Guide for Authors

Aims and Scope
The mission of Hillside Journal is to promote original research, critical reviews, and technical insights that contribute to the advancement of knowledge and practice in engineering and allied disciplines. The journal seeks to support both theoretical developments and practical applications, thereby fostering a bridge between academic scholarship and professional practice.
The journal welcomes contributions from multiple branches of engineering and information technology, encompassing but not limited to the following subject areas:
 Civil and Environmental Engineering: Structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, transportation systems, construction management, water supply and sanitary engineering, solid waste management, sustainable infrastructure, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and environmental impact assessment.
 Electrical and Electronics Engineering: Power systems, renewable energy technologies, smart grids, energy efficiency, control systems, instrumentation, microelectronics, and communication systems.
 Computer Engineering and Information Technology: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, computer networks, software engineering, cybersecurity, cloud computing, database systems, and emerging IT applications.
 Interdisciplinary and Emerging Areas: Materials science and nanotechnology in engineering applications, data-driven environmental and engineering modeling, green technologies, and engineering education and pedagogical innovations.
The journal encourages submissions that advance cross-disciplinary integration, promote sustainable technological solutions, and contribute to addressing global and local challenges through engineering and IT innovation.

Article Types
The following contributions are considered for publication in Hillside Journal:
 Original Research Articles: Full-length research papers (4,000–7,000 words) presenting novel findings, methodologies, and critical discussion.
 Review Articles: Comprehensive and critical overviews of recent advances (5,000–8,000 words) that synthesize existing literature and provide new insights.
 Short Communications / Technical Notes: Brief reports (1,500–3,000 words) on innovative methodologies, models, or case studies of high relevance.
 Case Studies: Context-specific engineering or IT problem analyses (3,000–5,000 words) demonstrating applied solutions or policy implications.
 Conference Reports: Summaries of significant academic conferences, workshops, or symposia relevant to the journal’s scope (1,000–2,000 words).
 Book Reviews: Reviews of recent books and educational resources in relevant subject areas (500–1,000 words).
 Letters to the Editor: Scholarly discussions, critiques, or perspectives (up to 1,000 words) addressing published articles or emerging issues in the field.

Peer Review Process
Hillside Journal operates under a single-anonymized peer review system. Each submission is first screened by the editorial office for scope, originality, and adherence to journal standards. Manuscripts deemed suitable are sent to at least two independent reviewers with expertise in the relevant domain. Final decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief, based on reviewers’ recommendations and editorial assessment.
Editors will not participate in decisions on manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest. Such submissions will be handled by another editor to ensure fairness and transparency.

Open Access
All articles published in Hillside Journal are freely accessible under an open access model, ensuring broad dissemination of knowledge without subscription barriers. Authors retain copyright allowing others to share and adapt the work with proper citation.

Ethics and Policies
Ethics in Publishing
Authors must adhere to high ethical standards in accordance with international publishing guidelines. Misconduct including plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, or inappropriate authorship practices will not be tolerated.
Authorship
All listed authors should have made a significant contribution to:
 Conception and design, data acquisition, or analysis and interpretation.
 Drafting or critically revising the manuscript.
 Final approval of the submitted version.
 Agreement to be accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the work.
A corresponding author must be designated to handle all communications with the editorial office.

Changes to Authorship
Requests for changes to authorship (addition, removal, or rearrangement) after submission must be justified in writing and agreed upon by all co-authors. Such changes will only be considered prior to acceptance.

Competing Interests
All authors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal relationships that could be perceived as influencing their research. Authors with no conflicts of interest should declare:
“The authors declare no competing interests.”

Funding Sources
Authors must clearly identify sources of financial support, including grant numbers where applicable, and describe the role of funders (if any) in study design, data collection, analysis, and publication.

Use of Generative AI
Authors must declare the use of generative AI in manuscript preparation. AI tools may only be used for improving language clarity, not for generating original content or data. A typical declaration should read:
“During the preparation of this manuscript, the authors used [tool name] for language editing. All content was reviewed and verified by the authors, who accept full responsibility for the published work.”

Inclusive Language
Authors should employ inclusive and non-discriminatory language. Writing must avoid bias based on age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, sexual orientation, or disability.

