Article Structure and Formatting

Authors are asked to prepare their manuscripts in accordance with the structure and formatting rules below. This ensures a smooth editorial process and consistency across all articles published in Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae (SEeB).

The journal accepts original manuscripts in English only. Manuscripts must not have been published previously in any language and must not be under review elsewhere.

Authors are required to use the official SEeB Word template when preparing their manuscripts:

Download the SEeB manuscript template (Word):  TEMPLATE

Please read this page together with the template before you start writing.

1. TEXT  FORMATTING  (basic settings)

• File format: Microsoft Word (.docx).
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt.
• Line spacing: 1.5.
• Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides.
• Use bold only for emphasis in the main text and headings (according to the template).
• Use italics only for titles of cited works and foreign expressions.
• Do not use:
• manual tabs to align text,
• non-breaking spaces to shape lines,
• manual line breaks to force line endings,
• manual editing of letter spacing or deleting characters at the end of lines.
• Use Word’s built-in tools for paragraphs, lists, headings and tables.
• For all section and subsection titles, use Word’s built-in heading styles:
• Heading 1 – main sections (e.g. “1. Introduction”, “2. Background”, “3. Discussion”, etc.).
• Heading 2 – subsections (e.g. “2.1. …”),
• Heading 3 – sub-subsections (e.g. "2.1.1. ..."), if necessary. Do not create headings by manually changing the font size or only applying bold.

2. MANUSCRIPT  LENGTH  AND  STRUCTURE

• Maximum length:
  The manuscript (including abstract, main text, references and all Statements) must not exceed 40,000 characters with spaces, which corresponds approximately to 6,000–6,500 words.
• Follow the structure given in the official template. A typical research article should contain:
1. Title
2. Author(s), affiliation(s), ORCID, e-mail
3. Abstract (150–200 words, one paragraph)
4. Keywords (3–10)
5. Introduction
6. Section 2 – main body (e.g. theoretical background, methods, case study)
7. Section 3 – results and/or discussion
8. Conclusions
9. Statements (Author Contributions, Funding, etc.)
10. References
11. Appendix (if needed)

If you need to present large data tables, detailed methodological annexes or additional figures, please place them in an Appendix cited in the main text.

• Review articles may follow a more flexible internal structure than research articles; however, they must still include:

• an abstract,
• a set of keywords,
• and a References section citing no fewer than four scholarly publications. Review articles should be clearly organised and must respect academic and ethical standards.
• Reports may also follow a less formal internal structure than research articles. However, they should still include:
• an abstract,
• a set of keywords.
• References are welcome but not obligatory.

3. ABSTRACT  AND  KEYWORDS

Abstract

• Length: 150–200 words, a single paragraph.
• The abstract should briefly present:
• background and rationale of the study,
• main aim,
• methods,
• key results,
• main conclusions.
• The abstract must accurately reflect the content of the article and must not exaggerate the findings.
• Avoid references and uncommon abbreviations in the abstract.

Keywords and SDGs

• Provide 3–10 keywords.
• Use terms that are specific to your article but common in the discipline, to facilitate indexing and searching.
• Where appropriate, add Sustainable Development Goal identifiers (SDG codes) as keywords, for example: SDG 3; SDG 12; SDG 13, when the paper explicitly addresses these goals.

4. FIGURES,  TABLES  AND ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

In accordance with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and relevant accessibility regulations, SEeB requires that all graphic elements be accessible to readers with disabilities. This applies to figures (photos, drawings, diagrams, maps, charts, logos, etc.) and tables.

4.1. Figures (content, files and alt text)

• Number figures consecutively: Figure 1, Figure 2, Figure 3, …
• Each figure in the manuscript must have:
• a title (caption) placed under the figure,
• information about the source (if applicable).

Uploading graphic files

In addition to figures embedded in the manuscript file:

• Upload each figure as a separate high-resolution graphic file (e.g. JPG, PNG or another standard graphic format) to the journal’s online submission system together with the manuscript.
• Name the files clearly according to their order in the text, for example: Figure-1, Figure-2, Figure-3, etc. (you may add a short keyword if needed, e.g. Figure-1-map).

Editable charts

• If your figures are charts or graphs prepared in Excel, please provide them in an editable Excel file.
• Collect all charts in a single Excel file and upload it to the submission system together with:
• the manuscript file,
• the separate graphic files.

