Author guidelines for Theme Issues

 

 

 

Submission:

 

Login or Register to make a submission or sign up as a reviewer.

If there are problems with the online submission system please contact the editor (nordia.editor@oulu.fi) or the Theme Issues designated guest editors.

 

 

 

 

General information for authors

 

NGP publishes papers in three categories: Research Articles, Essays and Reviews, and Discussions and Interventions. To be accepted, the manuscript must make a significant contribution to academic research and be grounded in relevant literature. Manuscripts are evaluated mostly by (1) a double-blind refereeing process or (2) if the author(s) and reviewer(s) so wish, by double-open refereeing process in which the names of author(s) and reviewer(s) are known and the refereeing correspondence is published as supplementary material.

 

  • Research article: an original full length article (ca. 6000–9000 words -> tables, figures and bibliography not included) combining theoretical and empirical insight and developing a significant contribution to geographical research. Research Articles are grounded on relevant literature and their structure consists of an abstract, introduction and description of the research, results, discussion and summary of the results, relevant tables and/or figures. Research Articles should push the boundaries of geographical knowledge and develop new insights. Research Articles are peer reviewed, double-blind or double-open.

 

  • Academic essays and Review articles: Essays or Reviews (ca. 3000–6000 words -> tables, figures and bibliography not included) introduce novel theoretical, methodological or empirical insights to geographical research through a concise argumentative approach (Essay) or by synthesizing existing knowledge (Review). As such, the structure of both the essays and reviews can diverge from traditional journal article structure while still rigorously presenting its key arguments. Both essays and reviews have to be able to justify their relevance to academic research (i.e. why do the key arguments advanced need to be taken into account in future research, and why does the existing research literature around the specific topic need to be synthesized). Academic Essays and Reviews are peer reviewed, double-blind or double-open.

 

  • Discussions and Interventions: Discussion and Intervention papers (ca. 2000-4000 words -> tables, figures and bibliography not included) include more free-flowing commentaries, debates, discussions and interventions related to contemporary issues in research or academia. Discussions and Interventions -section is an editorially reviewed section of the journal.

 

Theme issues can be suggested to the editor-in-chief on all relevant topics in geographical research. The board of the Geographical Society of Northren Finland (PSMS) will determine together with the editor-in-chief whether the journal has the resources to pursue the theme issue. A short proposal should be sent by email to the editor-in-chief which contains the names, affiliations and contact details of the guest editors, a short synopsis (ca. 400-600 words) on the topic and relevance of the particular theme issue and a preliminary list of authors. The editor-in-chief will work with the guest editors, clarify the responsibilites of the guest editors and see through the publication process of the theme issue with the guest editors.

 

 

 

Preparation of your manuscript

 

 

Manuscript style and length

  • Accepted submission file formats are Word .docx and also .doc (if necessary).
  • Manuscripts should be prepared with 1.5 line spacing, 12 pt Times New Roman font and one column.
  • The maximum lengths of manuscript types are listed above. The maximum lengths of manuscripts are not rigid. However, in practice, manuscripts over 9000 words must have justified reason for their length. Remember to be concise and edit!
  • Include in your main document file an abstract of max. 300 words and 3-6 relevant keywords.
  • Please be sure to anonymize your manuscript before it is going to the double-blind refereeing process. More information below in the Submission files.
  • In the review phase, NGP accepts all scholarly referencing styles as long as the style used is internally consistent and the reference list + in-text citations include all relevant information for the reviewers. However, before acceptance and layout editing, the author must apply the NGP -style that is outlined below.
  • Only the first letter and proper names are capitalized. A maximum of two levels of headings may be used. Headings are formatted as follows: Indicate the hierarchy of headlines with numbering (e.g. 1 Main title, 1.1 Subtitle. 1.1.1 Subtitle). No more than three levels is recommended.

 

 

Language

 

The language of NGP Theme Issues is English. Manuscripts should be clearly written, concise and grammatically correct. Authors can choose to use either American or British style English as long as the style is internally consistent within the manuscript. It is highly recommended that all authors choose to have the language of their manuscripts professionally checked to catch grammatical errors and improve readability and flow of the text. In the review process the language of the manuscript should be of high quality and clear to reviewers. In order for the manuscript to be accepted and sent to layout editing phase, make sure to clear all minor errors from the manuscript. This the latest stage to use professional editing services ang get the manuscript checked. All language editing services are paid for and arranged by the author. 

