Article Formatting Rules
Dear Authors,
The editorial board of the electronic scientific journal “Natura Scientia Journal”, based at Astana International University LLP, accepts for consideration previously unpublished article manuscripts that correspond to the aims of the journal and meet the requirements for scientific quality. The author(s) shall also send an accompanying document in electronic format.
The article manuscript shall be sent to the editorial office ONLY by online upload through the journal website interface. For this, it is necessary to register on the journal website https://nsj.aiu.kz in the “Registration” section, or, if already registered, log into the system by clicking “Login” and entering the “Username” and “Password” in the empty fields (see the Article Submission Guide). The article text, formatted in accordance with the requirements, shall be uploaded in electronic format (doc, docx, rtf extensions) in the “Submit Article” section. Each author must register on the journal website, keeping their login and password for access.
ATTENTION: Articles that are not uploaded to the website will not be accepted for consideration. Article texts sent to the personal email addresses of the editors or to the journal’s email address will not be considered.
Authors must обязательно indicate in the cover letter in the Open Journal Systems or Editorial Manager system that the submitted manuscript has not been previously published anywhere and that it contains no borrowed text fragments from other works without proper references to them.
The originality of the manuscript is preliminarily checked in the StrikePlagiarism system, and the article text with a uniqueness rate above 75% is sent to confidential reviewers. The author(s) will be able to track the comments of the confidential reviewer through the journal’s open system website and accordingly revise/supplement the article based on the reviewers’ comments. The author may also receive information about a positive decision in their personal account on the Open Journal Systems website. If the article is not recommended for publication, the editorial board sends the author a reasoned refusal.
The authors are responsible for the selection and reliability of the cited historical sources, quotations, statistical and sociological data, proper names, geographical names, and other information.
1. Rules for Formatting Article Manuscripts
1.1 Article length: manuscripts are accepted with a length of not less than 3,000 and not more than 7,000 words (A4 format, main text font – Times New Roman, line spacing – 1, first-line indent – 1 cm, main text font size – 12, keywords and reference list – 9, table text – 9).
1.2 Margins: left – 3 cm, right – 1 cm, top and bottom – 2 cm each.
1.3 The main text shall be typed in the Microsoft Word editor.
1.4 Parentheses are used to indicate literary sources, for example: (Askarova, 2023: 97).
1.5 For consistency of style, do not use font emphasis in the text (italics, underlining, etc.).
1.6 Tables, drawings, figures, and the like are numbered consecutively, with the caption centered below the illustration according to the given topic (14 pt, regular) (for example, Table 1 – Title of the table (if the manuscript is written in Kazakh and Russian, the English translation is placed in square brackets [...])). If there is only one figure in the article, it is not numbered. Tables, drawings, figures, etc. must not exceed 20% of the article volume (30% in exceptional cases).
2. Article Structure
1. IRSTI number – International Rubricator of Scientific and Technical Information, alignment – left, font – bold.
2. Article title (Heading) must reflect the essence and content of the article and attract the reader’s attention. The title should be concise. The optimal title length is 5–7 words (in some cases 9–10 words). The article title must be presented in Russian, Kazakh, and English. The title is presented in bold lowercase letters, alignment – centered.
2.3 Information about the author(s):
· Full names of the authors (in full) in lowercase letters, bold, centered; the corresponding author is marked with a superscript asterisk (*).
· Place of work (affiliation): name of the organization, address (formatted according to the international standard: building number, street, city with postal code, country). If there are several authors, superscript symbols (1, 2, 3) are used.
· Academic degree, title, position.
· ORCID iD (researcher unique identifier), e-mail.
2.4 Abstract with a length of not less than 150–200 words. The abstract structure includes the following MANDATORY items:
· Introductory statement on the research topic.
· Goals and objectives.
· Results.
· Conclusion.
2.5 Keywords – 5–7 words.
2.6 Acknowledgement. If the article is carried out with the financial support of a scientific foundation or within the framework of a scientific project, information about the funding organization, the project title, and the type of funding (basic, grant, targeted program, etc.) shall be indicated, including the state registration number (OGRN). The author(s) may also thank consultants (optional) for their advice in preparing the manuscript, etc.
2.7 Citation block: Author(s)’ full name. Article title. Natura Scientia Journal electronic scientific journal. Year. Vol. No. P. article language (Kaz.); (proposed journal issue number) DOI: 80.12586/4555-5577.
Attention! The indicated positions in the article structure — IRSTI, article title, author information, abstract, and keywords — shall be provided in Kazakh, Russian, and English.