Alt text for figures (alternative descriptions)

To comply with accessibility requirements, each figure must have a short alternative text (alt text) that can be read by screen readers. In SEeB, alt text is not inserted directly into the figure properties in the manuscript. Instead:

• Prepare a separate Word file titled, for example: “Alt text for figures – [short title of the article]”.
• List all figures in the order in which they appear in the manuscript.
• For each figure, first provide the full caption, then add the alt text on a new line. Example structure:
• Figure 1. Full title of the figure
  Alt text: …

• • Figure 2. Full title of the figure
    Alt text: …

• The alt text should:
• be short and informative (usually 1–3 sentences),
• explain what the figure shows and why it is important for the article,
• describe the essential information that a sighted reader obtains from the figure (main objects, relationships, variables, axes, units, trends or key comparisons),
• for charts and graphs: mention the variables on each axis, the units, the time period (if applicable) and the main trend or comparison (e.g. which group has the highest value),
• be factually accurate and consistent with the main text.
• If a figure is purely decorative and contains no relevant information, please mark it explicitly as: “Alt text: decorative image – no informational content.”

Alt texts are required so that readers who are blind, partially sighted or deaf-blind can access the same substantive information as sighted readers.

4.2. Tables and short descriptions

• Number tables consecutively: Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, …

• Each table must have:
• a title (caption) above the table,
• a short description placed between the table title and the table.

The short description (1–3 sentences) should:

• briefly state what type of data are presented,

• name the main columns and, where applicable, the units of measurement,
• indicate the most important pattern, comparison or trend (e.g. which group has the highest mean value, how variables differ between scenarios).

These short descriptions are necessary to meet accessibility requirements and to help readers quickly understand the essential content of the table, including those using assistive technologies.

5. TYPES  OF  SUBMISSIONS

Studia Ecologiae et Bioethicae accepts the following types of manuscripts:

• Research articles – original studies presenting new research results, theoretical analyses or case studies within the scope of the journal.
• Review articles – synthetic works summarising and critically assessing the state of research on a clearly defined topic related to the journal’s profile. Review articles may follow a more flexible internal structure than research articles, but they must include an abstract, a set of keywords and a References section citing at least four scholarly publications.
• Reports – in justified cases, reports from important conferences, research projects or academic events directly related to the Centre for Ecology and Ecophilosophy, the Chair of Ecophilosophy, or other scientific events held at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw (UKSW).

All manuscript types must follow the general formatting rules and ethical standards described in this document and in the SEeB template.

6. REFERENCES  AND  CITATION  STYLE

• The journal uses the Chicago author–date citation style (17th edition), adapted to the SEeB guidelines.
• In the text, use in-text citations in the form: (Author year, page) – for example: (Jonas 1984, 25–27).
• At the end of the manuscript, provide a reference list which:
• includes all works cited in the text and only those works,
• is arranged in alphabetical order by the authors’ surnames,
• follows consistent punctuation, italics and order of elements (author, year, title, publication data).

In the reference list:

• For the first author, provide surname followed by first name.
• For subsequent authors, provide first name(s) followed by surname.
• Detailed guidance for authors on the citation rules adopted by SEeB is available in the “Citation Style Guide” (in the “For authors” section of the journal website) and in the PDF document available at the website.

DOI and URL

• Many journal articles have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier).
• A DOI forms a stable URL beginning with https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx.
• When available, include the DOI in this URL form at the end of the reference. This DOI-based URL is preferred to long database-specific links (for example, from JSTOR or ScienceDirect).
• For sources without a DOI, provide a short, stable URL to the journal, book or repository where the material can be accessed, or omit the URL if the source is a standard print-only publication.

Detailed rules and additional examples of references are provided in the SEeB manuscript template and on the journal’s website in the “For authors” section.

7. STATEMENTS

If a given category does not apply to the article, please leave the phrase “Not applicable” and do not remove the heading.

