Research Article

Original research presenting significant advances in materials, building applications, construction technologies, architectural integration, built-environment performance, or related interdisciplinary fields.

• Maximum 8,000 words

• Up to 8 figures and/or tables

• Clear statement of research objectives and contribution required

Review Article

Comprehensive and critical reviews of established or emerging research areas relevant to JMBE.

Review Articles should provide a clear synthesis of the literature, identify significant knowledge gaps, and offer constructive perspectives for future research.

• Maximum 12,000 words

• By invitation or prior proposal

• Systematic, scoping, critical, and other rigorous review approaches are welcome where appropriate

Short Communication

Concise reports presenting significant and timely findings that can be communicated effectively in a shorter format.

• Maximum 3,500 words

• Up to 4 figures and/or tables

Case Study

Research-based reports describing practical applications, building or construction projects, material implementations, technical innovations, environmental interventions, or other real-world built-environment applications.

Case Studies should provide sufficient methodological and contextual information to support meaningful analysis and broader learning.

• Maximum 5,000 words

Perspective

Authoritative scholarly contributions presenting informed perspectives on emerging issues, research directions, technologies, methodologies, or interdisciplinary developments relevant to the journal.

• Generally up to 5,000 words

• Typically commissioned, invited, or proposed to the editorial team in advance

Manuscript Preparation

Language

Manuscripts must be submitted in clear and professional English. Authors may use either British or American English, provided that usage is consistent throughout the manuscript.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts are grammatically clear and suitable for scholarly publication.

Templates

Authors are encouraged to prepare manuscripts using the journal's manuscript templates:

• Word Template

• LaTeX Template

Authors should follow the formatting, section-order, reference-style, and figure/table requirements provided in the applicable template.

Title

The title should be concise, informative, and accurately reflect the content of the manuscript.

Authors should avoid unnecessary abbreviations and overly broad or promotional wording.

Abstract

The abstract should summarize the purpose, methods, principal findings, and significance of the work.

• Maximum 250 words

• Unstructured format

• The abstract should be understandable without reference to the main text

Keywords

Authors should provide 3–8 keywords that accurately represent the main subjects, materials, technologies, methods, and/or applications discussed in the manuscript.

Graphical Abstract

A graphical abstract is encouraged for Research Articles and may be requested for other article types where appropriate.

A graphical abstract should visually communicate the main concept, methodology, finding, or application of the study.

• One image

• Accompanied by a short summary of no more than 50 words

Data Availability Statement

A Data Availability Statement is required for all submissions.

Authors should clearly indicate whether the data supporting the findings of the study are:

• publicly available;

• available upon reasonable request;

• contained within the article or supplementary materials; or

• unavailable for sharing, with an appropriate explanation.

Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to deposit research data in established repositories such as:

• Zenodo

• Figshare

• Mendeley Data

• Institutional or discipline-specific repositories

Authors should ensure that deposited datasets are properly documented and linked to the published article where possible.

Supplementary Materials

Supplementary materials may be published online alongside the article.

Examples may include:

• additional experimental results;

• detailed calculation or modelling procedures;

• datasets;

• additional figures and tables;

• code or computational materials;

• videos or other supporting files.

Authors should provide a brief description of all supplementary materials in the manuscript.

Figures and Tables

Figures and tables should be clear, relevant, and appropriately referenced in the main text.

Authors should:

• number figures and tables consecutively;

• cite each figure and table in the text;

• provide clear captions;

• ensure that figures are of sufficient resolution for publication;

• obtain permission for copyrighted material where required.

Authors are encouraged to use accessible figure and table designs where appropriate.

References

References should be accurate, complete, and consistently formatted according to the journal's reference style.

Authors should ensure that:

• every reference cited in the text appears in the reference list;

• every reference in the reference list is cited in the manuscript;

• bibliographic information is accurate;

• persistent identifiers such as DOI links are included where available.

Authors should avoid unnecessary self-citation or citation practices intended primarily to influence citation metrics.

Authorship

All listed authors must have made substantive contributions to the research and/or preparation of the manuscript and must meet accepted authorship standards.

All authors should:

• approve the submitted version of the manuscript;

• approve the final version before publication;

• agree to be accountable for their contributions; and

• disclose relevant conflicts of interest.

Changes to authorship after submission must be justified and approved by all affected authors.

Conflict of Interest

All authors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

If no competing interests exist, authors should state:

No competing interests have been declared.

Preprint Policy

JMBE supports the responsible dissemination of research through recognized preprint servers.

Authors may deposit manuscripts on appropriate preprint platforms before or during submission to the journal.

Examples include:

• arXiv

• institutional repositories

• discipline-specific preprint servers

Prior deposition of a manuscript as a preprint does not in itself prevent consideration by JMBE.

Authors should disclose relevant preprint information during submission where applicable.

AI-Assisted Tools and Generative AI

Authors must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence or other AI-assisted tools in manuscript preparation where such use materially contributes to the submitted work.

AI tools must not be listed as authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and appropriate citation of all submitted content, including content generated or assisted by AI tools.

Use of AI tools to improve language or readability should not replace the authors' responsibility to verify the content.

Further requirements are provided in the journal's AI Policy.

Editorial and Peer Review Process

JMBE uses a structured editorial workflow designed to maintain academic independence while ensuring efficient and transparent manuscript processing.

