Instructions for Contributors: Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 2006  

The editors of Cartography and Geographic Information Science always welcome new manuscript submissions. Your adherence to these instructions will help ensure your manuscript receives the attention it deserves.

Manuscript Submission

• If possible, submit manuscripts in electronic form as either Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat pdf documents.  Word is preferred, as this will permit reviewers to easily edit and make comments online
• Send electronic documents via e-mail or on a CD using regular mail
• If the electronic version includes color illustrations, send 4 copies of these illustrations in paper form (for reviewers without ready access to a color printer)
• Submitting a paper version? Send 5 copies to: Michael Leitner, Editor of Cartography and Geographic Information Science, Department of Geography and Anthropology, E104 Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803. Phone: (225) 578-2963;  E-mail: <mleitne@lsu.edu>. Manuscripts will not be returned
• Include a cover letter stating that the manuscript has not been and will not be submitted elsewhere until the editorial board of Cartography and Geographic Information Science has rendered its decision
• If there is more than one author, indicate with whom the editor should correspond
• Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to re-use any copyrighted material contained in the article; evidence of the permissions obtained should be submitted with the final version of the manuscript

Manuscript Review

• Manuscripts are reviewed by at least 3 peers selected by the editor; reviews ensure the manuscript is substantially correct, understandable, and of interest to a significant number of readers
• Authors may suggest appropriate reviewers

Manuscript Format

• Double-space the manuscript and provide generous margins to provide space for reviewers' comments
• Number the pages; Cartography and Geographic Information Science follows the Chicago Manual of Style, published by the University of Chicago Press
• In developing your manuscript, please pay special attention to the following:

Title page

• Manuscripts should have a separate title page
• Provide the title of the article and name, affiliation, and contact information for each author (E-mail and surface addresses, phone, and fax)

Abstract

• Each article must have an abstract summarizing the main findings and the scientific methods used
• The abstract should be between 100 and 200 words in length.

Literature citations

• All works cited in the manuscript should appear at the end under the heading "References."
• Citations within the text should be by author and year of publication, e.g., (Laird 1995), Laird (1995), or (Laird 1995, 126).

Acknowledgments

• Acknowledgments should be placed just before the references.

Illustrations

• For initial submission, illustrations may be embedded directly in the manuscript. Keep in mind, however, that once a manuscript is accepted for publication, it will be necessary to provide each illustration as a separate tiff or eps file with a tiff preview
• The parts of a composite illustration should be clearly labeled (e.g., 1a and 1b) on the figure itself.
• Detailed explanation of figures and other artwork belongs in text. Where an illustration would be difficult to understand on its own, a brief note may be added to the caption.
• Symbols, arrows, numbers, and letters identifying parts of a line drawing should be explained in the legend. If there are figures with identical symbols, these need only be defined in the legend of the first figure in the series.
• Give the source of all previously published illustrations. Permission to publish is required for all previously published material that is not in the public domain.

Tables

• Tables may also be embedded directly in the manuscript, but once the paper is accepted for publication they will need to be submitted as separate files. Units of measurement should be specified in the body of the table (e.g., in column headings), not in the table caption.

Equations

• Letters that stand for mathematical symbols should be in italics in both equations and running text. Example: d(f).
• Functions such as “arg” and “cos” or abbreviations such as “int” should be in upright text, as should numbers, units of measure, and chemical symbols. Symbols for vectors, tensors, and matrices should be in boldface. If vectors and tensors are used together, vectors should be in boldface italic and tensors in boldface roman.

Publication

Cartography and Geographic Information Science is published by Ilse Genovese, CaGIS Managing Editor. She may be contacted by phone at (240) 632-9716 ext. 109; by fax at (240)632-1321, or by e-mail at ilse.genovese@acsm.net.

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