Instructions for Authors
Contents
Editorial correspondence including manuscripts for submission should be addressed to:
Bogdan P. Onac
Email : bonac@cas.usf.edu
Editorial Policies
The mission of Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Geologia, the official publication of the Department of Geology, "Babeş-Bolyai" University, is to publish new scientific contributions in all fields of earth sciences.
Manuscripts cannot have been previously published or be currently submitted elsewhere for publication while in review for Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Geologia, although manuscripts may have been deposited on a preprint server. Manuscripts that are derived from papers presented at conferences can be submitted unless they have been published as part of the conference proceedings in a peer-reviewed journal. Authors are required to ensure that no material submitted as part of a manuscript infringes existing copyrights, or the rights of a third party.
Manuscripts must be submitted by one of the authors of the manuscript, and should not be submitted by anyone on their behalf. The submitting author takes responsibility for the article during submission and peer review. Submission of a manuscript to Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Geologia implies that all authors have read and agreed to its content.
Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Geologia accepts only online submission. The submission process is compatible with version 6.0 and higher of Internet Explorer, and with most other modern web browsers. It can be used from PC, Mac, or Unix platforms (see File Formats).
Peer-Review Process
The peer-review process is designed to ensure that Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Geologia publishes outstanding scholarship. One of the Editors will assign the manuscript to a member of the editorial board, who will review the paper, collect reviews from four outsider reviewers, and make a recommendation to the manuscript’s managing Editor with respect to four possible outcomes: 1) accept without revision, 2) accept after revision without further external review, 3) neither accept nor reject until author(s) make revisions and resubmit, 4) reject. The Editor managing the manuscript will also send the manuscript to a second member of the editorial board for an independent review. The manuscript’s managing Editor will make the decision on outcome and notify the author. The ultimate responsibility for all decisions lies with the Editors, to whom any appeals against rejection should be addressed.
Copyright
Authors must agree to the following when submitting a manuscript for consideration:
I hereby grant to the USF Library System the irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free right to distribute, display, and archive this work in a digital format throughout the world for educational, research, and scientific non-profit uses during the full term of copyright including renewals and extensions. I also hereby grant to the USF Library System the non-exclusive right to sub-license these rights to others should the publishers or USF Library System forego the ability to maintain distribution. I warrant that I have the copyright to make this grant to the USF Library System unencumbered and complete.
Once this material is published in Studia UBB, Geologia, it may be withdrawn with notification to the USF Library System. Administration revisions to available documents within this service will be accepted.
The following "Notice Concerning Terms and Conditions of Use" will be included with the electronic distribution copies of the work:
"You are granted permission for individual, educational, research, and non-commercial reproduction, distribution and display of this work in any format."
Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.
Style Guide
Manuscripts should be in English. Authors for whom English is not a native language must have their manuscripts reviewed by a colleague who is fluent in English before submitting their manuscripts.
The Title should be informative but not longer than 15 words. Please supply a short title of up to 70 characters.
Name of the author(s). Give the full author(s) name(s). Full addresses should be keyed to the author’s names using numbers in superscript. In case of more than one author, please indicate the email, telephone, and fax of the author to whom the correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract & Keywords. The abstract (not exceeding 250 words) must be written in English, outlining concisely the main findings and major conclusions of the paper. Literature citations and figure references should not appear in the abstract. Include up to 8 keywords beneath the abstract for indexing purpose.
Text. Manuscripts should be typed (double spacing) on A4 paper (21 x 29.7 cm) leaving a margin of 3 cm all around. Authors should use IUGS terminology and metric units. All pages should be numbered consecutively and illustrations and tables must be printed on separate sheets, and NOT be incorporated into the text.
References. All references cited in the text should be given in the reference list and vice versa. The reference list should be arranged alphabetically and chronologically, with the authors always listed with their last (family) name first. The suffixes "a", "b", etc. should be added to the date of papers by the same author and the same year. Citations in text should be as follows: Collins, 2005; Filipescu (2004), or where three or more authors in the reference please cite in the text as (Onac et al., 2004) or Ionescu et al. (2002). Journal and book titles must be spelled out in full (not abbreviated) and cited in the text. Example:
Balintoni, I. 1997, Geotectonica terenurilor metamorfice din Romania. Ed. Carpatica, Cluj, 176 pp.
Bucur, I. I., Conrad, M. A. & Radoicic, R. 1995, Foraminifers and calcareous algae from the Valanginian limestones in the Jerma River Canyon, Eastern Serbia. Revue de Paléobiologie, 14 (2): 349-377.
Ross, S. D. 1974, Phosphates and other oxy-anions of group V. In The infrared spectra of minerals (Farmer, V. C., Ed.), Mineralogical Society, Monograph 4: 383-422, London.
Illustrations. Photographs, artwork and drafting are expected to be high-quality laser output (not photocopies). The digital copies should be submitted in JPG, PSD or TIF format, with a preferred resolution of 600 dpi. The artwork must be sized to the text width of 8 cm (single column) or 17 cm (double column). Make sure each artwork has a scale bar. The numbering of the illustrations (e.g. Fig. 1, Pl. IV) must correspond to their order of appearance in the text. Supply the captions on a separate sheet.
How to Submit Your Paper
Please make sure you have read through these instructions carefully before beginning the submission process. To contact the Journal Staff regarding a submission that is already in progress, simply click the "My Account" link at the top of the page, then the title of your submission, and then on "Email editor." If you need to contact staff prior to submitting a manuscript, please email bonac@cas.usf.edu.