 

 

Submission files

Please provide the following files in your submission:

 

Title page

On a separate title page file, please include:

  • The title of the article.
  • Author(s) name(s) and affilitation(s).
  • Full contact information such as professional address(es) and email(s).
  • ORCiD ID's (optional).
  • Twitter handle and an example tweet (max. 280 characters) for dissemination in social media (optional).
  • Acknowledgements.

 

Main document

In the anonymized main document text file, please include

  • The title of the article.
  • Abstract (max. 300 words) and keywords (3-6 words).
  • The manuscript in full with all the sections (introduction, theory, materials/methods, results, conclusions, references etc.).
  • Notes must be used only in very exceptional needs and restricted to the minimum. Use endnotes instead of footnotes.
  • In order to keep the main document anonymized, please do not include any information from which you can be identified as an author.
  • If you (or your co-authors) cite your own work, please redact and replace these citations with -> (Author(s) xxxx).
  • Also check your bibliography and replace the author's works with -> (Author(s) xxxx).
  • Self-citations can be added back to the manuscript after the review process is complete.
  • More information on anonymization can be found here.

 

Figures, tables, illustrations and equations

 

Please provide all figures, tables, illustrations and equations as separate files. Take into account the following:

  • In the digital journal, the use of colours, particularly for complex maps and diagrams, is encouraged. However, when choosing the colour scheme, consider the reproduction of colours on black-and-white prints and photocopies. Images should be included as separate image files (not attached to the text document). Use TIF/JPG/PNG formats at 300 dpi resolution (minimum). (NB. figures are printed in greyscale but in appear full colour on the website). The print version is published in B5 paper size. Ensure that heavy lines in line art are saved as pure black, and avoid unusual fonts and too small text size.

  • Tables must be included as a separate file typed using few horizontal rules and no vertical rules. Illustrations, as well as tables, are numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals (e.g., Figure 4., and Table 1.). Refer to all figures and tables in the text and specify the figure as (Figure 1.) Captions for Figures and Tables must be typed on a separate document. The approximate position of Figures and Tables in the text should be marked [Figure 1.].

  • Equations should be numbered consecutively with bracketed Arabic numerals in the right-hand margin. Authors must provide instructions for any special typeface required (e.g., bold, italic, Greek). Careful attention must be paid to sub- and superscript symbols, and upper- and lower-case letters. Equations have to be submitted as high-quality image files and printed as black and white.
  • Measurements must all be given in SI metric system.

 

Copyright

 

It is the author's responsibility to obtain copyright permission for the reproduction of images, tables or other material and to ensure adequate acknowledgement.

 

 

 

Review process

 

The handling editor (guest editor(s) or editor-in-chief) determines whether your submission will progress to external review. If the article progresses to external review, suitable peer reviewers are determined by the editors. When the peer reviews are completed, you will receive an editorial decision together with the review statements.

 

There are 4 different editorial decisions that you can receive:

 

 

Decline submission

  • Your submission has been declined due to concerns raised by the reviewers and/or the editors. The publication of your article is not pursued in NGP.

 

Resubmit for review

  • You are requested to revise your article based on the feedback of the reviewers and/or editors.
  • Resubmit for review -decision means that the revised version of the manuscript is still subject to another round of peer reviews.
  • The editor(s) will determine a deadline for the revised version of the manuscript.
  • When submitting your revision, please supply a response letter (docx. file) in the submission files. In the response letter, please respond to each point brought up in the peer review statements (in a respectful manner) and indicate how you have revised the manuscript accordingly.
  • Please supply two versions of your revised main document: One with tracked changes and one clean version. In the tracked changes version use either the Track Changes -mode in Word or different colored fonts (e.g. red font for deleted text, green font for added new text) to indicate the changes you have made in your manuscript. The clean version is just the new revised version of your manuscript with no changes visible.
  • You can name the submission files for example: revised_trackchanges_(title of your file) and revised_clean_(title of your file).

