Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to submit original and high-quality manuscripts to Zona Laut: Journal of Ocean Science and Technology Innovation. Submitted manuscripts must comply with the journal's focus and scope, publication ethics, formatting requirements, and editorial policies.

1. General Requirements

Manuscripts submitted to Zona Laut must present original scholarly work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal.

The manuscript must demonstrate a clear scientific or technological contribution within the journal's areas of Ocean Science and Observation, Marine Technology and Intelligent Systems, Marine Environment and Coastal Sustainability, or Sustainable Ocean Science and Technology Innovation.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts are written in clear, accurate, and academically appropriate English before submission.

2. Article Types

Zona Laut primarily considers the following types of scholarly contributions:

• Original Research Articles — reports of original scientific, experimental, computational, observational, or applied research.
• Review Articles — critical and structured reviews of significant developments in areas relevant to the journal.
• Short or Technical Contributions — may be considered when they provide clear scientific or technological value and meet the journal's quality standards.

3. Submission Files and Anonymity

Zona Laut uses a double-anonymous peer review process. Authors must therefore ensure that the manuscript file submitted for review does not contain information that directly identifies the authors.

Author names, affiliations, email addresses, ORCID identifiers, and other author metadata should be entered through the OJS submission system.

Manuscripts should be submitted in an editable word-processing format and prepared using the official Zona Laut manuscript template where provided.

4. Manuscript Structure

Research manuscripts should generally include:

1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Keywords
4. Introduction
5. Materials and Methods
6. Results and Discussion
7. Conclusion
8. Acknowledgements, if applicable
9. Funding Statement, if applicable
10. Conflict of Interest Statement
11. Data Availability Statement, where applicable
12. AI Use Disclosure, where applicable
13. References

5. Title and Author Information

The title should be concise, informative, specific, and accurately reflect the principal content and contribution of the study.

Complete author information must be provided through the OJS metadata, including full names, institutional affiliations, country, email addresses, and ORCID identifiers where available.

6. Abstract and Keywords

The abstract should normally contain approximately 150–250 words and provide a concise overview of the research problem, objective, methodology, principal findings, and main conclusion or contribution.

Authors should provide 3–6 keywords that accurately represent the subject, methods, and major concepts of the manuscript.

7. Introduction

The Introduction should establish the scientific or technological context of the study, summarize relevant literature, clearly identify the research problem or knowledge gap, explain the significance of the study, and state the research objective and contribution.

8. Materials and Methods

The methodology should be described with sufficient clarity and detail to allow readers to understand, evaluate, and where appropriate reproduce the research.

Authors should clearly describe research design, data sources, sampling, instrumentation, experimental procedures, numerical or computational methods, analytical techniques, validation procedures, and relevant assumptions.

9. Results and Discussion

Results should be presented clearly and logically, supported by appropriate tables, figures, statistical analysis, numerical results, observations, or other relevant evidence.

The Discussion should interpret the findings, compare them with relevant previous research, explain their scientific or technological implications, address limitations, and demonstrate the novelty or contribution of the study.

10. Conclusion

The Conclusion should summarize the principal findings and clearly state the contribution and significance of the study. It should not merely repeat the abstract or Results section. Recommendations or future research directions may be included where appropriate.

11. Ethical and Transparency Statements

Authors should include the following statements where applicable:

• Funding statement
• Conflict of interest declaration
• Data availability statement
• Research ethics approval
• Informed consent, where applicable
• Acknowledgements
• Disclosure of substantive use of generative AI or similar technologies

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of all submitted content.

12. Figures and Tables

Figures and tables should be relevant, clear, readable, appropriately numbered, and referred to in the manuscript text.

Figures should have sufficient resolution for online publication, and labels should remain legible at normal viewing size.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce any copyrighted figures, tables, images, maps, or other material that is not their original work.

13. References

References should be relevant, credible, and sufficient to establish the scientific context and contribution of the study.

Authors are encouraged to use recent peer-reviewed literature together with important foundational references where relevant. References should not be added solely for the purpose of increasing citation counts.

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) should be provided whenever available. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all references are accurate and that every cited reference appears in the reference list.

Reference formatting should follow the style specified in the official Zona Laut manuscript template.

14. Submission Preparation Checklist

Before submission, authors should confirm that:

• The manuscript fits the journal's focus and scope.
• The work is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.
• The manuscript is written entirely in English for submissions from November 2026 onward.
• The review manuscript has been anonymized.
• All author information has been entered correctly in OJS.
• The abstract and keywords meet journal requirements.
• Figures and tables are clear and appropriately cited.
• References are accurate and include DOI information where available.
• Funding and conflict of interest information has been disclosed.
• AI use has been disclosed where applicable.
• The manuscript follows the official Zona Laut template.

15. Review and Revision Process

Submitted manuscripts undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal's basic requirements may proceed to double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent reviewers.

Authors receiving a revision decision should respond carefully to reviewer and editor comments and submit a revised manuscript together with a clear response to the issues raised.

Submission of a revised manuscript does not guarantee acceptance. The final decision remains the responsibility of the journal's editorial team.

16. After Acceptance

Following formal acceptance, manuscripts may undergo copyediting, layout preparation, metadata verification, proofreading, and other production procedures before publication.

The APC is requested only after the manuscript has received a formal acceptance decision. Payment does not influence peer review or editorial decisions.

Authors may be asked to review and approve proofs before final publication. Published articles are made openly accessible in accordance with the journal's CC BY 4.0 licensing policy.