It is each journal that decides what is correct or not in that journal! And every journal can be different (even if journals have the same publisher)! The author’s task is to determine what is correct and expected for the specific target journal. Except for having good research and observing ethics, there is nothing more important for success. It doesn't matter whether the article was written originally in Russian and translated, or whether it was translated by someone other than the author--these things must be followed, and it is the author who has the responsibility to make sure that they are, no one else's.

Journal requirements and instructions

Every journal has a section for authors about the requirements for an article (or different types of articles) and instructions to authors about how to form and submit a manuscript. It is crucial to review the journal’s website thoroughly to find all relevant information, to read the information thoroughly, and to follow it, after resolving any questions. If you do not, the journal considers that you did not make the effort to read them and wonder why should they make the effort to read your manuscript—and they may infer that you are not serious or careful with your research, too. This is the most common mistake of authors, because it can also lead to submissions that are in some way simply not appropriate for the journal, wasting everyone's time.  

Another reason this information is so important is because English is not just English. There are a number of different ways of doing things—for example, word formation, punctuation, abbreviations, numbers, terminology, symbols, and others—and each journal may have its own preferences as to how these things are done, and other guidelines on the language and the manuscript preparation, in addition to how in-text citations, footnotes, and reference lists are formatted. Many journals are quite specific on how the sections of the article are to be created and labeled (and some are experimenting with new ways of formatting research articles). Some give the option of using LaTeX, and some have article templates that are very useful (be sure to see if there is one, they are more common in physical sciences, and be sure to use it). Following the guidelines will likely affect every sentence of your work, not just the references.  And doing it well on the first submission will immediately create a good impression about your work that will greatly increase the chances of your article being published. 

Tips:

It’s essential to see whether the journal requires the passive voice (“the experiment tested X…”, “the research was performed”) or prefers the active voice (“we investigated…”, “I analyzed…”), because of the difference this will make in the writing of the article.  

Many authors print out all the instructions and refer to them constantly as they write, along with the style guide that they are using. There is no need to memorize a lot of things, just know when to check and follow.

TSU postgraduate students and staff are welcome to contact the Center for Academic Writing with questions about the instructions of a specific journal they have chosen.