Author Guidelines

1. Scope and Focus

Lingkar: Journal of Environmental Engineering is a peer-reviewed, biannual journal (June and December) managed by the Department of Environmental Engineering, UIN Ar-Raniry, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The journal publishes original, research-based articles in the following fields:

Environmental management and sustainability
Water and waste management
Solid waste solutions and air pollution control
Remediation, green technologies, and energy
Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE)

Manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under simultaneous consideration elsewhere. Translations are not accepted.

2. Article Structure

All manuscripts must follow the section order below. The AI Writing Statement (Section 6.1) is mandatory for all submissions.

#	Section	Notes
1	Title	ALL CAPS, Calibri 14 pt bold; subtitle (if any): Capitalized Each Word
2	Authors and Affiliations	Names without academic degrees; superscript numbering; institution, city, country, postal code; corresponding author email
3	Abstract	English only; single paragraph; max. ±200 words; Calibri 11 pt italic; single-spaced; must include background, research position, method, and key findings
4	Keywords	3–5 specific conceptual terms; label “Keywords” in bold, content in italic
5	Introduction	Cited literature must satisfy the reference requirements in Section 5.1
6	Method
7	Result and Discussion
8	Conclusion
9	Acknowledgements	If applicable
10	AI Writing Statement	Mandatory. See Section 6.1
11	References	Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, author-date system. Minimum 20 references for research articles; see Section 5

3. Formatting and Layout

Element	Specification
Paper size	A4
Margins	3 cm on all sides
Columns	Single
Body font	Calibri 12 pt, justified
Line spacing	Single
Main headings	Calibri 12 pt bold, numbered (1., 2., 3., ...)
Subheadings	Calibri 12 pt bold italic, numbered (3.1, 3.2, ...)
Maximum length	20 pages including all tables, figures, and references

4. Tables and Figures

Tables: caption above the table; Calibri 12 pt; numbered sequentially (Table 1, Table 2, ...); placed near the relevant discussion and cited in the text.
Figures: caption below the figure; Calibri 12 pt; numbered sequentially (Figure 1, Figure 2, ...); must remain legible when printed in black and white.
Tables and figures reproduced from other sources must carry an author-date source line, e.g., “Source: Author Year, page.”

5. Citations and References

All in-text citations and reference lists must follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, author-date system. Reference management software (Zotero or Mendeley) with the “Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition (author-date)” style is strongly recommended. Footnote-style citations (notes and bibliography) are not accepted.

5.1 Reference Requirements

Manuscripts are screened against the following standards before peer review.

Requirement	Minimum standard
Number of references	At least 20 references for research articles. Every entry in the list must be cited in the text, and every in-text citation must appear in the list.
Reputable journals	At least 75% of all references must be articles in reputable journals (see definition below).
Recency (priority)	Priority target: at least 60% of the journal articles cited should have been published within the last 5 years, counted from the year of submission (for a 2026 submission: 2022–2026).
Remaining references (≤25%)	May be seminal works, books, standards, regulations, institutional reports, or older foundational studies, provided each is directly relevant and verifiable.

Reputable journal: a peer-reviewed journal with an ISSN that is indexed in Scopus, Web of Science, DOAJ, or SINTA.

Status of the requirements: the minimum of 20 references and the 75% share of reputable journals are mandatory; manuscripts that do not meet them are returned to the authors before peer review. The 60% recency figure is a priority target: if it is not met, the editor will note this in the decision letter and ask for stronger recent literature, but it is not by itself a ground for return.

How the percentages are calculated: the reputable-journal share is calculated on the full reference list; the recency target is calculated on the journal articles in the list (books, standards, regulations, and reports are excluded from that count). Round up. A single article may count toward both. Authors may not satisfy them by padding the list with marginal citations.

Total references	Min. reputable journals (75%)	Recent journal articles, priority (60%)*	Remaining (max.)
20	15	9	5
25	19	12	6
30	23	14	7
40	30	18	10

*Recency figures assume that journal articles are exactly the minimum (75%); they rise if more journal articles are cited.

Authors should declare the counts (total, reputable journals, journal articles from the last 5 years) in the cover letter or submission comments so that the initial editor can verify them. Entries that cannot be verified (no DOI, URL, or traceable source) are not counted.

