Guidelines for Authors

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Submission Guidelines
Book Review Guidelines

Contents

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Subject Matter and Scope

Cartographica is dedicated to publishing articles on all aspects of cartographic and geovisualization research while maintaining its tradition of publishing material on cartographic theory, the history of cartography, cartography and society, and critical cartography. The journal publishes a wide range of technical, methodological, historical, and theoretical articles in these fields and encourages international submissions.

Each volume of Cartographica is comprised of four issues The issues may also include short articles, reviews of books and atlases, as well as listings of recent cartographic literature from around the world.

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Peer Review Process

All submissions are subject to double anonymous peer review. Cartographica uses an online peer review system through which authors, peer reviewers, and book reviewers can submit articles, evaluations, and book reviews online. From initial submissions to finished proofs, the online manuscript submission system streamlines the publication process to make it easy and effective for authors, reviewers, and editors alike. When your article is ready for submission, you will submit it through the online manuscript submission system interface.

All manuscript submissions are subject to initial appraisal by the Editors-in-Chief, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to peer review by independent, anonymous expert referees. All peer review is double anonymous.

All submissions, reviews, and editorial work is done through our Online Peer Review System. Prior to submitting your article, you will have to register for an account.

If you are a new contributor to the journal, please visit our Online Peer Review System and select “register here” to create a new account. You will be asked to fill in a brief contributor form. Be sure to click the “finish” button to save your data. You will then be able to log in, using the username and password you created, and view the contributor homepage, which is the starting point for all functions available to you as a contributor.

If you are a returning contributor to the journal, please visit our Online Peer Review System and follow the prompts to log in.

If you previously held an account on PRESTO, you will need to reset your password before logging in for the first time on our Online Peer Review System. To do so, please visit our Online Peer Review System and enter your e-mail address in the “Password help” box and press “go” only once. You will receive an e-mail with a link to reset your password. Once the password has been reset, you will be able to log in and view the contributor homepage, which is the starting point for all functions available to you as a contributor.

For technical support, please contact [email protected].

Anonymization

Cartographica uses a double-anonymous peer review process. Anonymizing a manuscript entails removing all references to your name and publications, and to the setting and participants in your research, where relevant. To anonymize your manuscript, substitute your name (and any coauthors’ names) in the text in any reference that would identify you. For example, if you are referring to one of your previously published articles, change the citation “(Jones, 2003)” to “(Author, XXXX).” In the reference list of your manuscript, do not list the title of the article, the journal, or any other identifying information. For example, if you refer to three of your own publications in the text, list them as follows in the references:

Author (XXXX) 

Author (XXXX)  Author (XXXX)

“Author” is then inserted into the reference list with the other “A” references. Do not insert “Author” references alphabetically with the letter that corresponds to your last name.

When anonymizing the context of your research, use pseudonyms for the names of institutions or participants, and do not identify the city or town in which the research took place if it could serve to identify the participants and/or the institution. For example, “a bilingual university in Ottawa” is inadequate anonymization because there is only one such university. Similarly, “a French- medium elementary school in St. Catharines, Ontario” is not anonymized because there is only one such school. Try to avoid including any other characteristics that might lead to the identification of the individuals or institutions involved.

Please also remove any information that would identify you from the Properties section of your Word file. To do this go to the document and click on “file,” scroll down to “properties” and delete any identifying information.

Manuscripts that have not been anonymized will be returned to the authors for anonymization before they are sent out to the reviewers; this will delay the publication process. If the article is accepted for publication, authors are asked to restore all personal information and references to their article.

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Special Issues

Proposals are encouraged and will be reviewed by the journal editors. A special issue should be organized by the special issue editor(s) around a specific content area or methodology that may represent a large-scale international development or a collection of manuscripts presented at a conference or workshop. Manuscripts will be double-blind peer-reviewed, and the special issue editor(s) is/are expected to work with authors until the special issue meets the standards of manuscripts published in the journal. Content, timeliness of the topic, thoroughness of the proposal, relevance for the journal’s readership, and production schedule are among the criteria used for selection.

Technical Notes and Ephemera

The Technical Notes and Ephemera section includes research notes, technical information, opinions, news items, and occasional humour and trivia related to all aspects of cartography, geographic information, and geovisualization, including

  • newsworthy events and issues (local, national, and international)
  • education and training issues
  • research summaries from universities and government agencies
  • commentaries on ideas and products
  • evaluation of maps and data sources
  • library and Internet resources
  • tips for cartographic production
  • humour and trivia

All submissions to this section are encouraged: these will normally be of shorter length than full journal articles (2-6 pages). Those of interest to the international community and materials of interest to a broad audience will be given priority for publication. Where appropriate, peer review will apply. Links to web pages and references to contemporary resources are encouraged, to include material that may not otherwise be available in published journals.