2.8 The main text consists of the following sections:
· The Introduction consists of the following main elements:
Justification for the choice of topic; relevance of the topic or problem. In justifying the choice of topic, based on the description of previous research experience, the existence of a problematic situation is indicated (absence of certain studies, emergence of a new object, etc.).
The relevance of the topic is determined by the general interest in studying the given object, but also by the absence of exhaustive answers to the existing questions; it is substantiated by the theoretical or practical significance of the topic.
Definition of the object, subject, aims, objectives, methods, approaches, hypothesis, and significance of the given study. The aim of the study must be related to proving the thesis, that is, to presenting the subject of the study in the aspect chosen by the author.
Materials and Research Methods. The methodology should consist of a description of the materials and the course of the work, as well as a full description of the methods used. The scientific methodology should include: research questions; the proposed hypothesis (thesis); stages of the research; research methods.
The characteristics or description of the research material include its presentation in qualitative and quantitative terms. The characteristics of the material are one of the factors determining the reliability of the conclusions and research methods.
This section describes how the problem was studied: detailed information without repeating previously published conclusions; identification of sources and description of newly discovered archival and other written materials are used, with the novelty in the use of materials and methods being обязательно reflected.
· The Discussion section (literature review) should include fundamental and new works on the topic under study, including works by foreign authors in English, an analysis of these works in terms of their scientific contribution, as well as gaps in previous studies that the author addresses in the article.
The presence of numerous references unrelated to the work, inappropriate judgments about the achievements of the author(s), and unjustified references to the authors’ previous works is NOT ALLOWED.
Results. This is one of the most important sections of the article. In this section, the author must analyze the results of the study and compare them with previous works and conclusions. Conclusions based on the results obtained during the research are presented, and the essence of the research object is revealed.
Conclusion – a generalization and summary of the work at the present stage; confirmation of the validity of the statement put forward by the author, and the author’s conclusion on the change in scientific knowledge considering the obtained results. The conclusions should not be abstract; they should be aimed at generalizing the research results in a particular scientific field, with a description of proposals / prospects for further work.
The structure of the conclusion should contain the following questions: How were the aims and methods of the research implemented? What results were obtained? What are the conclusions? What are the prospects and possibilities for implementation and practical application of the results?
2.9 Reference List and Sources section
· The reference list must include at least 10 references to literature or sources (in the original language and used only in the text) arranged in alphabetical order.
· References (in transliteration if the reference is not in English; the English meaning is given in parentheses). If it is translated from the Kazakh language, the end of the reference shall indicate (In Kaz.).
ATTENTION! The transliteration process may be carried out using automated software (http://www.translit.ru). However, the obtained transliteration result must be rechecked by the author and the necessary corrections must be made. (See Appendix 1).
Appendix 1. Sample Format for Bibliographic References
In the main text, references to literature and sources are given in parentheses (Aspanova, 2025: 401–408). The bibliographic list is provided in 9 pt font at the end of the article in alphabetical order without numbering. Bibliographic references in the text should be given indicating the author’s surname, year of publication, and page number (Aspanova, 2025: 401–408).
If a reference is made to a collection of articles or archival materials, instead of the author’s surname, the surname of the responsible editor (or compiler) of the collection may be indicated.
When citing articles or books written jointly by two authors, both authors are indicated (Azharova, Andreev, 2016: 96).
When citing articles or books written jointly by three or more authors, the surname of the first author should be indicated followed by “et al.” (Kasymbekova et al., 2019: 99).
Archival sources are indicated in full (Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan, F. 94, Inv. 1, File 201, Sheet 87).
When citing works by the same author published in the same year, the works should be distinguished by adding letters a, b, c to the year of publication (Amanzholova, 2024a: 110) (Amanzholova, 2024b: 270).
Sample format for a transliterated reference list:
The used data and reference list are indicated at the end under the headings Data/Sources, “Literature”, “References”. The literature is indicated in alphabetical order without numbering. Literature in Kazakh, Russian, and other languages is transliterated into the Latin script, and the English translation is provided in square brackets [...]. The place of publication is written in full. Abbreviations such as M., L., A., A-A., St. Petersburg are not used.
References in Russian and Kazakh are formatted in accordance with GOST 7.1-2003 “Bibliographic Record. Bibliographic Description. General Requirements and Rules of Compilation” (requirements for publications included in the list of CQASE).
When citing Internet resources, the website, title, and date of access are indicated.