5.2 In-Text Citations (Author-Date)

Place the author surname(s) and year in parentheses with no comma between them. Add a page or section number after a comma when quoting or citing a specific passage.

Case	Format	Example
One author	(Surname Year)	(Surname 2022)
Two authors	(Surname and Surname Year)	(Surname and Surname 2021)
Three authors	(Surname, Surname, and Surname Year)	(Surname, Surname, and Surname 2020)
Four or more authors	(First Surname et al. Year)	(Surname et al. 2023)
Specific page	(Surname Year, page)	(Surname 2022, 45)
Author as subject	Surname (Year) ...	Surname (2022) reported ...
Several sources	Separated by semicolons, in alphabetical order	(Surname 2019; Surname and Surname 2021)
Same author and year	Add a, b, c after the year	(Surname 2022a, 2022b)
Organisation as author	Use the full organisation name	(Organisation Name 2021)

5.3 Reference List (Author-Date)

Title the section “References”. List entries alphabetically by first author surname, with a hanging indent. The year follows the author name. Give up to ten authors in full; for more than ten authors, list the first seven followed by “et al.” Include a DOI (as a https://doi.org/ link) whenever one exists. Replace the placeholders below with the actual details of the source cited.

Source type	Format
Journal article	Surname, First, and First Surname. Year. “Article Title in Sentence or Title Case.” Journal Name Volume (Issue): first page–last page. https://doi.org/xxxxx.
Book	Surname, First. Year. Book Title. Edition (if not first). City: Publisher.
Book chapter	Surname, First. Year. “Chapter Title.” In Book Title, edited by First Surname, first page–last page. City: Publisher.
Report / website	Surname, First, or Organisation Name. Year. “Title.” Publisher or Website Name. Accessed Month Day, Year. URL.
Standard / regulation	Issuing Body. Year. Title of Standard or Regulation. Number or Code. City: Publisher.
Thesis / dissertation	Surname, First. Year. “Title.” PhD diss. (or Master’s thesis), Institution.

Authors are responsible for verifying every reference against the original source. Fabricated, unverifiable, or AI-generated references constitute scientific misconduct (see Section 6).

6. Generative AI Policy

Lingkar permits the use of generative AI tools as writing aids, provided their use is transparently declared and authors retain full responsibility for all content. AI tools may not be listed as authors.

Permitted	Not permitted
Language editing, grammar, and style improvement Translation assistance (with author review) Formatting and layout assistance Code or script generation, verified by the authors Initial literature search (all sources must be verified)	Formulating or writing scientific conclusions Interpreting results in place of the authors’ reasoning Fabricating data, references, citations, or images Conducting peer review on another person’s behalf Generating synthetic data presented as empirical

6.1 Mandatory AI Writing Statement

All submitted manuscripts must include an AI Writing Statement in a dedicated subsection after the Acknowledgements, regardless of whether AI tools were used. The statement must specify: (1) the name and version of the tool; (2) the specific purpose; and (3) confirmation that all content has been reviewed by the authors.