Author Contributions: Please provide a statement specifying the individual contributions of each author. For research articles with more than one author, use the following format (replace X.X., Y.Y., Z.Z. with the authors’ initials):

“Conceptualization, X.X. and Y.Y.; methodology, X.X.; software, X.X.; validation, X.X., Y.Y. and Z.Z.; formal analysis, X.X.; investigation, X.X.; resources, X.X.; data curation, X.X.; writing – original draft preparation, X.X.; writing – review and editing, X.X.; visualization, X.X.; supervision, X.X.; project administration, X.X.; funding acquisition, Y.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.”

For a detailed explanation of these contribution terms, please refer to the journal’s instructions for authors on the website.

Funding: Please provide one of the following statements:

“This research received no external funding.”
or
“This research was funded by [NAME OF FUNDER], grant number [XXX].”

Institutional Review Board Statement: Please provide one of the following statements:

“Not applicable.”
or
“The study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (or Ethics Committee) of [NAME OF INSTITUTION] (protocol code [XYZ] and date of approval).”

Data Availability Statement: Please provide one of the following statements:

“Not applicable.
or
“The data presented in this study are openly available at [NAME OF REPOSITORY / PLATFORM] at [URL], reference number / DOI: [identifier].”
or
“The data presented in this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.”

Acknowledgments: Please provide one of the following statements:

“Not applicable.”
or
“The authors would like to thank [name/institution] for administrative support / technical assistance/language editing/provision of materials.”

AI Tools Declaration: Please provide one of the following statements:

“The authors declare that no artificial intelligence tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript.”
or
“During the preparation of this manuscript and/or the underlying study, the authors used [tool name, version information] for the following purpose(s): [e.g., language editing, text generation, data analysis, data interpretation, graphic preparation]. The authors reviewed and edited the output where necessary and take full responsibility for the content of this publication.”

Conflicts of Interest: Please provide one of the following statements:

“The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
or
a full disclosure of any personal, professional, institutional, or financial interests that could be perceived as influencing the research.
If the study received external funding, please also provide one of the following statements:
“The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.”
or
a statement describing the role of the funder in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results.

8. ADDITIONAL  DECLARATIONS  REQUIRED  AT  SUBMISSION

When submitting a manuscript, the corresponding author must complete a short online form indicating, among other things, whether the paper relates to:

• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
• Polish heritage research, and
• the gender equality perspective.

This form is mandatory, and failure to complete it may delay the start of the editorial process. The form is available at: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/tSy0cq5cmX?origin=lprLink

9. PUBLISHING  AGREEMENT

For each accepted manuscript, the authors are required to sign a Publishing Agreement with the Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski Publishing House.

• Download the Publishing Agreement form from the journal’s website: https://czasopisma.uksw.edu.pl/pliki/seb/agreement.docx

• Fill out the document, print it and sign it by hand.
• Scan the signed version.
• Upload the scanned Publishing Agreement to the journal’s online submission system together with the manuscript and all accompanying files (graphic files, Excel file with editable charts, alt-text file for figures).

The publication process cannot be completed without a correctly signed and submitted Publishing Agreement.

10. FINAL  CHECKLIST  BEFORE  SUBMISSION

Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure that:

1. The manuscript is written in English only.
2. The manuscript has been prepared using the official SEeB Word template: [Download].
3. The total length does not exceed 40,000 characters with spaces (approximately 6,000–6,500 words).
4. The structure follows the SEeB template and uses Word’s Heading 1, 2, 3 styles for sections and subsections.
5. The abstract has 150–200 words and is written as a single paragraph.
6. There are 3–10 keywords, including SDG codes where relevant.
7. All figures in the manuscript are numbered, have titles and, where applicable, sources.
8. All figures have been uploaded as separate high-resolution graphic files (Figure-1, Figure-2, etc.) to the submission system.
9. All charts have been collected in a separate Excel file and uploaded with the submission.
10. A separate Word file with alt text for all figures has been prepared and uploaded.
11. All tables are numbered, have titles and short descriptions placed between the title and the table.
12. References follow the Chicago author–date style and all in-text citations match entries in the reference list.
13. DOIs are given in https://doi.org/… form whenever available.
14. All required Statements are present, each with appropriate content or “Not applicable”.
15. Any use of GenAI tools has been declared in the Acknowledgments.
16. The online declaration form (SDGs / Polish heritage research/gender equality perspective) has been completed: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/tSy0cq5cmX?origin=lprLink.
17. A signed and scanned Publishing Agreement has been uploaded with the submission (Download).