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Manuscript Submission Process

In order to submit an article, you will have to register with Cartographica’s online peer-review manuscript submission system. You will then be able to upload your final manuscript as a Word files using the online manuscript submission system. Cartographica does not accept hard copy submissions through the mail.

All articles must be the author’s original work, previously unpublished, and not be under reviewed for publication with another journal.

After you submit your article, it will be evaluated. Based on this evaluation, you will receive one of the following responses: Accepted, Accepted but with revisions, Revise and Resubmit or Rejected. If your article is accepted either as is or following revisions, it will be reviewed, copyedited, proofread and then published online and in print.

For the initial submission, all supporting files including figures and illustrations, tables, and images must be submitted within the main file. They are to be placed where you would have them appear in a published version of the article. When the article is accepted for publication then you will need to resubmit any images and graphics as separate high resolution image files.

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Manuscript Requirements

The final, revised manuscript in a Word file should be single-spaced, preferably in a 12-point style, and must have a complete bibliography of all sources cited. Please keep the word count below 8,000.

Please avoid page-layout formatting. The text should be aligned flush left and ragged right; do not justify or centre.

Use hard returns at the end of paragraphs only. Let your software make line breaks (word wrap), and do not add extra line spaces between paragraphs.

Headings should follow the following format: First-order headings should be in bold typeface; second-order headings should be in italic typeface; third-order headings should be in roman typeface. If there are more than three subheadings, indicate the level as appropriate.

Use only one space after a period, colon, semicolon, and comma. Use an en-dash for date and page ranges, and a spaced en dash as an interrupter. Refer to the most recent edition of the Chicago Manual of Style for further grammatical guidance. Please note that your manuscript should not have figures embedded in the text. 

Please do not include any running headers or footers (although page numbers are acceptable).

Notes

Notes should appear as embedded endnotes (not as footnotes). Reference numbers for endnotes must be marked in the text. Use the Footnotes/Notes function of your word processor to create your endnotes.

References

All articles must include a bibliography. Cartographica uses a modified version of The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition. List the bibliographic entries under the heading “References” at the end of the text in alphabetical order by author’s surname. Multiple entries for the same author should be listed chronologically, earliest first. Only references cited in the text should be included in the bibliography.

The surnames and initials, or surnames and full first names (providing you use one or the other consistently), of all authors (even if there are more than three) should be included in reference or bibliography entries. Authors’ names in references should be in upper and lower case, not in all capitals.

In-text citations should follow the following format:

One author: (Wood 2005, 31); without page number (Wood 2005)

Two authors: (Peacock and Turner 2000, 45); (Peacock and Turner 2000)

Three authors: (Gonzalez, Herrera, and Chapin 1995, 61); (Gonzalez, Herrera, and Chapin 1995) Four or more authors: (Keller and others 2003, 105); (Keller and others 2003).

Use “and others” for more than three authors or subsequent mentions in text; do not use “et al.”

The following examples of reference list entries may prove useful:

Maps

Barney, J.M. 1908. Map of Yuma County Arizona. 100 × 65 cm, 1:260,000 scale. Map Collection, Arizona Memory Project. Available at https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/har/id/ 30/rec/5.

Jefferson, L.E. 1946. Americans of Negro Lineage. Pictomap, 95 × 73 cm. New York: Friendship Press. David Rumsey Map Collection. Available at https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/ detail/RUMSEY~8~1~288948~90060506.

Book

MacEachren, A.M. 1995. How Maps Work: Representation, Visualization, and Design. New York: Guilford.

Robinson, A.H., J.L. Morrison, P.C. Muehrcke, A.J. Kimerling, and S.C. Guptill. 1995. Elements of Cartography, 6th ed. New York: Wiley.

NOTE: Even though in-text citations with more than three authors list only the first author, followed by “and others,” you must name all of the authors in the final reference list.

Chapter in Edited Book

Kraak, Menno-Jan. 2000. “Access to GDI and the Function of Visualization Tools.” In Geospatial Data Infrastructures: Concepts, Cases, and Good Practice, ed. R. Groot and J. McLaughlin, 32– 54. New York: Oxford University Press. 

NOTE: Use ed. instead of edited by..., and trans. instead of translated by... Place page range (e.g., 32–54) after the editors.

Journal Article

Harrower, M. 2002. “Visualizing Change: Using Cartographic Animation to Explore RemotelySensed Data.” Cartographic Perspectives 39: 30–42. https://doi.org/10.14714/CP39.637.

Richards, P.L. 2004. “‘Could I But Mark Out My Own Map of Life’: Educated Women Embracing Cartography in the Nineteenth-Century American South.” Cartographica 39(3): 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3138/B5HV-8H1R-V628-3654.