All submissions normally proceed through the following stages:

1. Technical and Administrative Assessment

The Editorial Office checks the submission for completeness, basic formatting, required declarations, ethical requirements, and other administrative matters.

Manuscripts may also undergo similarity screening and other integrity checks before peer review.

2. Academic Screening

An Associate Editor (AE) evaluates whether the manuscript:

• falls within the journal's scope;

• presents sufficient scientific or scholarly relevance;

• demonstrates appropriate methodological quality; and

• is suitable for external peer review.

Manuscripts that are clearly outside the journal's scope or do not meet the journal's minimum academic requirements may be declined at this stage.

3. External Peer Review

Manuscripts that pass academic screening are sent for independent external peer review.

The Associate Editor is responsible for:

• identifying appropriate reviewers;

• inviting and managing reviewers;

• evaluating reviewer reports;

• coordinating revision rounds; and

• preparing an editorial recommendation.

JMBE normally seeks at least two independent peer-review reports for Research Articles and other research-based submissions, although the number may vary depending on the nature of the manuscript.

4. Editorial Recommendation

Following peer review, the Associate Editor evaluates the manuscript and reviewer reports and provides a recommendation to the Deputy Editor.

Possible recommendations may include:

• Reject

• Major Revision

• Minor Revision

• Accept

5. Final Editorial Decision

The Deputy Editor (DE) reviews the manuscript, peer-review record, and Associate Editor's recommendation before making the final academic decision.

The final decision is made independently of the administrative handling of the manuscript.

6. Production

Accepted manuscripts proceed to production, including copyediting, typesetting, author proof review, metadata preparation, and online publication.

Peer Review Model

JMBE operates a single-blind peer review model.

Under this model:

• reviewers are informed of the authors' identities;

• authors are not informed of the reviewers' identities.

Reviewer selection is based on relevant expertise, independence, and the absence of inappropriate conflicts of interest.

Editorial decisions are based on the quality and relevance of the manuscript and the peer-review record rather than on commercial considerations.

Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

JMBE is committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity and publication ethics.

Manuscripts may be rejected or subject to further investigation in cases including, but not limited to:

• plagiarism or unattributed copying;

• duplicate or simultaneous submission;

• fabricated or falsified data;

• inappropriate image manipulation;

• authorship misconduct;

• undisclosed conflicts of interest;

• research misconduct;

• inappropriate citation practices;

• undisclosed or inappropriate use of AI-assisted tools.

All submissions are subject to appropriate research-integrity checks.

Detailed requirements are provided in the journal's Publication Ethics, Research Misconduct, AI, and related policies.

Submission Process

Manuscripts should be submitted through the journal's online submission system.

Authors should prepare the following materials before submission:

• Main manuscript

• Figures and tables, where applicable

• Conflict of Interest Statement

• Data Availability Statement

• Supplementary Materials, where applicable

• Cover letter, where applicable

The submission system may request additional information depending on the article type.

Cover Letter

A cover letter is optional but encouraged.

Where provided, the cover letter should briefly explain:

• the significance of the work;

• its relevance to JMBE;

• the main contribution of the manuscript; and

• any important information that the editors should consider.

Authors should not use the cover letter to make claims about guaranteed acceptance, indexing, citation performance, or other outcomes outside the editorial process.

Article Processing Charges

JMBE is an open access journal.

Article Processing Charges (APCs) are invoiced only after acceptance and do not influence editorial decisions.

The current APC is:

Information about waivers, discounts, and applicable eligibility requirements is available on the journal's APC Policy page.

Authors requesting a waiver or discount should submit the request before peer review begins where possible.

Submission Checklist

Before submitting a manuscript, authors should confirm that:

✓ The manuscript is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.

✓ All authors have approved the submission and agree to its publication if accepted.

✓ The manuscript falls within the scope of JMBE.

✓ The manuscript has been prepared in accordance with the relevant article-type requirements.

✓ Figures and tables are clearly labelled and cited in the text.

✓ A Data Availability Statement has been provided.

✓ Conflicts of interest have been disclosed.

✓ Relevant ethical approvals and declarations have been provided where applicable.

✓ The use of AI-assisted tools has been disclosed where required.

✓ ORCID identifiers have been provided where available.

✓ References and bibliographic information have been checked for accuracy.

✓ The manuscript has undergone appropriate language review before submission.

Open Access, Copyright and Licensing

JMBE is a Gold Open Access journal.

Accepted articles are published online and made freely accessible immediately upon publication.

Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License, unless otherwise stated.

Authors retain responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work and for securing permissions for third-party material where required.

Further information is provided in the journal's Open Access Policy and Copyright and Licensing Policy.

After Acceptance

Following acceptance, manuscripts normally proceed through:

1. Copyediting

2. Typesetting

3. Author proof review

4. Final metadata preparation

5. Online publication

Authors may be contacted during production if clarification, corrections, or additional materials are required.

Published articles receive a Crossref DOI to support persistent identification, citation, and discoverability.

Authors will receive publication confirmation following online publication.

Author Responsibilities

By submitting a manuscript to JMBE, authors confirm that they have:

• provided accurate and complete information;

• obtained approval from all co-authors;

• disclosed relevant conflicts of interest;

• complied with applicable ethical and research requirements;

• respected third-party copyright and permissions;

• disclosed relevant use of AI-assisted tools; and

• accepted responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the submitted work.

Authors should also respond promptly and professionally to editorial and production queries throughout the publication process.