policy.

    1. Authors Contacts: The authors of a document should be identified with their contact information, such as their complete mailing address, email address, and Orcid ID.
    2. Corresponding Authors (CAs): Only up to two CAs should be assigned to the article. CA’s responsibility includes any future inquiries regarding methodology and materials. Additionally, CA must verify the authors’ order and contact details in the article.
  2. Basic Requirements in the Article- A Briefing:
    • Words Count in the article should not be more than 5000 words excluding Abstract, Methods, Tables, References, and figure legends.
    • Page count should not be more than 20.
    • Submitting File Size: Each file should not be more than 10MB (.doc/.docx/ PDF).
    • Title words count should not be more than 50.
    • Abstract words count should be a minimum of 200 words and a maximum of 300 words.
    • Keyword count should be a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5.
    • Font Name and Font Size: Times New Roman, Font Size 10, single or double column with 1.05 multiple spacing and justified.
    • Figures count should not be more than 10 figures. The figures should be 300 dpi.
    • Tables count should not be more than 8, and each table should not exceed one page in length.
    • Figure Legend words count should not exceed 350 words per figure.
    • Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files: Optional.
    • Supplemental files: Optional
    • Spell and Grammar: Authors must confirm that they have read and understood the content of their submitted article and ensure that it meets acceptable English grammar and usage standards. To help with the proofreading process, authors can use tools like Grammarly or similar applications.
    • Abbreviations count should not be more than 15 abbreviations. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
    • Declaration: Authors must include an accountability declaration outlining each author’s involvement in all types of articles, including reviews. The level of detail required may vary, but it’s best to place the declaration after the conclusion before the reference section. For more detailed information, please visit the declaration statement. 
    • References count should not be more than 60.
    • Referee suggestions: To be bestowed based on journal requirements.
    • Footnote: Footnote should not be employed.

Structure of the Article:
Authors must include a title page with author info and identify the corresponding author with an asterisk. Please structure the main body of the text in a way that fits the research. Authors can format their article either in (i) a single-column format or (ii) as per the journal template.

  • Abstract: A mandatory and concise abstract is required, which should provide factual information about the research’s intention, principal results, and significant conclusions. It should be able to stand alone since it is often presented separately from the article. Therefore, it is essential to avoid references. But, if necessary, the authors and years should be cited. Additionally, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if required, they must be defined in the abstract at their first mention.
  • Keywords/index terms: Use appropriate keywords. After the abstract, include up to 5 specific keywords. Avoid broad or plural terms and multiple concepts such as “and” or “of”. Use abbreviations only if they are commonly used in the field. These keywords are essential for indexing purposes.
  • Introduction: Articulate the objectives of the work and bestow an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.
  • Material and Methods: There are no restrictions on the length of the explanation for the methods used. Provide detailed information to assist an independent researcher in reproducing your work. If you quote a previously published method directly, use quotation marks and cite the source. Additionally, please declare any modifications made to existing methods. Authors should make their research data easily accessible without any unnecessary credentials. When writing, be clear about any restrictions on resource accessibility, especially a data and material statement that should identify where it can be found, such as a public repository. When possible, provide enough information on new compounds for precise replication and use established public repositories for biological materials. Research data and materials should be accessible for a reasonable time after publication. To conduct animal and human experiments, it is essential to comply fully with local, national, and ethical regulations and adhere to necessary licensing arrangements. Authors must register their clinical trials in an open-access database and include the registration numbers at the end of the abstract, which reports their results.
  • Theory/Calculation: When writing an article, the Theory section should provide more detailed information about the background presented in the Introduction without duplicating it. Its main objective is to lay the foundation for future work. Conversely, the Calculation section utilises theoretical concepts to offer practical applications.
  • Results (with subheadings if applicable): Results should be clear and concise.
  • Discussion (without subheadings): This section should discuss the significance of the work’s results without repeating them. A Results and Discussion section can be combined for convenience. It’s best to avoid citing published literature excessively and discussing it in depth.
  • Conclusion: The study’s main findings should be summarised briefly in a Conclusions section that may be a separate section or a subsection within the Results and Discussion section.
  • Acknowledgement: Acknowledge who influenced the work but aren’t authors. List funding and people who helped with research, language, writing, or proofreading. Don’t include them on the title page — no competing interests or funding sources. Use grant details if within scope. For more detailed information, please visit the Acknowledgement section. 
  • Declaration Statement: Authors ensure that the article remains free from Conflicts of Interest. If there are any, explain them. Let readers know if there was any financial support. Confirm ethical approval and provide evidence if needed. Make research data and materials accessible. Indicate the roles of multiple authors.

