Guide for Authors

 

It is essential to give an e-mail address and, if available, a fax number, when submitting a manuscript. Articles must be written in good English. Submission of an article implies that the work has not been published previously in whole or part (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, is approved by all authors, if accepted, will not be published elsewhere in whole or part, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. 

  • Manuscripts are to be submitted via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
  • We accept most word processing formats, but Word or LaTeX are preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Save your files using the default extension of the program used (e.g. .doc).
  • Your manuscript must contain suitable material for the journal. Please read the Focus and Scope of the journal.
  • Please read Publishing Ethics.
  • Grammar, spelling and accuracy are the most important screening criteria. Non-English speaking authors are encouraged to have their manuscript checked and edited by native English speaker. Alternatively, the use of language editing services can be used to improve the English of a manuscript.
  • It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the word processor. The text should be in single-column format, 12 point Times New Roman font, 1.5 line-spaced. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. 
  • In particular, do not use the word processor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. Do not embed “graphically designed” equations or tables, but prepare these using the word processor's facility.
  • When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. Vertical lines should not be included in tables.
  • Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text and on the manuscript. See also the section on Preparation of electronic illustrations.
  • To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the “spellchecker” function of your word processor.
  • Provide the following data on the title page (in the order given).
    • Title. Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
    • Author names and affiliations. Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the Authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the Author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each Author.
    • 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 of the Corresponding Author. Present/permanent address. If an Author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a “Present address” (or “Permanent address”) may be indicated as a footnote to that Author's name. The address at which the Author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
    • Abstract. A concise and factual abstract is required (maximum length 300 words). The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions.
    • Keywords. Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, “and”, “of”).
    • Abbreviations. Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field at their first occurrence in the article: in the abstract but also in the main text after it. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
    • Acknowledgements. Collate acknowledgements, including information on grants received, in a separate section at the end of the article and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise.
  • Arrangement of the article
    • Subdivision of the article. Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, …), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to “the text.” Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.in text after it. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
    • Preparation of electronic illustrations
      • Use uniform lettering and sizing in your original artwork.
      • Save text in illustrations as “graphics” or enclose the font.
      • Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol.
      • Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
      • Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
      • Provide all illustrations as separate files and as hardcopy printouts on separate sheets.
      • Provide captions to illustrations separately.
      • Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
  • Mathematical formulae. Present simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separate from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).
  • Footnotes. Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article, using superscript Arabic numbers. Many word processors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case, indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves at the bottom of each page. Website data or descriptions do not qualify as references and are to be shown within the text as footnotes. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.
  • Tables. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Vertical lines should not be included in tables.
  • Reference Citation Requirements. Citations in the text: Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full, but in general, do not use references in the abstract. Unpublished results and personal communications should not be used in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text e.g. (J. Smith, Personal Communication, May 2005). Citation of a reference as “in press” implies that the item has been accepted for publication. All citations in the text should refer to:
    • 1. Single Author: the Author's family name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication; 2. Two Authors: both Authors' names and the year of publication; 3. Three or more Authors: first Author's name followed by “et al.” and the year of publication.
    • Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed first alphabetically, then chronologically. Examples: “as demonstrated (Allan, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1995). Kramer et al. (2000) have recently shown ....”
    • Listing References: References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same Author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters “a”, “b”, “c”, etc., placed after the year of publication.
    • Citing and listing of Internet/Web references. Published standards, data released as an official publication, software or software manuals are to be included in the Reference section. Publication details including author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc. should also be given and followed by the full URL and last date of access. Website data or descriptions do not qualify as references and are to be shown within the text as footnotes. Internet links should not be embedded in the text. Footnote or move to References, as appropriate, formatting according to styles provided in the examples below.
      • Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) The digital object identifier (DOI) may be used to cite and link to electronic documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric character string which is assigned to a document by the publisher upon the initial electronic publication. The assigned DOI never changes. Therefore, it is an ideal medium for citing a document, particularly 'Articles in press' because they have not yet received their full bibliographic information. The correct format for citing a DOI is shown as follows: doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2004.10.009
    • When you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed never to change.
    • Please note that journal names are not to be abbreviated.