 

Revisions required

  • You are requested to revise your article based on the feedback of the reviewers and/or editors.
  • Revisions required -decision means that the editor(s) will determine whether the revisions you have made sufficiently respond to the concerns and points raised in the review statements. Editor(s) can request further revisions. 
  • The editor(s) will determine a deadline for the revised version of the manuscript.
  • When submitting your revision, please supply a response letter (docx. file) in the submission files. In the response letter, please respond to each point brought up in the peer review statements (in a respectful manner) and indicate how you have revised the manuscript accordingly.
  • Please supply two versions of your revised main document: One with tracked changes and one clean version. In the tracked changes version use either the Track Changes -mode in Word or different colored fonts (e.g. red font for deleted text, green font for added new text) to indicate the changes you have made in your manuscript. The clean version is just the new revised version of your manuscript with no changes visible.
  • You can name the submission files for example: revised_trackchanges_(title of your file) and revised_clean_(title of your file).

 

Accept submission

  • Your article has been accepted for publication and will proceed to the production stage.

 

 

Production stage

 

Accepted articles will proceed to layout editing and production. The final version of the manuscript needs to be thoroughly checked for grammar, errors and inconsistencies before it proceeds to layout editing. Pay close attention as substantive changes cannot be made after the manuscript proceeds to layout editing. 

 

Once the layout editing of your article is complete, the editor(s) will request you to inspect the article proofs. Make sure to go through all the details like author information, formatting of headings, page numbers, placement of tables/figures/equations, in-text citations, reference list, etc. etc. 

 

Please complete the inspection of the proof version within 7 days. Mark your corrections in the PDF -file or supply a list of the corrections in the form of a Word -file and send these to the editor(s).

 

 

 

References

In the text, references should be indicated by giving the author’s name and the year of publication (Hjort et al. 2010; Varanka & Luoto 2012; Alahuhta & Heino 2013).

- All references in the text and notes must be specified by the authors’ last names and date of publication together with page numbers if given.

- Do not use ibid., op. cit., infra., supra. Instead, show the subsequent citation of the same source in the same way as the first.

- Where et al. is used in citations in the body of the text, this should always be italic.

 

In-text citation examples

 

Author’s name in the text is followed with year in parentheses:

... Elden (2013) has argued ...

If author’s name is not in the text, insert last name and year:

... several works (Elden 2013) have described ...

The page number follows the year, separated by a colon and en dash for page numbering:

... it has been noted (Elden 2013: 13–26) that ...

Give both names with two authors, joined by ‘&’; use et al. if there are three or more authors:

... it has been stated (Agnew & Livingstone 2011) ...

... some investigators (Hjort et al. 2010) ...

If there is more than one reference to the same author and year, insert a, b, etc. in both the text and the reference list. If two or more references by the same author are cited together, separate the dates with a comma:

... it was described (Swyngedouw 2017a, 2017b) ...

… for example this was found (Swyngedouw 2011, 2014, 2017) …

Start with the oldest publication.

Enclose within a single pair of parentheses a series of references, separated by semicolons:

... and it has been noted (Elden 2013; Hjort et al. 2010; Varanka & Luoto 2012) ...

Order alphabetically by author names.

Enclose within the parentheses any brief phrase associated with the reference (for example: see, e.g., cf.):

... (cf. Ahlqvist & Sirviö 2019: 1–4)

For an institutional authorship, supply the minimum citation from the beginning of the complete reference. For authorless articles or studies, use the name of the magazine, journal, newspaper or sponsoring organization, and not the title of the article:

... a recent statement (Sosiaali- ja terveysministeriö 2019: 30–70) ...

... it was stated (Kaleva 2020) that ...

 

Reference list

References are listed alphabetically at the end of the paper under the heading References. References must be separated by a 1 cm hanging indentation from the second line. Names of journals and books should be italicized. Avoid capital letters but for first words of a sentence and proper names. Give journal titles in full with volume: number, inclusive pages. Page numbers are separated with the en-dash (longer than the hyphen).

- Check that the list is in alphabetical order. Check that all periodical data are included – volume, issue and page numbers, publisher, place of publication, etc. Do not abbreviate journal titles.

- Names should be in upper and lower case.

- Where several references have the same author(s), do not use ditto marks or em dashes; the name must be repeated each time.