New Account Registration
To register a brand new account, click the "Submit" in the sidebar. Then click on "Create Free Account" and enter your first and last name, email address, and preferred password. You should receive immediately a confirmation email at the address you provided (you may need to check your Junk mail); click in the link in the email and proceed with your submission if ready. If you attempt to create an account at an address already in the system, you will be sent your password as a reminder. If you require assistance, contact the Journal Staff at bonac@cas.usf.edu.
Review Process
The manuscript submission and peer-review process consists of the following steps:
- The Author submits a manuscript.
- One of the Editors assigns a member of the editorial board to manage the peer review and assigns a second member of the editorial board to provide an independent review.
- The first member of the editorial board assigns the manuscript to at least two reviewers.
- The Reviewers review the manuscript.
- The first member of the editorial board collects the peer reviews and drafts a recommendation to the Editor. The second member of the editorial board provides the independent review to the Editor.
- The Editor reviews the two sets of reviews and drafts a decision that is sent to the Author.
Preparing to Submit
Before submitting a manuscript, please gather the following information:
- All Author
- First and Last Names
- Postal Addresses
- Work Telephone Numbers (for Corresponding Author only)
- E-mail addresses
- Title (you can copy and paste this from your manuscript)
- Abstract (you can copy and paste this from your manuscript)
- Manuscript files in Word (Please make sure the "Language" is "English (U.S.)" via Tools->Language->Set Language), WordPerfect, text, PDF, RTF or Latex format.
- Cover Letter, including job title and institution for EVERY Author listed on the manuscript.
- Figures/Images should be in TIFF, GIF, JPG, PDF, PowerPoint, CorelDraw, Excel, or Photoshop format.
Submission Process
The online manuscript submission process consists of four steps:
Author Information
A submission form will collect all information about the author and co-authors, if any.
Submission Information
A screen will ask for the Manuscript Title, Abstract, and Manuscript Classification. You will also be prompted for the actual file locations (via an open file dialog), a cover letter, and any acknowledgments you would like to provide. NOTE: You will not be able to save your work in progress and come back later, so we recommend that you try to submit your paper in one session if possible.
Confirmation
A completion screen will provide you with a specific manuscript number for your manuscript. If necessary, use the "Upload related files" link provided to submit supplemental tables, figures, and data sets.
Revisions
If you uploaded a native version of your submission, the system will send you an email to confirm when it has converted to PDF. Please check over the PDF carefully to ensure the conversion was satisfactory and that the manuscript is ready for review. If no revisions are necessary, you do not need to notify the editor. If revisions are necessary, go to your My Account page, click on the submission title, and then use the "Revise submission" link to provide a revised version. Both you and the editor assigned to your submission will be notified when the revision has been uploaded, so there is no need to confirm with the editor.
Getting Help
Context-Sensitive Help
If you need additional help, you can click on the help signs (a question mark icon) spread throughout the system. A help dialog will pop up with context-sensitive help.
Contact Journal Staff
You may contact the Journal Staff at any time. To contact the Journal Staff regarding a submission that is already in progress, simply click the "My Account" link at the top of the page, then the title of your submission, and then on "Email editor." If you need to contact staff prior to submitting a manuscript, please email bonac@cas.usf.edu.
Log-in Help
If you are prompted to enter your log-in, and you no longer remember it, simply click the "Forget Password" link and follow the prompts to have your log-in emailed to you. If a single account cannot be identified from the information provided, you will need to create an account (if you have not already done so) or contact bonac@cas.usf.edu for assistance.
Manuscript Status
After you submit your manuscript, the submission process is complete. You will be notified via email if the editors need more information or have registered a decision on your manuscript. You can also check on the status of your manuscript or review past decision letters via your My Account page.
Initiating the Process
You start the manuscript submission process by pressing the "Submit Manuscript" link on the home page. If you have a Bepress log-in, you will be prompted to enter it and continue. If you do not have one, follow the prompts to create a free account. After you have logged in, please review the list of required elements provided to make sure your submission will be complete.
File Formats
Word processors:
The following are acceptable for the main manuscript document:
- Microsoft Word (.doc)
Image formats:
After you have submitted your manuscript, you will have the opportunity to upload "related files." The following image formats are acceptable:
- Tagged Image File Format (.tif or .tiff)
- PowerPoint (.ppt)
- CorelDraw (.cdr)
- Microsoft Excel (.xls)
- Adobe Photoshop
- Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jog or .jpeg)
- Graphics Interchange Format (.gif)
Data formats:
After you have submitted your manuscript, you will have the opportunity to upload "related files." The following data formats are acceptable:
- Tab Separated (.tds)
- Comma Separated (.cvs)
- Excel (.xls)
- Microsoft Word (.doc)
Attachment formats:
After you have submitted your manuscript, you will have the opportunity to upload "related files." The following formats are acceptable:
- Acrobat (.pdf)
- JPEG (.jpg)
- LaTex (.tex)
- MS Word (.doc)
- GIF (.gif)
- MS Excel (xls.)
- MS PowerPoint (.ppt)
- WordPerfect (.wpd)
- Rich Text Format (.rtf)
- Text (.txt)
- Tiff (.tif)
Table formats:
After you have submitted your manuscript, you will have the opportunity to upload "related files." The following table formats are acceptable:
- Excel (.xls)