REFERENCES
Askarova, 2024 – Askarova A. Atty asker diviziyasynyng tagdyry [The Fate of the Cavalry Division] // Egemen Qazaqstan. – 2024. – September 26 (No. 183). – pp. 15–17. [Kaz.]
Barmakova, Kassymova, 2020 – Barmakova A., Kassymova Zh. Zhetisulyq qairatkerleri [Public Figures of Zhetysu]. – Almaty: Taugul-Print, 2020. – 200 p. [Kaz.]
Andreev, 2011 – Andreev A. Material Civilization, Economy and Capitalism. – Vol. 1. Structures of Everyday Life: The Possible and the Impossible. – Moscow: Progress, 2011. – 623 p. [Eng.]
Arkeshev, 2014 – Arkeshev I. The Virgin Lands Epic: Development, Adoption and Implementation of the First Khrushchev “Super-Program” // Otechestvennaya istoriya. – 2014. – No. 4. – pp. 109–122. [Russ.]
Example of Transliteration:
References (transliteration in Latin script)
Aldiyarov, 2013 – Aldiyarov K. Zavoevanie Kazakhstana tsarskoi Rossiei i bor'ba kazakhskogo naroda za nezavisimost' (iz istorii voenno-kazach'ei kolonizatsii kraya v kontse XVI – nachale XX vv.) [The conquest of Kazakhstan by Tsarist Russia and the struggle of the Kazakh people for independence (from the history of military and Cossack colonization of the region in the late 16th – early 20th centuries)]. – Almaty: Elorda, 2013. – 4 p.
Arsenov, 2017 – Arsenov M. (2017). Zavoevanie Kazakhstana tsarskoi Rossiei i bor'ba kazakhskogo naroda za nezavisimost' (iz istorii voenno-kazach'ei kolonizatsii kraya v kontse XVI – nachale XX vv.) [The conquest of Kazakhstan by Tsarist Russia and the struggle of the Kazakh people for independence (from the history of military and Cossack colonization of the region in the late 16th – early 20th centuries)]. – Astana: Elorda. – 34 p. [in Russ.]
“References” — bibliographic information in English, transliteration of the list of used literature. In this section, the list of used literature written in non-Latin script is transliterated using the Latin alphabet.
Then, in square brackets, the title of the cited work is translated into English, and at the end, in square brackets, the language of the document is indicated in the form [in Kaz.] / [in Russ.].
In the case of a citation from a book, the publisher’s name (if it is the name of an institution) and the place of publication are translated into English, while in all other cases they are transliterated.
Instructions for the Retraction or Correction of Articles
Members of the editorial board bear responsibility for the publication of articles with knowingly evident signs of unethical behavior, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, excessive self-citation by authors, and conflicts of interest. If the principles of publication and/or research ethics were violated during the preparation of an article, the scientific editor of the journal, based on the decision of the editorial board, must carry out the retraction of the publication. Articles may be withdrawn by the author(s) or by the journal’s editorial board. The editorial board carries out the withdrawal (retraction) of published articles in cases of violation of publication and/or research ethics, based on the recommendations of Committee on Publication Ethics.
The article shall be withdrawn / removed (retracted) in the following cases:
· if there is clear evidence that the obtained data are unreliable or were obtained as a result of improper actions, for example, data falsification;
· detection of the fact that the manuscript was published in another edition before its publication in Natura Scientia Journal;
· detection of plagiarism in the article, including the borrowing of figures, graphs, tables, etc.;
· the presence of serious errors in the article that may negatively affect other scientists and their research, for example, a miscalculation or experimental error;
· the emergence of copyright claims to the article or its parts from third parties;
· the presence in the article of information that contradicts the principles, standards, and norms of publication and/or research ethics.
In the above-mentioned cases, the editorial board of the journal conducts an investigation, based on the results of which the article may be withdrawn / removed (retracted) from publication. For this purpose, an article retraction act is prepared, which is confirmed and signed by the scientific editor. A copy of the act is sent to the corresponding author.
After this, the article on the journal website is marked as retracted, indicating the reasons. The editorial board publishes information about the withdrawal (retraction) of the article on the main page of the journal website and places information, after the completion of the withdrawal (retraction) procedure, in the subsequent issue of the journal.
The editorial board of Natura Scientia Journal responsibly, objectively, and carefully considers all justified appeals regarding detected violations in published issues.
The editorial board considers it the responsibility and duty of authors and reviewers to inform the editorial office as promptly as possible about errors and violations identified by them after the publication of the material.
