Author Guidelines

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission. 

Open Access

The Analog Astronaut™ Research Journal is open access for all. See copyright information for details.

ETHICS & POLICIES

Ethics in Publishing: Please review our Ethics Policy here

Guidance for Analog Astronaut™ Research Journal (AARJ) Regarding the Ethical Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Scholarly Work

Purpose
The purpose of this guidance is to ensure the integrity of scholarly publications, foster responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (AI), and maintain the highest standards expected in scientific research and writing. This guidance aims to deter improper use of AI tools and encourage adherence to ethical principles in authorship and publication.

Background
Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, Claude, and others, are increasingly accessible and used in academic and professional settings. While these tools can assist in research and writing processes, their misuse—such as generating text or content that is then presented as original work—raises serious ethical concerns. Such practices undermine the credibility of the authors and the journal and violate the core tenets of scholarly integrity.

AI Usage Guidance for AARJ Authors

1. Originality in Authorship
   Authors must refrain from using generative AI tools to write, generate, or produce significant portions of their manuscript. Articles must represent the authors’ original ideas, insights, and interpretations. AI-generated content presented without acknowledgment constitutes plagiarism and is strictly prohibited.
2. Acknowledgment of AI Assistance
   If AI tools are used to assist in minor, non-intellectual aspects of writing—such as grammar checks or rephrasing—this usage should be transparently disclosed in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript. Authors must specify the tool used and the nature of its contribution.
3. Accountability and Verification
   Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and validity of the content in their manuscripts. AI tools can produce errors, biases, or fictitious references. It is the authors’ duty to verify all information, references, and conclusions presented in their work.
4. Prohibition on AI-Created Content in Key Sections
   Core intellectual contributions—such as the research hypothesis, methods, analysis, and discussion—must reflect the authors’ expertise and thought processes. These sections cannot be delegated to or generated by AI.
5. Avoiding Inappropriate AI Use
   Authors must not use AI to analyze, manipulate, or interpret proprietary datasets without ethical approval or to generate speculative conclusions unsupported by data. Doing so can result in ethical violations and compromised research quality.
6. Citation Standards for AI Tools
   AI tools cannot be cited as sources of information. If AI is used for preliminary exploration or drafting, authors must validate all output against peer-reviewed or primary sources. The AI tool itself should not appear in the bibliography as a scholarly reference.
7. Transparency and Disclosure
   AARJ may request authors to submit drafts, notes, or documentation to verify the development of the manuscript and ensure adherence to ethical practices. Authors should maintain these materials as part of their scholarly record.
8. Complementary, Not Primary
   Generative AI tools can be a valuable complement to traditional research and writing processes, but they should not be the primary source of intellectual contribution. Authors are encouraged to rely on rigorous, established research methods and trusted sources.
9. Commitment to Integrity
   Authors submitting to the AARJ must attest that their work is their original creation and does not include uncredited AI-generated material. Violations of these standards may result in retraction, reporting to institutions, and other corrective actions.

Generative AI holds promise for enhancing efficiency and productivity in the research process, but its use must be guided by principles of integrity and transparency. By adhering to these guidelines, authors contribute to the credibility of their work and the advancement of their field. If you have any questions about the appropriate use of AI in your manuscript, please contact us. 

Thank you for your commitment to excellence in scholarly publishing.

Submission Declaration

Articles submitted for AAJR must adhere to the following:

• The work has not been published elsewhere except in the form of an abstract, oral presentation, academic thesis, or preprint.
• The article is not being considered for publication elsewhere.
• The article has been approved by all authors.
• The article will not be published elsewhere or in any other language.

Authorship

All authors listed must have made substantial contributions to the manuscript in the following areas: conception and/or design of study, data acquisition, analysis and/or interpretation, manuscript drafting and/or revision. A corresponding author should be appointed to communicate with the journal during the editorial process and for communication inquires if the manuscript is published.

Changes to Authorship

Authors must be carefully considered prior to the submission. If a change in authorship is required, it must occur prior to acceptance and is subject to approval by the journal editor. A request should be written to the journal editor by the corresponding author indicating the reason for the request and this request must be approved by all authors on the manuscript.

Declaration of Interests

All authors must disclose any financial or personal relationship that could influence or bias work in the manuscript. Competing interests include: Employment, Consultancies, Stock Ownership, Funding, Honoria, etc. If authors have no competing interests to declare, then the authors should select in the submission process, "I have nothing to declare".

Funding Sources

All funding sources that provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article must be disclosed upon submission and in the manuscript. If no funding sources were involved, then this should be stated in your submission.

Image Manipulation

Images can be adjusted for clarity but not for the purpose of deception. This means that:

• No specific feature of an image can be adjusted or removed.
• Overall linear adjustments of brightness, contrast, color balance are acceptable as long as these do not distort or obscure anything in the original image.
• Nonlinear adjustments must be disclosed in figure legends.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Preparing the Manuscript

Authors should follow the below requirements to avoid delay in publication. Not all sections outlined below are required for each article type. Please review the table below to determine which sections to include in your manuscript. Sections should appear in the same order as indicated below.

Y = required section; blank cell = author's discretion to include section in manuscript; gray cell = not applicable. (Please note, only the "Original Research" and "Review" articles are peer-reviewed.)