Manuscript Preparation
 Manuscripts should be prepared in clear academic English.
 Text should be 1.5-spaced with standard margins.
 Figures and tables must be numbered sequentially with descriptive captions.
 References should follow the IEEE format.


Writing and Formatting Guidelines
File Format
Authors must submit editable source files for the entire manuscript, including text, tables, and figures. A PDF file alone is not acceptable as a source file.
 Use .doc/.docx (Microsoft Word) or .tex (LaTeX) formats.
 Lay out the manuscript in a single-column format.
 Remove any strikethrough or underlined text unless scientifically relevant.
 Employ spell-check and grammar-check prior to submission.

Title Page Requirements
The title page must include the following information:
 Article Title: Concise, informative, and free of abbreviations or formulae unless widely recognized.
 Author Names: Full given and family names for each author. The order of authors should match the submission system.
 Affiliations: Provide the institutional affiliation(s) where the research was conducted, with complete postal addresses and country names. Use superscript lowercase letters to indicate affiliations.
 Corresponding Author: Identify the author responsible for all correspondence during submission, review, and post-publication. Provide an accurate and up-to-date email address.

Abstract
A structured abstract of no more than 250 words is required.
 State the purpose, principal results, and conclusions clearly.
 Avoid references where possible. If essential, cite using author(s) and year(s).
 Avoid uncommon abbreviations; if used, define them at first mention.
 Abstracts must be self-contained, as they are often indexed separately.

Keywords
Provide 5–7 keywords in English.
 Avoid phrases with “and” or “of.”
 Use abbreviations only if firmly established in the field.
Highlights
Authors must submit 3–5 bullet points (maximum 85 characters each) summarizing the key findings and contributions of the article.

Graphical Abstract (Optional but Encouraged)
Authors are encouraged to submit a graphical abstract that visually summarizes the article.
 Acceptable formats: JPG, PNG, PDF, or MS Office files.
 The graphical abstract should be clear, concise, and informative at a glance.

Mathematical Formulae
 Submit equations as editable text, not images.
 Present simple formulae inline with text where possible.
 Variables should be italicized.
 Number equations consecutively in the order cited in the text.

Tables
 Prepare tables as editable text, not images.
 Number consecutively and cite in the text.
 Include clear captions above the tables and explanatory notes below.
 Avoid vertical lines and shading.
 Do not duplicate results already described in the text.

Figures, Images, and Artwork
Figures must be provided as separate high-resolution files, not embedded in the manuscript.
 Number figures sequentially and cite them in the text.
 Include clear captions below the figures.
 Acceptable formats: TIFF, JPG, PNG, EPS, or PDF, with appropriate resolution:
 Do not submit low-resolution or screen-optimized formats (e.g., GIF, BMP).

Generative AI in Figures and Artwork
Use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images, figures, or artwork is not permitted, except when AI tools are explicitly part of the research methodology. In such cases, authors must provide full details (tool name, version, and reproducibility description) in the Methods section.
Supplementary Materials
 Supplementary files (e.g., datasets, images, audio, or software) may be submitted to enhance the article.
 Must be relevant, accurate, and cited within the manuscript.
 Submit files with clear captions at the time of article submission.
 Files will be published online in their original format without further editing.

Research Data and Data Statement
Authors are required to deposit relevant datasets in a recognized repository and cite them in the manuscript. If data cannot be shared, authors must provide a clear justification in a data availability statement, which will appear with the published article.

Article Structure
Manuscripts should be divided into clearly defined sections.
For example, for a research article:
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods / Data and Methodology
3. Results and Discussion
4. Conclusion
Subsections should be numbered (e.g., 2.1, 2.1.1).

Acknowledgements
Acknowledge individuals or institutions that contributed to the work but do not qualify for authorship.

Author Contributions (CRediT Taxonomy)
Authors must specify contributions under standardized roles (e.g., Conceptualization, Data Curation, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft, Writing – Review & Editing, etc.).

Funding Sources
Disclose all funding sources, including grant numbers. If no funding was received, include the statement:
“This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

References
Any references cited within your article should also be present in your reference list and vice versa. Some guidelines:
 In the text, references should be cited with numbers in square brackets (e.g., [1], [2], [3]–[5]).
 The reference list should be arranged in the order of citation, not alphabetically.
 All references must include author(s), title, source, volume/issue (if applicable), page range or article number, year, and DOI (if available).