The entire submission and review process for Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing is handled electronically, which shortens publication times. All papers should be submitted electronically through http://ees.elsevier.com/ymssp

Prior to submitting your paper, please follow the instructions given below. Please note that you must have an e-mail address to use the online submission system



Short Overview

Manuscript Preparation:
General
Structure
Text Layout
Corresponding Author
Abstract
Keywords
Units
Maths
References
Illustrations
Colour Costs and Queries
Free online colour
Tables

Other:
Notification
Copyright
PDF Proofs
Author Benefits
Online paper tracking
Enquiries
Useful Links



Submission of papers:
Online Submission
Articles intended for Mechanical Systems and Signals Processing should be submitted online using our Web-based submission tool. To submit your paper online, please go to http://ees.elsevier.com/ymssp and upload your article and its associated artwork. A PDF will be generated and the reviewing process will be carried out using that PDF. All correspondence between editor and author is performed by e-mail, and paper copies are not required at the original submission stage. Detailed information on how to submit your article online is included.

Once a paper has been accepted by the Editor and received by Elsevier, authors can track its progress through the system to publication, via the online author tracking system. To do this go to http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle

The Editor is responsible for journal policy, in consultation with the members of the Editorial Board. Each paper submitted for publication will be normally subject to review and criticism by two informed, independent, anonymous referees, and authors will be provided with copies of these criticisms so that they can make revisions and improvements to their manuscripts before publication. Every effort will be made by the Editor and publishers to ensure prompt publication.

Submission language: English (see the Oxford English Dictionary): http://dictionary.oed.com/entrance.dtl

Language Editing: International Science Editing and Asia Science Editing can provide English language and copy editing services to authors who want to publish in scientific, technical and medical journals and need assistance before they submit their article or, before it is accepted for publication. Authors can contact these services directly: International Science Editing http://www.internationalscienceediting.com and Asia Science Editing http://www.asiascienceediting.com or, for more information about language editing services, please contact authorsupport@elsevier.com who will be happy to deal with any questions.

Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our terms and conditions http://www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions.

Types of contributions: Original research papers, state-of-the-art reviews, short communications, Letters for quick publication (maximum length two pages), letters to the editor, news items, 'work in progress' (maximum length two pages), calendar inserts

Original material: Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

Detailed instructions on manuscript preparation and artwork instructions can be found below. The editor reserves the right to return, prior to refereeing, any manuscripts that do not conform to the instructions for manuscript preparation and artwork instruction, as well as papers which do not fit the scope of the journal.

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Manuscript Preparation:

General:
The Editor reserves the right to adjust style to certain standards of uniformity. Please use Word, Word Perfect or LaTeX files for the text of your manuscript. (For further information about LaTex submission, please go to http://www.Elsevier.com/latex.)
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Structure:
Follow this order when typing manuscripts: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Abstract, Keywords, Main text, Acknowledgements, Appendix, References, Vitae, Figure Captions and then Tables. For submission in hardcopy and online, do not import figures into the text, supply them separately as original graphics files - see Illustrations. Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article and do not include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise.
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Text Layout:
Use double spacing and wide (3 cm) margins. (Avoid full justification, i.e., do not use a constant right-hand margin.) Ensure that each new paragraph is clearly indicated. Present tables and figure legends on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. If possible, consult a recent issue of the journal to become familiar with layout and conventions. Number all pages consecutively. Use 12 or 10 pt font size and standard fonts.
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Corresponding author:
Clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Full postal addresses must be given for all co-authors. Please consult a recent journal paper for style if possible.
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Abstract:
A self-contained abstract outlining in a single paragraph the aims, scope and conclusions of the paper must be supplied.
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Keywords:
Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of six keywords (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible.
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Units:
Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI.
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Maths:
Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).

References:
All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. In the text make references using a number in square brackets on the line (e.g. "Since Borger [1] has shown ...") and give the full reference in a numerical list at the end of the paper. References should be in the following form:
[1] P.D. Wasserman, Advanced Methods in Neural Computing, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, USA, 1995.
[2] J. Shiroishi, Y. Li, S. Liang, T. Kurfess, S. Danyluk, Bearing condition diagnostics, via vibration and acoustic emission measurements, Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing 11 (1997) 693-705.
[3] J. Kennedy, R.C. Eberhart, Particle swarm optimisation, in: Proceedings of the 1995 IEEE International Conference on Neural Networks, Vol. 4, Perth, Australia, 1995, pp. 1942-1948.
[4] F. Lembregts, Frequency domain identification techniques for experimental multiple inputmodel analysis, Ph.D. Thesis, Department of PMA, K.U. Leuven, Leuven, Belgium, December 1988.
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Colour Costs and Queries:
For colour illustrations, a colour printing fee is charged to the author per colour page. Further information concerning colour illustrations and costs is available from Author Support at authorsupport@elsevier.com, and at http://www.Elsevier.com/artworkinstructions .
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Free online colour:
If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour and black/white figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. ' Usable' means the formats comply with our instructions. See the information about Illustrations at http://www.Elsevier.com/artworkinstructions . For colour illustrations in the print journal see colour costs above.
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Tables:
Tables should be numbered consecutively and given suitable caption and each table is laid out on a new page. No vertical rules should be used. Tables should not duplicate results presented elsewhere in the manuscript (for example, in graphs). Footnotes to tables should be typed below the table and should be referred to by superscript lowercase letters.
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Notification:

Authors will be notified of the acceptance of their paper by the editor. The Publisher will also send a notification of receipt of the paper in production.
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Copyright:

All authors must sign the Transfer of Copyright agreement before the article can be published. This transfer agreement enables Elsevier to protect the copyrighted material for the authors, but does not relinquish the authors' proprietary rights. The copyright transfer covers the exclusive rights to reproduce and distribute the article, including reprints, photographic reproductions, microfilm or any other reproductions of similar nature and translations. Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright from the holder permission to reproduce any figures for which copyright exists.
For more information please go to our copyright page http://www.elsevier.com/locate/authorsrights.

PDF Proofs:

One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. Proofreading is solely the author's responsibility. You should note any corrections and return the proofs within 48 hours. Answer any queries in full. Please only correct factual errors, or errors introduced by typesetting. No changes in, or additions to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed at this stage.
Please note that once your paper has been proofed we publish the identical paper online as in print.
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Author Benefits:

No page charges: Publication in this journal is free of charge.

Free Offprints: The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.

Author Discount: Contributors to Elsevier journals are entitled to a 30% discount on all Elsevier books except major reference works. See http://www.elsevier.com/homepage/booksbutler for more information.

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Online Paper Tracking:

Authors can track the status of their accepted paper online at http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle using the reference supplied by the Publisher.

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Author enquiries:

All author enquiries should be made to: authorsupport@elsevier.com

Useful links: •A submissions checklist can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/locat/guidepublication
•Register for free to receive email updates from the article tracking service at http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle
•If you are interested in submitting a book in this area, go to http://www.elsevier.com/bookauthors