Case	Use category	Example tools	Typical purpose	Statement template
1	Language editing	ChatGPT, Grammarly, DeepL Write, Microsoft Copilot, QuillBot	Improving grammar, clarity, style, or readability. Scientific content is not altered.	“During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [Tool Name, Version, Year] for English language editing and grammar correction. The authors have reviewed, verified, and edited all AI-assisted content and accept full responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the manuscript.”
2	Translation assistance	DeepL Translator, Google Translate, ChatGPT, Microsoft Translator	Translating portions of the manuscript (e.g., Bahasa Indonesia to English), followed by author review and revision.	“Portions of this manuscript were initially drafted in Bahasa Indonesia and translated into English using [Tool Name, Version, Year]. The authors have reviewed, verified, and edited all AI-assisted content and accept full responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the manuscript.”
3	Code / script generation	ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, Gemini, Claude	Assisting in writing scripts for analysis, modelling, or spatial processing (Python, R, MATLAB). Authors must validate all outputs.	“During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [Tool Name, Version, Year] to assist in drafting [Python/R/MATLAB] scripts for [purpose]. All generated code was independently tested and validated by the authors. The authors have reviewed, verified, and edited all AI-assisted content and accept full responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the manuscript.”
4	Literature search assistance	Consensus, Elicit, ResearchRabbit, Connected Papers, Semantic Scholar	Identifying potentially relevant literature during initial scoping. All cited references must be independently accessed, read, and verified.	“During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [Tool Name, Version, Year] to assist in identifying relevant literature during the initial review stage. All cited references were independently accessed and verified from their original sources. The authors have reviewed, verified, and edited all AI-assisted content and accept full responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the manuscript.”
5	Figure / visual generation	DALL·E, Midjourney, Adobe Firefly, Gemini	Generating or substantially transforming figures, diagrams, or maps. Must be disclosed in this statement and in the figure caption.	“Figure [X] was generated with the assistance of [Tool Name, Version, Year] for [purpose], as also noted in its caption. The authors have reviewed, verified, and edited all AI-assisted content and accept full responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the manuscript.”
6	Multiple uses	Any combination of the above	AI tools used for more than one purpose across different stages of manuscript preparation.	“During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used the following AI tools: (1) [Tool A, Version, Year] for [purpose A]; (2) [Tool B, Version, Year] for [purpose B]. The authors have reviewed, verified, and edited all AI-assisted content and accept full responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the manuscript.”
–	No AI used	–	No generative AI or AI-assisted tools were used at any stage.	“The authors confirm that no generative AI or AI-assisted tools were used in the writing, translation, analysis, or preparation of this manuscript.”

Important notes

Authors must not cite AI-generated text as a reference or attribute factual claims to an AI tool.
If an AI tool produced a figure, map, or diagram, this must also be disclosed in the figure caption (e.g., ‘Figure 3 was generated with the assistance of [Tool Name]’).
Undisclosed use of AI, or use of AI to fabricate data, references, or images, constitutes scientific misconduct and will be handled according to Lingkar’s editorial ethics policy.
Specify the tool version and year of access where known (e.g., ‘ChatGPT, GPT-4o, 2024’).

6.2 AI Use by Reviewers and Editors

Editors and reviewers may use AI privately for their own language support, but remain fully responsible for manuscript confidentiality and the quality of their evaluations.

7. Ethical and Integrity Standards

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that:

The manuscript is original and not under consideration elsewhere.
All listed authors have approved the final version.
Data have not been fabricated, falsified, or selectively reported.
Ethical approval has been obtained where required (e.g., studies involving human subjects or sensitive environmental data).
The manuscript complies with Lingkar’s similarity/plagiarism policy.
All references have been verified against their original sources and satisfy the requirements in Section 5.1.

8. Submission Process

Manuscripts are submitted through the Lingkar OJS portal: https://journal.ar-raniry.ac.id/index.php/lingkar

The review process is double-blind. Authors submit the manuscript with names, affiliations, and the corresponding-author email as in the template; the editorial office prepares an anonymised version for reviewers, so authors do not need to submit a blinded file. In the text, authors should cite their own earlier work in the third person, as for any other source (e.g., “Surname (2020) showed ...”). All submissions must include the following files:

File	Status	Notes
Manuscript file	Required	Following the official Lingkar Article Template, including author names and affiliations. The editorial office prepares the anonymised review version.
Author Statement Form	Required	Signed by the corresponding author. Covers originality, authorship, conflict of interest, research ethics, generative AI use, compliance with the Author Guidelines (including reference requirements), and editorial process agreement. Download from the journal website.
Research Instrument	If applicable	e.g., questionnaires, survey forms, measurement tools
Research Materials	If applicable	e.g., stimuli, lab protocols, field guides
Research Results	If applicable	e.g., raw outputs, test results, lab reports
Transcripts	If applicable	e.g., interview or focus group transcripts
Data Analysis	If applicable	e.g., statistical output files, analysis scripts
Data Set	If applicable	e.g., spreadsheets, databases, monitoring data
Source Texts	If applicable	e.g., policy documents, regulations, primary texts cited
Other Documentation	If applicable	Any additional documentation supporting the research

The editorial team reserves the right to return manuscripts that do not comply with these guidelines before peer review.