    1. Conflicts of Interest/ Competing Interests: Ensuring that the article remains free from competing interests is essential. If competing interests exist, a proper explanation should be provided. For more detailed information, please visit the conflicts-of-interest policy. 
    2. Financial Support: The authors must provide details about any financial support they received, such as funds, grants, or other forms of assistance. For example, The ABC {author’s name} has disclosed that they received financial support for their research work from XYZ {funder name} with grant numbers xyxyx, URL {online available information if any}.
    3. Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate: The author must submit a statement confirming there is no need for ethical approval and consent to participate and provide supporting evidence if required and required ethical approval and consent to participate with evidence. For more detailed information, please visit the misconduct/ plagiarism and unethical publication policy. 
    4. Data and Material Availability Statement/ Data Access Statement: Authors should ensure their research data is easily accessible and provide information on where it can be found. Be clear about accessibility restrictions, especially if a for-profit organisation is involved. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring resources are available. Use established public repositories for biological materials and provide enough information for precise replication. Data and materials should be accessible for a reasonable time after publication. For more detailed information, please visit the data and material availability statement/ data access statement policy. 
    5. Authors Contributions: When there are multiple authors, please indicate their roles in the article. For instance, all authors contributed equally to this article. Alternatively, Author X was responsible for algorithm development, Author Y conducted the results section, and Author Z created the block diagram. Authors need to declare their accountability in writing, even for review-type articles, specifying each author’s involvement. For more detailed information, please visit authorship policy.
  • Figures: Please make sure to include a caption for each illustration. Captions should be provided separately and not attached to the figure itself. A caption should include a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. While keeping the text in the illustrations to a minimum, it’s essential to clearly explain all symbols and abbreviations used.
  • Figure Legends:
    While writing legends of the figures, begin with a brief title sentence summarising the entire figure. Please provide a concise description of the contents displayed in each panel. Arrange symbols in a proper sequence and refrain from incorporating excessive technical specifics. Please ensure that each legend does not exceed 350 words in length. Finally, list the figure legends in numerical order after the references.
  • Tables: Tables must be editable as text rather than images. These tables should be placed next to relevant text in the article or on separate pages at the end. Number tables consecutively based on their appearance in the text and include any notes beneath the table body. Use tables sparingly and avoid presenting data already described elsewhere in the article. Also, please refrain from using vertical rules and shading in table cells.
  • Equations: Incorporate mathematical expressions and equations into the article’s main body. Use parenthetical numbers like (1) to identify the equations referenced in the text, and refer to them as “equation (1),” etc. When submitting in a Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format, make sure all equations can be edited in Microsoft Word. Authors can utilise the equation editor in Microsoft Word to do so.
  • Appendices: If you have multiple appendices, label them as A, B, and so on. Number equations in each appendix separately, such as Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc. In subsequent addenda, use Eq. (B.1) and so forth. Do the same for tables and figures, such as Table A.1 and Fig. A.1.
  • References: Authors ensure that the modified references are not plagiarised. Each reference is cited in the article, and vice versa. Therefore, the author should format them accurately, as they will be electronically linked to external databases where possible. For references, put numerical numbers sequentially within the square brackets (e.g., [1], [2]). Authors ensure that one reference will be associated with one numerical number. Including only articles or datasets accepted or published by a recognised publication, preprint server or repository, conference abstracts, or patents is advised. Do not incorporate grant details and acknowledgements in the references. It is essential that:
    1. Include all authors unless the number exceeds six, in which case, mention the first author followed by ‘et al.’ For Example, Bellin, D. L. et al. Electrochemical camera chip for simultaneous imaging of multiple metabolites in biofilms. Nat. Commun. 7, 10535; 10.1038/ncomms10535 (2016).
    2. Authors should be classified by their last name first, followed by a comma and their initials (with full stops) for their given names. For example (Printed journals), Schott, D. H., Collins, R. N. & Bretscher, A. Secretory vesicle transport velocity in living cells depends on the myosin V lever arm length. J. Cell Biol. 156, 35-39 (2002).
    3. Please use Roman text for both article and dataset titles. The first word of the title should be capitalised and written precisely as it appears in the cited work, followed by a period. For example, Babichev, S. A., Ries, J. & Lvovsky, A. I. Quantum scissors: teleportation of single-mode optical states using a nonlocal single photon. Preprint at https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0208066 (2002).
    4. To properly format book titles, utilise italics and capitalise the first letter of every word in the title. For example: Smith, J. Syntax of referencing in How to reference books (ed. Smith, S.) 180-181 (Macmillan, 2013).
    5. Please utilise italics when referring to journal and data repository names. It is appropriate to abbreviate them according to commonly used standards, including full stops. For example, Hao, Z., AghaKouchak, A., Nakhjiri, N. & Farahmand, A. Global integrated drought monitoring and prediction system (GIDMaPS) data sets. figshare https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.853801 (2014).
    6. Please utilise bold to indicate volume numbers followed by a comma.
    7. Provide the complete page range (or article number) when applicable. 

Article Submission and Template:
Authors can electronically submit articles throughout the year using the Article Submission System. Authors can format their article either in (i) a single-column format or (ii) as per the journal template.

The submitted articles should not have been previously published or are currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. The journal does not accept brief or short notes for publication. The editors retain the right to reject any articles that lack quality or originality without sending them for review.