- References with multiple authors where the first-named author is the same should be listed in chronological order. For example:

Kellokumpu V & Toivanen M (2013)

Kellokumpu V & Karjalainen O (2014)

Kellokumpu V, Toivanen M & Karjalainen O (2017)

 

Examples:  

 

Journal article (link to DOI if available)

Rozman A, Diaci J & Batič F (2013) Functional analysis of vegetation on alpine treeline ecotone in the Julian and Kamnik-Savinja Alps in Slovenia. European Journal of Forest Research 132(4): 579–591.

Ahlqvist T & Sirviö H (2019) Contradictions of spatial governance: Bioeconomy and the management of state space in Finland. Antipode 51(2): 395–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12498

 

Journal article ahead of print (link to DOI if available)

Dunnett O, Maclaren AS, Klinger J, Lane KMD & Sage D (2017) Geographies of outer space: Progress and new opportunities. Progress in Human Geography. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132517747727

If DOI not available use date of online publication:

Dunnett O, Maclaren AS, Klinger J, Lane KMD & Sage D (2017) Geographies of outer space: Progress and new opportunities. Progress in Human Geography [Online 21 December 2017].

 

Book

Elden S (2013) The birth of territory. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. 

Jessop B (2016) The state: Past, present, future. Polity Press, London.

Deleuze G (1994 [1968]) Difference and repetition [Différence et répetition]. Translated by Patton P. Athlone Press, London.

 

Chapter of book

Agnew J & Livingstone D (2011) Introduction. In Agnew J & Livingstone D (eds.) The SAGE handbook of geographical knowledge, 1–18. Sage, London.

Sirviö H & Luukkonen J (2020) Metropolitanizing a Nordic state? City-regionalist imaginary and the restructuring of the state as a territorial political community in Finland. In Armondi S & De Gregorio Hurtado S (eds.) Foregrounding urban agendas: The new urban issue in European experiences of policy-making, 211–227. Springer, New York.

 

Edited book

Brown T, McLafferty S & Moon G (2010; eds.) A Companion to health and medical geography. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester.

 

Report

Hokkanen J, Savikko H, Koutonen H, Rannikko H, Rinne T & Pirilä M (2020) Suomen mineraaliklusterin kilpailukyky- ja vaikuttavuustutkimus. Valtioneuvoston selvitys- ja tutkimustoiminnan julkaisusarja 15:2020. Valtioneuvoston kanslia, Helsinki.

Wahlsten J (2020) To assemble society anew? The political economy of contemporary initiatives of socio-ecological transformation. Helsinki Centre for Global Political Economy Working Paper 02/2020. University of Helsinki, Helsinki. https://www.helsinki.fi/en/networks/global-political-economy/working-paper-22020

 

Data

Scarchilli C (2020) Mario Zucchelli Radar, Disdrometric and snow gauge measurements during summer precipitation events. PANGAEA. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.921490

 

Website

Tilastokeskus (2020) Energiaturpeen kulutus. http://www.stat.fi/til/ehk/2020/03/ehk_2020_03_2020-12-16_kuv_005_fi.html (accessed 4 January 2021).

 

Newspaper/magazine (link to website if online article)

Tilvis E (2019) Asiantuntijat ehdottavat Oulun huvipuistoa pääväylien varsille – esille nousivat muun muassa Kiimingin Välikylä ja Kempeleen Zeniitti. Kaleva, 8 August 2019. https://www.kaleva.fi/asiantuntijat-ehdottavat-oulun-huvipuistoa-paavayl/1693968 (accessed 4 January 2021).

BBC (2016) Mosul battle: 'Iraqi forces' tortured and killed villagers. BBC, 10 November 2016. www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-37930402 (accessed 25 November 2016).

 

Published/unpublished theses and dissertations

Unpublished:

Clark JM (2001) Referencing style for journals. PhD Thesis, University of Leicester.

Wikstrom A (2013) The challenge of change: Planning for social urban resilience. Master's Thesis, Stockholm University.

Published in a series:

Ala-Hulkko T (2020) Integrating accessibility analysis in ecosystem service and disservice mapping. Nordia Geographical Publications 49(3): 1–73.

Virta L (2020) Exploring the diversity patterns of benthic diatoms along environmental, spatial and temporal gradients in the Baltic Sea. Walter and Andrée de Nottbeck Foundation Scientific Reports 48: 1–40. http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-951-51-6773-6