NOTE: If the cited journal has only a volume number, e.g., 39, it should be included along with the page numbers for the article, e.g., 30–42 with a colon following the volume number, such as: Cartographic Perspectives 39: 30–42. If, however, the journal has both a volume number and an issue number, e.g., 39(3), both should be included, separated by parenthesis (#), a space after the colon followed by the page numbers, such as: Cartographica 39(3): 1–17.

Online Source

Open Digital Elevation Model Project. n.d. “SRTM Digital Terrain Model of Germany.” Available at https://opendem.info/download_srtm.html.

Published Conference Paper

A paper included in the published proceedings of a meeting may be treated like a chapter in a book. If published in a journal, it is treated as an article.

Chilton, S. 2011. “OpenStreetMap: Just a Database or Catalyst for Cartographic Revolution?” In Proceedings of the 1st European State of the Map Conference, 15–17 July, Vienna, ed. M. Schmidt and G. Gartner, 3–13. n.p.: n.p. 

NOTE: Include the names of the editor(s) and the publisher, if known.

Gibb, R.G. 2016. “The rHealPIX Discrete Global Grid System.” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 34: 012012. http://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/34/1/012012.

Unpublished Conference Paper

Brewer, I. 2001. “The Design and Implementation of Temporal, Spatial, and Attribute Query Tools for Geovisualization.” Paper read at Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, 2–4 January, New York. 

Personal Communication

No citation should be included in the References list; in articles using the author-date citation method, it should be cited in the text only: (J.R. Shortridge, personal communication, 5 March 2004).

Revised/Subsequent Edition

Robinson, A.H., J.L. Morrison, P.C. Muehrcke, A.J. Kimerling, and S.C. Guptill. 1995. Elements of Cartography, 6th ed. New York: Wiley.

Volume of a Multi-Volume work

Churchill, W.S. 1949. Their Finest Hour. Vol. 2 of The Second World War. London: Cassels.

PhD Dissertation/Master’s Thesis

Egbert, S.L. 1994. “The Design and Evaluation of an Interactive Choropleth Map Exploration System.” PhD diss., University of Kansas, Lawrence.

Cutler, M.E. 1998. “The Effects of Prior Knowledge on Children’s Abilities to Read Static and Animated Maps.” MS thesis, University of South Carolina, Columbia.

NOTE: Give location and province/state abbreviation if not evident from university name (i.e., Worcestor, MA).

Manuscript Submitted to a Journal

Miller, H. 1999. “Beyond the Isotropic Plane.” Manuscript submitted for publication.

Blog Entry

Robinson, Ivan. 2014. “Cartographica author, Ivan Robinson, focuses attention on William Petty’s atlas of Ireland, published in 1685.” University of Toronto Press Journals, 19 November. Available at http://blog.utpjournals.com/2014/11/19/cartographica-author-ivan-robinsonfocuses-attention-on-william-pettys-atlas-of-ireland-published-in-1685/.

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Language Editing

Authors are encouraged to use language services if they need help preparing their manuscript. Please bear in mind that the decision to publish by the journal will always be based on the merits of each manuscript and the use of a language editing service does not guarantee acceptance. For further information or to order an editing or translation service please go to www.enago.com/pub/utp.

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Additional Elements for Submission

Abstract and Keywords

Your abstract must be fewer than 200 words and written in the language of the paper. It should be a brief summary of the key points of the article, without the use of phrases such as “In this article…”; “The author…”; “The article is about….” For good examples of abstracts, please visit the Cartographica website: /journal/cart

Following your abstract, include a list of a minimum of 4 keywords and no more than 10 keywords, which will enhance discoverability through Cartographica Online, search engines, and databases.

Letters of Permission

Provide a copy of permission to use copyrighted material, if applicable. Please note that failure to include letters of permission to use copyrighted material will, at the very least, delay the publication of the manuscript until the letters of permission have been received by the University of Toronto Press.

Tables and Figures

Tables and figures should not be embedded in the text. Instead, they should be attached as a separate document with each table and figure numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned in the text. In the text, indicate exactly where each table and figure belongs. Use the phrase, “Table/Figure X about here” in the places where your table or figure should appear in the final copy.

Tables

Avoid using vertical lines in tables. Horizontal lines are acceptable.

The title should be typed above the top horizontal line. The source and any notes should appear below the bottom horizontal line. Align decimal points and commas. Do not use the space bar to align columns; please use appropriate tab settings. The tables should have their own rows, columns, and cells.

Include all tables within the main manuscript file, which should be in MS Word.

