For printing: Instructions for Authors, Acta Borealia
General Submission Guidelines
Papers are only accepted in English; British English spelling and punctuation is preferred. Russian-speaking authors are advised to follow our Transliteration table
Most manuscripts should not exceed 10,000 words or 70,000 characters with spaces, inclusive of tables, references and endnotes. However, we are now able to publish somewhat longer articles on occasion; please contact the editors if you wish to submit a longer than normal manuscript.
Acta Borealia has occasionally published theme numbers featuring a series of closely related papers. These issues generally consist of 4-5 papers and a short introduction by the guest editors. Potential theme numbers must be relevant to the stated scope of the journal. If you are thinking of a possible theme number, please contact the editors at least a year in advance to ensure that the topic fits with the journal and that a viable peer review and publication schedule can be established.
Submitted papers are first reviewed by the editorial committee to determine if they fit the scope of the journal and are of sufficient quality to be sent out for peer review. If this is the case, the manuscripts are then evaluated by at least two peer reviewers. This process may take some time. If the manuscripts are judged to be publishable, authors are invited to revise them relative to the suggestions of the reviewers and the editorial committee.
Submit initial manuscripts, including images, as Microsoft Word files by e-mail attachment to acta@list.uit.no Please label the text file by author name and year (Smith-20xx). To facilitate e-mail transmission, initial submission of illustrations should be in the form of smaller-sized images within a separate Word file (labelled Smith-20xx-figures). Manuscripts should be submitted in Times New Roman, 12 point font, with double-spaced text. Paragraphs should be marked with indentations. Keep the manuscript simple. Avoid using built-in formatting devices such as standardized headings; compose them manually, preferably with no more than three levels. Referencing follows the Chicago style.
Authors must ensure that their manuscripts conform to the requested style. It is the author’s responsibility to arrange for good quality English language revision; Taylor & Francis copy editors do not undertake fundamental language corrections.
Overall Structure
Begin each of the following sections on separate pages:
(1) Title page and Abstract
(a) Give the title of the article, the author’s name and affiliation. Link multiple authors and their affiliations by superscript numbers (1, 2, 3….).
(b) Produce an Abstract of not more than 250 words describing the main content and conclusions of the article. The abstract should be clear and concise, conveying the essential points of the article, without extraneous detail. Consider what information might be decisive for readers of the journal to decide whether or not they will read your article or what might be relevant for abstract indexing services. Avoid the expressions “this article…” and “the authors…”.
(c) Correspondence Address: Give the corresponding author’s full postal and e-mail addresses.
(d) Provide a maximum of 6-7 Key Words.
(2) Text of the article.
(3) Endnotes
(4) List of references.
(5) Tables (with captions)
Appropriately reduced figures accompanied by a list of figure captions should be submitted as a separate file.
Headings: Use a clear system, with not more then three levels of headings. Recommended: Level 1: Bold, Caps for Initial word and proper nouns, Level 2: Italic, Caps for Initial word and proper nouns
Paragraphs: indented 1 cm.
Quotations: Quotes of less than three lines must be integrated into the text with double quotation marks. Quotes of more than three lines should be presented as separate paragraphs, single-spaced, indented 1 cm on both left and right margins, and without quotation marks. Single quotation marks are used when “a quotation is ‘within’ a quotation.” All quotes must be referenced immediately after the text.
Spelling: British English; -ize endings (organize, organization); non-English words in italics; spell out centuries, e.g. seventeenth century. Sámi may be spelled either with a diacritical á or as Sami; use the appropriate regional orthographies.
Abbreviations: c. for circa, AD, BC in caps, AD precedes year (AD 1250), BC follows year (2000 BC)
Punctuation: use double quotation marks, except where “a quotation is ‘within’ a quotation.” No commas after e.g. and i.e.
Numbers: written out up to 10, except when a mixture of numbers above and below this, in which case all should be numerical figures; use percent symbol (%); values up to 9999 without comma, but 10,000 etc.
Dates: 5 June, 5 June 2007; write out centuries (seventeenth century); 1920s etc. written without apostrophe.
Radiocarbon Dates: initially cite dates as uncalibrated BP radiocarbon years, with lab number in parentheses; calibrations should be in calendar years BC/AD, unless it is important to compare them with other types of information normally given as calibrated BP, in which case they should be clearly identified as calBP. Indicate the calibration method used and the δ range.
Endnotes: Do not use footnotes. Keep Notes to an absolute minimum, numbered consecutively, and present them on a separate page following the main text. Number notes in the text as superscript Arabic numerals placed outside any punctuation.
Remember to include any references in the Notes in the List of References. Example:
Notes:
1 See Smith (1995) for a more extended discussion.
Figures: Consider all illustrations as figures and number them consecutively in Arabic numerals. Do not send multi-megabyte figures with the initial submission. Submit small-sized figures inserted into a separate Word file to facilitate their review along with the text manuscript. High quality graphics need not be submitted until the manuscript has gone through peer review and is accepted for publication after necessary revisions.
Final figures should be submitted as separate files in SVG, AI, PostScript, EPS, JPEG, BMP and GIF formats. Deliver at the appropriate resolution: 1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for grayscale and 300 dpi for colour. Submit photographs as near to the printed size as possible. Each figure should be numbered in the order in which they will appear in the paper. In multi-part figures, each part should be labelled (e.g. Figure 1(a), Figure 1(b)). The file name for a graphic should be descriptive of the graphic, e.g. Author Name Figure 1, Author Name Figure 2a.
Copyright: Authors are required to secure permission to reproduce any proprietary text or image. This applies to direct reproduction as well as to “derivative reproduction”, where a figure or table derives substantially from a copyrighted source. Authors must submit written proof of copyright permission when relevant. This can be done after the paper is accepted for publication, but prior to when the final manuscript is sent to the publisher. Permissions might take some time, so plan accordingly. Acta Borealia is an online-only journal so there is no specified print-run; the material can be downloaded ad infinitum. Consequently, when applying for permissions make it clear the permission is for use in a “commercial setting with unlimited reuse (on-line digital publication)“, because this might make a difference for the permission parameters. For example, some copyright holders might insist on a lower dpi for on-line illustrations that are easily reproduced. Relevant copyright information should be included in the figure or table captions.
References in the Text and on the Reference List: Acta Borealia now uses the Chicago referencing system. Within-text references are parenthetic author-year: e.g. Smith (2010), (Smith 2010, 54). Please access the accompanying Taylor & Francis link “Description of the Journal’s reference style” for a detailed guide. Consult The Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition) for additional information. For the reference list, pay close attention to formatting details, as these are frequently a source of error. Note that complete author’s names are preferred in Chicago style. Before delivering a manuscript check carefully to ensure that all within-text references (including the Notes) are included on the reference list, and that all entries on the reference list have been cited in the text. Missing references are a frequent source of error.
Book Reviews
Book reviews are generally solicited by the editors. They should be up to about 2000 words, although longer reviews may occasionally be accepted after consultation with the editors. The top line of the submission should exhibit the following format:
BOOK REVIEW
TITLE. Author. Place: Publisher, Year, xxx pp., ISBN xxxxxx.
The reviewer’s name and correspondence address, with email, can be placed at the end of the review.