Author Guidelines
FREE is an international journal covering from fundamental to advanced renewable energy technologies, policies and economics. The journal only publishes original papers which has not been, and will not be published elsewhere.
These submission guidelines will help you prepare for the submission process, thereby significantly reducing turnaround time. We require the manuscript to conform to the document structure as explained in the manuscript structure section, so reviewers are able to assess the paper based on its scientific merits (Manuscript Format).
1. Author's online registration procedures
2. Documents to be prepared (Cover letter, Manuscript) in Word file.
3. Review and editorial process
Manuscript Structure
The manuscript should follow the typical structure of a research article and be submitted in an editable document format (e.g. Doc,docx).
In addition, we usually expect a research article to be between 4,000 and 7,000 words in length (without references), to ensure that it contains all the necessary elements while avoiding redundancy. We understand that sometimes articles need to exceed these limits. If this is your case, please explain in your comments to the editor.
Your article should conform to a consistent structure. This allows the editors and reviewers to efficiently assess the suitability and quality of the manuscript without being hindered by its presentation. The articles encompass the following sections: title, affiliation, abstract, keywords, introduction, materials and methods, results and discussion, conclusions, acknowledgments, Conflict of interests, and references. But the use of the details sections to separate the text of an article is optional and is left to the discretion of the author.
TITLE. Use a concise and informative title. This title should be a maximum of 16 words, and accurately describe the research being reported and discussed.
AFFILIATION. Provide the full postal address of each author's affiliation, including the street name and number, city, ZIP code, and country. For the corresponding author, an email should additionally be provided.
ABSTRACT. The abstract should consist of a single paragraph of no more than 200 words. Provide the background and objective of the paper, the methods used, the principal results, and conclusions. Avoid using abbreviations and citations.
KEYWORDS. Include a maximum of five keywords or phrases, arranged alphabetically and separated using semicolons (;). Use specific, relevant terms that do not appear in the title, so that the article is easier to find in search engines. Do not use terms that are too general or too long.
INTRODUCTION. This section should briefly explain the background of the study, provide a short review of the pertinent literature, state the originality or novelty of the research, and state the research objectives.
MATERIALS AND METHODS. In research articles, the materials and methods used in the study should be described together—first the materials, and then the methods. Enough information should be provided to enable repetition of the research. For commercial sources of the materials, the name of the company, and the town and country in which they are headquartered should be indicated. To avoid an excessively long methods section, methods that have already been published should be indicated with a reference, with only the relevant modifications described.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. If necessary, it is permissible to separate this section. Regardless, an interpretation of the results of the work in the context of previous research should be provided. Avoid simply repeating the results (that’s what the Results section is for). Also avoid excessive citations; the works being referenced must be relevant to the results being discussed. Avoid large tables, unless absolutely necessary.
CONCLUSIONS. Present the main conclusions of the study, along with their implications for future research or science and technology policy in certain fields.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Acknowledge everyone who contributed to the research or the writing of the manuscript, as well as any funding or grants received. The names of funding organizations should be written in full, along with the grant numbers, if available. Examples of individuals you should acknowledge include people who provided assistance with study design or analysis, guidance through a study area, or who provided advice on the language, edited, or proofread the article.
CONFLICT OF INTERESTS. All competing interests—be they financial, professional, or personal relationships that are relevant to the submitted work—must be declared. If a funding source contributed to the design, data collection, analysis, or writing of the manuscript, or the decision to submit it to FREE, this should be clearly stated. Please read FREE Publication Ethics statement to understand why it is important to acknowledge any and all conflicts of interest.
REFERENCES. For the purposes of efficiency and conciseness, aim for a Minimum of 10 references. FREE uses IEEE citation style. You can learn the basics of this style on the website.