All articles must fall within the journal’s scope and will undergo a double-anonymized peer-review process. Authors must confirm that they have read and understood the content of their submitted article and ensure that it meets acceptable English grammar and usage standards. To help with the proofreading process, authors can use tools like Grammarly or similar applications. As an open-access journal, authors must pay an Article Processing Charge (APC) to publish their articles to retain copyright. Additionally, authors should familiarise themselves with the editorial and publishing policies of the journal.

Cover Letter:
As part of the submission, a cover letter must be included. This letter should contain the corresponding author’s affiliation and contact information, a brief explanation of why the work is suitable for the journal, and the names and contact information of any potential reviewers suggested by the author. In addition, authors should indicate any referees they would prefer not to review their work and confirm whether any prior discussions with a journal Editorial Board Member have occurred regarding the article they are submitting.

Supplementary Data:
If any critical data is needed to assess the article’s validity that is unavailable through a public source, please include it as Supplementary Data. Authors should submit this information along with the article so that referees can review it during peer-review. The Supplementary Data will be published online alongside accepted articles. It is crucial that authors carefully review the Supplementary Data before submitting it because any changes after publication will require a formal correction. The journal does not edit, typeset, or proofread Supplementary Information, so it should be presented accurately and concisely at the initial submission to match the style and terminology of the rest of the article.

Statistical Standards:
When using statistical testing in an article, state the name of the test, n value, comparisons, normality of data, alpha level, and P values. Use descriptive statistics for summarising data sets, including n value, central tendency, and variability. For graphs, include clearly labelled error bars and specify whether the number following ± is s.e.m. or s.d. Use P values with the word “significant” and clarify other terms like “substantial” or “considerable.” Authors should justify using a specific test and assess whether the data conforms to the test’s assumptions. It’s worth noting that three errors are frequently encountered in this process.

  • To avoid errors, authors should adjust the alpha level and use ANOVA instead of multiple t-tests when comparing data sets.
  • To ensure that the data is approximately normally distributed when conducting statistical evaluations. To do this, authors should demonstrate how they have examined the data for normality. If the data does not meet the test’s assumptions, authors should consider using a non-parametric alternative.
  • To utilise appropriate tests for small sample sizes or explain why large-sample tests were used.

Image Integrity and Standards:
Don’t manipulate experimental images to mislead readers. Always get permission to re-use an image or figure from the copyright owner and include a statement in the figure legend. If re-use is allowed, still cite the source. For more detailed information, please visit the Image Integrity and Standards policy.

Peer-Review Process:
At the initial submission stage of the article, incorporate article texts and figures into a single file (msword) and maintain image quality at 300 dpi. The submitted articles undergo a double-anonymized peer-review process. Editors review for standards. The articles deemed appropriate are sent to external reviewers, while those unsuitable ones are rejected. The editors may also request expert advice when needed. For more detailed information about the peer-review process, please visit the peer-review policy of the journal.

Revised Articles:
For revised articles, only provide all text in a single file using MSWord (.doc/.docx).  Authors can format their article either in (i) a single-column format or (ii) as per the journal template. Authors ensure that:

  • Article texts and figures into a single file (msword) and maintain image quality at 300 dpi.
  • page numbers (e.g., 1,2, 3) should be inserted in the footer of each page.
  • Times New Roman fonts are used for text and the ‘symbols’ font for any Greek characters.
  • Supplementary Data (if any) as a separate file, preferably in PDF format. The title of the article and its author list should be included on the first page of the Supplementary Data file.

Embargo Period for the Rejected Article:
After rejection, re-submission of the article will be embargoed for six months. The author will explain to the General Editor about the changes when resubmitting the article. The author should revise the article based on the negative comments. The General Editor will authorise the Associate Editor to verify whether the resubmitted article has been revised based on the negative comments. For more detailed information, please visit the peer-reviewed policy of the journal.

Code of Conduct for Medical Ethics: Animal and Human Research Participants:
The Indian Journal of Cryptography and Network Security (IJCNS) firmly believes in transparency in clinical research. To publish with us, authors must demonstrate their commitment to ethical standards and uphold the dignity and rights of individual participants, associated individuals and communities, human and non-human life and the environment.

To conduct animal and human experiments, it is essential to comply fully with local, national, and ethical regulations and adhere to necessary licensing arrangements. Authors must register their clinical trials in an open-access database and include the registration numbers at the end of the abstract, which reports their results. For more detailed information, please visit the Code of Conduct for Medical Ethics policy.

Copy Editing, Language, and Proof Reading Services:
As part of the production process, in-depth editing services for article is not provided. If authors believe that their articles would be improved with copy editing, they may wish to consider utilising a copy editing or language editing service. This can be done before submission or during the revision stage. To help with the proofreading process, authors can use tools like Grammarly or similar applications. The author can also utilise American Journal Experts to arbitrate these services. It’s important to note that using an editing service is at the author’s expense and does not guarantee peer-review or publication acknowledgement selection.