Submissions

Author Guidelines

General Principles

Originality: Manuscripts submitted to the journal should be original, not previously published, or submitted for publication elsewhere.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarized content will be rejected.

Data Availability: Authors must make all data and materials used in their research available upon request.

References: Please ensure that all references are formatted in accordance with the journal's style guidelines and are complete and accurate. We encourage that authors limit self-citations to no more than 10% of the total references.

Figures and Tables: Figures and tables should be included as appropriate, clear, and of high quality. For any figures/tables reproduced or adapted from other works, please cite the original source and ensure that copyright permission has been obtained.

Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest or potential biases related to their research.

Ethical Considerations: Authors must ensure that their research has been conducted following the Publication Ethics & Malpractice Policy.

Funding: If the study has received any financial support it must be stated in this section with the grant number (if applicable).

Peer Review: Except for editorial articles, all manuscripts will be subject to peer review by at least two independent experts in the relevant field.

Revisions: Authors may be asked to revise their manuscripts based on reviewer feedback. Revisions should be submitted promptly accompanied by a letter addressing all the comments and suggestions of the reviewers.

Article Types

Journal of Illicit Trade, Financial Crime, and Compliance publishes high-quality contributions across a range of formats. The journal welcomes the following article types:

Research Articles

Comprehensive reports of original research with significant scientific, technological, or environmental impact. Research Articles should provide detailed methodology, robust data analysis, and clear conclusions.

• Typical length: 3,500–6,000 words (excluding abstract, references, figure/table captions)
• Figures/Tables: up to 8
• Abstract: up to 200 words

Review Articles

Critical and comprehensive overviews of current advances in a specific field of interest, highlighting key developments, unresolved challenges, and future research directions.

• Typical length: 6,000–10,000 words (maximum 5,000 words for minireviews)
• Figures/Tables: up to 30
• Abstract: up to 200 words

Perspective Articles

Authoritative and forward-looking viewpoints that propose new ideas, conceptual frameworks, or research directions. Perspectives are typically more focused than Reviews and often include the authors’ opinions.

• Typical length: 2,500–4,000 words
• Figures/Tables: up to 4
• Abstract: up to 200 words

Comments

Short and timely communications that address recently published work in top-tier journals (e.g., Nature, Science, Cell series, or other leading journals in the field), or highlight significant emerging issues. Comments must be objective, constructive, and supported by evidence.

• Typical length: maximum 1,500 words
• Figures/Tables: up to 2 (optional)
• References: maximum 20
• Abstract: up to 50 words

Short Communications

Concise reports of novel findings, preliminary results, or innovative techniques with high potential impact. These are ideal for rapidly sharing breakthrough data or concepts.

• Typical length: 2,000–3,000 words
• Figures/Tables: up to 4
• Abstract: up to 150 words

Manuscript Preparation

Formatting: There are no formatting requirements.

Language: The manuscript should be written in clear, concise English. The use of technical language should be minimized and, where necessary, defined and explained.

File Format: The manuscript should be submitted in Microsoft Word document or LaTeX file format only.

Title Page: Title (concise but informative), complete author names, complete institutional addresses, correspondence emails, and ORCID iDs (if applicable) of all authors.

Abstract: It should be a concise summary of the main points of your research. It should include a brief introduction, methods, results, and conclusion. The novelty of the article should be conveyed and emphasized. Use clear and straightforward language, avoid jargon, and be precise. Unless urgently required, reference citations should not be included in this section, and non-standard abbreviations should only be had with explanations. It is suggested  to follow structure the abstract according to IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion). A graphical abstract is recommended but not mandatory.

Keywords: Use relevant and specific terms that accurately reflect the article's content. Start with the article's main topic and use related terms commonly used in the field. Avoid using overly broad terms that may not accurately reflect the content. Also, try to limit the number of keywords to a manageable amount (up to 7).

Structuring: The manuscript's structure should be appropriate for the reported research. A typical structure may include an introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, conflict of interest, acknowledgements, and references.

Headings and Subheadings: The manuscript should be divided into sections using clear and descriptive headings and subheadings. The headings of all sections, including introduction, results, discussions, or summary, must be numbered. Three levels of sectioning are allowed, e.g., 3, 3.1, and 3.1.1.

Appendices should be labeled with capital letters: Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. Equations, figures, and tables should be numbered as (A1), Fig B5, or Table 6, respectively.

Figures and Tables: Figures and tables should be included as appropriate, clear, and of high quality. They should be numbered (in consecutive Arabic numerals 1, 2, 3) and referred to in the text. They should have captions that provide enough information for the reader to understand them without referring to the text. The source of the figures should be cited.

Figure Legends: Each illustration should have a concise but descriptive legend. All symbols and abbreviations used in the figure must be defined unless they are standard abbreviations or have already been defined in the text. Figure legends should be included in the text file, not figure files.

References: The references in your manuscript should be formatted in the Vancouver style, ensuring completeness and accuracy. When citing references within the text, please use sequential numbering in square brackets and list them in the same numerical order in the reference section. It is important that reference numbers are finalized and that the bibliography is fully formatted before submission. Sample references can be found here to assist you in adhering to the Vancouver style.