Figures

Authors are responsible for:

  1. providing images in colour,
  2. providing captions,
  3. identifying where in the article the images should appear, and
  4. acquiring necessary permission to use selected images.

Line Art, including Charts, Graphs, Diagrams, and Flowcharts

Submit figures, such as line art, charts, graphs, diagrams, and flowcharts, in the original, editable file program used to create the file (e.g., an Excel spreadsheet) and as a portable document format (PDF). Vector image formats are acceptable: PDF, encapsulated postscript (EPS), Adobe Illustrator (AI), or Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files, and submitted in separate files. The font used for figures that include text should be Arial. Do not use grey for text, as the colour grey does not print well.

Line art, charts, graphs, diagrams, and flowcharts should not be submitted in TIFF or JPG formats. Do not insert a low resolution image or also do not take a screenshot of the line art and make it into a PDF because that file is not usable.

To test the quality of your line art, when you zoom above the 100% zoom level (e.g., at 200% zoom level), the lines and text should stay straight and smooth. Lines should not be pixelated or blurry.

Photographs and Scans

For figures that are photographs or scans, submit image format files (TIFF or JPG) separately. All photographs and scans must be at least 1200 pixels long on the longest edge and must have a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch or dpi (preferably 600 dpi) or be at least 25 inches wide in 72 dpi.

Image Quality

Images should be the highest possible quality. Please remember that your computer screen is 72 dpi (dots per inch) while a printed journal is a minimum of 300 dpi (with 600 dpi preferred).  This means that an image that looks big on your screen will look 3 times smaller on the printed page.

You can check the number of pixels in your image by right clicking on the image (in the Explorer window on a Windows PC or using the Finder on a Mac) and selecting Properties (on a Windows PC) or Get Info (on a Mac).

Cartographica uses the following sizes for figures: 3.25 inches wide (column width) 6.75 inches wide (full page) at a minimum of 300 dpi (with 600 dpi preferred).

Please note that the University of Toronto Press will prints the figures in colour and they are also presented in the online version of Cartographica Online at no cost to the author. Video clips, such as this one, https://youtu.be/3T6vuoQdY6Q, illustrating your thesis can also be featured on Cartographica Online.

Captions

Please provide captions, as well as figure callouts in the main text, and include them in the main manuscript file. The main file should be in MS Word or RTF.

Preparing Maps

Typically, maps fall under three categories: (1) archival or historical maps, (2) digital maps with different layers from different databases, and (3) line art. As a general rule, please always export your map instead of saving a screenshot. If you need help preparing your map, you may wish to discuss with your publishing contact about hiring a professional cartographer.

Cartographica publishes maps in colour. Please ensure you submit colour figures.

Archival or Historical Maps

  1. Archival or historical maps may be available for use from different databases, such as the David Rumsey Map Collection Database, BnF Gallica, Library of Congress, The Atlas of Canada,, which contains high resolution scans available for you to download.
  2. Choose the highest available size to download. Submit the original file downloaded from the database.
  3. If the map you wish to use is not available in a database and it is available in print form only, please discuss with your publishing contact how to proceed. Please see Scanning Books and Magazines in “Guidelines for Submitting Illustrations for scanning procedures.

Digital Maps

  1. Before you start to layer your maps digitally or use any layers from another digital map database, ensure that you have permission to use the layers for your publication.
    • Check to see if the map database or base map source has an open data license or Creative Commons license. You can check the website or the database’s terms of services to see if it allows for printing, distribution, or online publication. For example, view Google Maps and Earth permissions and Microsoft Bing terms of use.
    • Most map databases or base maps nowadays require proper attribution in exchange for publishing the map in your publication.
    • If you do not meet these requirements, you will not likely be able to use the map or layer at all, as the map is owned by another copyright holder, without requesting permission from the copyright holder. Discuss with your publishing contact early on if you have any concerns and to avoid any delays with publication (e.g., you need to redo all your maps with another mapping source).
  2. If you used mapping software or Geographic Information System (GIS) software to create/add your map and layers, export the map to a high resolution raster image file or vector image file. A sample list of mapping programs and digital maps instructions are below:

Maps as Line Art

Maps as line art are best created in Adobe Illustrator. Follow the line art instructions in the Guidelines for Submitting Illustrations for any maps that are line art. Remember to credit any base maps you adapted the map from.

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Queries

How to Alienate Your Editor: A Practical Guide for Established Authors written by Stephen K. Donovan and published in the Journal of Scholarly Publishing is an excellent article on classic mistakes made during the submission process. Also useful is Surviving Referees’ Reports written by Brian Martin and also published in the Journal of Scholarly Publishing.

Questions relating to any of the above details may be directed to the Cartographica editor-in-chief:

Heather McGrath [email protected]

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