Title

• Should be concise and reflective of the study and not exceed 15 words.
• Should use sentence case.
• Limit the use of abbreviations.

Authors

• Include complete names of all authors and affiliations where the work in the study was performed.
• Identify corresponding author and include current email address.

Running title (Subtitle)

• Should appear on the first page and not exceed 60 characters including spaces.

Keywords

• List 5-7 keywords relevant to the research for indexing purposes.

Abstract

• Should be a concise summary of the article’s purpose, methods, findings, and significance and be 150–250 words.

Introduction

• Should explain the purpose of the study and highlight its relationship to prior work explaining and supporting this study.

Materials and methods

• Experimental design should be explained in sufficient detail to allow a reader to repeat the experiment.
• Must include information regarding data collection and analysis.
• If the manuscript includes human or animal studies, a statement must be provided that the studies were approved by a governing review board and state that board. Human studies must abide by the Declaration of Helsinki principles and authors must indicate this.

Results

• Should describe the data collected.
• Chemical equations, structural formulas, mathematical equations should be placed between successive lines of text and be in editable text.

Discussion

• Should focus on the interpretation and significance of the results instead of repeating the information in the results section.

Conflict of interests

• Disclose any actual or perceived conflicts of interests.
• If none, then insert the following statement: "The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest with the contents of this article."

Data statement

• Authors are required to state the availability of any data submission (e.g., inform reader where the research data is available and under what conditions the data can be accessed) and state the reason for unavailability of data.

Funding

• Indicate sources of funding, including grant numbers, for work performed in manuscript.

Acknowledgements

• Authors may briefly acknowledge people who helped with the study.

References

• References must be cited by number only and in the order of appearance.
• Use the IEEE style format for references.

Tables

• Include a title.
• Define symbols and abbreviations in the legend.
• Do not use color coding for tables.

Figure Legends

• Include a brief title and description of image.
• Should contain sufficient information to explain figure.
• All symbols and abbreviations should be defined.
• Should be numbered in order they are mentioned.

Formatting the Manuscript

The initial submission can be submitted as a Microsoft Word or PDF document with the intent that initial submissions are clear and legible to allow reviewers to evaluate the scientific quality of the work.  Below are guidelines to ensure this:

• Font should be Times New Roman, size 12.
• Text should be double-spaced.
• Use single-column.
• Figures and tables can be placed within the text of or grouped at the end

Preparing the Cover Letter

Authors are invited to provide a cover letter stating the novelty and significance of their research and why this manuscript should be considered for publication in AAJR.

SUBMISSION & PUBLICATION PROCESS

Submission

Submit the manuscript and associated documents through our online submission system following the above instructions for manuscript preparation.

Resubmission

Manuscripts requested by the editors to undergo a revision shall include detailed point-by-point explanations of changes made to the manuscript and how reviewers’ comments were addressed. Authors can upload a copy of the original manuscript in Microsoft Word with Tracked Changes enabled to facilitate the evaluation of the revised manuscript. This file must include “Revised Manuscript (with tracked changes)” in the file name when uploaded. The main revised manuscript to be published should not include the tracked changes when uploaded.

Acceptance and Author Formatting

Upon acceptance of the manuscript, authors may be required to prepare their manuscript using the official journal template (to be provided upon manuscript acceptance).

• Microsoft Word template (two-column) or
• LaTeX class file (two-column).

Authors must then submit:

• The editable source file (Microsoft Word or LaTex).
• A PDF copy for reference.

At this stage, the manuscript should conform to the journal style for the below. 

• Formatting.
• Figure and Table Placement.
• Reference Formatting.

Publication Charges

• Accepted articles will require a $100 charge for publication.

Copyediting and Layout

Following template formatting by the authors and submission of the formatted manuscript, the manuscript will undergo copyediting by the editorial office. This will address:

• Minor grammar and spelling.
• Confirmation and/or adjustments to formatting.
• Figure and table legends and numbering.
• Reference style consistency.

Once copyediting is complete, the authors will receive a proof of this final version to check for any errors / typos / etc. Only minor corrections will be permitted at this stage. The authors must review the proof and send it back to the editor within 48 hours of receipt.

Final Typesetting and Publication

After the proof has been approved, the editorial office will complete the final typesetting, which will include inserting the DOI, issue/volume, page number, and publication date to the manuscript.

Publishing Agreement

• All authors must grant The Analog Astronaut Research Journal exclusive license to publish their work.

CORRECTIONS & RETRACTION POLICY

Corrections

Corrections will be published if the following criteria are met:

• Errors impact the understanding or important contents of the article.
• Corrections do not affect the overall results or conclusion of the article.
• There are no concerns about the integrity or reliability of the article contents.

AARJ will not publish corrections for typographical errors or other minor issues that do not affect the integrity of the article.

Corrections can be initiated by the authors or the publisher.

Retractions

Retractions will be performed when there are significant concerns about the integrity, validity, or reliability of an article. This can arise due to honest error(s) or misconduct. Retractions can also occur due to violation of research ethics or plagiarism.

Retractions can be initiated by the authors or the publisher.

A notice of retraction will be published by AARJ stating the reason(s) for retraction. All authors of the retraction will be notified beforehand.