The following notes have been compiled for the guidance of authors who are preparing papers for submission to Journal of Rural Studies.
Submission of Papers
Authors are requested to submit their original manuscript through the Journal of Rural Studies online
submission and review web site. To submit your paper online, please go to http://ees.elsevier.com/rural
and upload your article and its associated artwork. A PDF will be generated and the reviewing process will be carried out using that
PDF. All correspondence between editor and corresponding author is performed by e-mail, and paper copies are not required at the original
submission stage.
Authors who are unable to provide an electronic version or whose circumstances prevent online submission must contact
the journal Editorial Office at School of Geography, Amory Building, University of Exeter, Rennes Drive, Exeter, EX4 4RJ, UK (tel: +44
(0) 1392 263311) prior to submission to discuss alternate options.
Only the Editor has the responsibility for deciding whether a
paper is to be accepted, rejected or referred back to the author for amendment. He will be guided by the advice of the Editorial Board
and by other competent referees selected for their knowledge of both the subject matter and the region under discussion in the paper.
This procedure is designed to ensure that papers accepted for publication are of the highest scientific quality and reflect the wide
interests of an international readership. The paper must fall within the stated aims and scope of the Journal.
Before preparing
a manuscript for submission authors are asked to study carefully the following Notes. Papers which do not conform to the conventions
of the Journal may be returned to the authors for amendment, with consequent publication delay.
Presentation and Submission
Manuscripts should be written in English. Submission of a paper implies that it has not been published previously, that it is not
under consideration for publication elsewhere, and that if accepted it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or
in any other language, without the written consent of the publisher.
Manuscripts must be double-spaced with wide margins in a font
size of 12 or 10 pt. Authors should consult a recent issue of the journal for style if possible. The Editors reserve the right to adjust
style to certain standards of uniformity.
Length: The normal maximum length for a contribution is 10,000 words. However,
all papers should be written as concisely as possible. Papers which, in the opinion of the Editor, can be shortened without sacrifice
of clarity or to scientific content will be referred back to the author for modification. Exceptionally long papers extending to 20,000
words will be considered if they are of great academic importance to an international readership.
Follow this order when preparing
manuscripts: First page - Title (clearly indicating the nature of the subject), corresponding author's name, affiliation, E-mail
address, full postal address and telephone and fax numbers along with full details of any co-authors, Second page - title repeated,
a self-contained abstract not exceeding 250 words (briefly summarizing the essential contents: of the paper), Key Words; Subsequent
pages - main body of text, list of references, appendices; tables; footnotes (numbered consecutively - see instructions for illustrations
below). The corresponding author should be identified with an asterisk and footnote. All other footnotes (except table footnotes) should
be identified with superscript Arabic numerals.
References: References in the text should be cited as follows: (Jones, 2005),
(Jones and Smith, 2006), Smith (2004). Three or more authors should be cited as (Jones et al., 1980). If more than one work by the same
author is cited in a particular year the reference should be labelled alphabetically, i.e. (Jones, 1980a; 1980b).
A full reference
list should be typed double-spaced in alphabetical order at the end of the paper, in the form given below:
Smith, R.W. and Jones,
P.H. (1980) Rural settlements.
News in Geography 21, 115-130.
Smith, R.W. (1976) Principles of geography. In Growth of Geographical
Thought: a World Study, 3rd edn, Vol. 1, pp. 373-390, Jones, B.T. and Brown, A.W. (eds). Monograper Press, Oxbridge.
Artwork/maps:
All graphs, diagrams and other drawings should be referred to as Figures, which should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals and
included on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Their position should be indicated in the text. All illustrations must have
captions, which should be typed on a separate page.
All illustrations should be uploaded in camera-ready form, suitable for reproduction
(which may include reduction) without retouching.
For the reproduction of half-tone illustrations (photographs) high quality glossy
prints are required, should be uploaded as they are to be reproduced. Photographs are to be numbered consecutively as figures. Captions
should be provided separately. Half-tones are usually reproduced in black and white.
Authors wishing to submit colour illustrations
will be asked to contribute towards the cost, and the colour transparency or negative should be supplied in addition to colour prints.
Please bear in mind when preparing artwork/maps for publication in the Journal that all such work will be photographically reduced
and printed either in single column width (80 mm) or up to double column (165 mm) and to a depth of up to 240 mm).
Lettering should
be no smaller than 2 mm high finished size: e.g. a map requiring – reduction, that is 4:1, must have lettering no smaller than 8 mm high.
Lettering should not interfere with symbols, lines or screens. Hatchings/tints are in many cases difficult to reproduce, particularly
where lettering is also involved if the tints are laid directly on to the artwork/map.
Authors should minimize the amount of descriptive
matter on graphs or drawings, and refer to curves, points, etc by their symbols. Descriptive matter should be placed in the caption.
Scale grids should not be used in the graphs, unless required for actual measurements.
Tables: Tables should be numbered
consecutively in Arabic numerals and given a suitable heading. Table headings should be typed on a separate sheet but identifying numbers
should be placed on the upper right-hand corner of each sheet of tabular material.
Measurements: All measurements must
be given in the metric system.
Notes: Notes should be numbered and appear together at the end of the paper and the note
number (1,....5 etc.) inserted in the text.
Proofs and reprints: Proofs are sent to the first-named author for correction
unless otherwise indicated on the manuscript. Authors of accepted papers are responsible for proof reading and must return the proofs
directly to Elsevier without delay. Delayed return of proofs may result in the manuscript being dropped from the scheduled volume. Any
corrections to proofs must be restricted to printer's errors. Other than these any substantial changes at this stage may be charged to
the author.
Twenty-five reprints of each paper will be supplied free of charge. Additional reprints (minimum quantity 50) can be
obtained by completing the order form sent out with the proofs.
Author Enquiries:
Authors can also keep a track on
the progress of their accepted article, and set up e-mail alerts informing them of changes to their manuscript's status, by using Elsevier's
post-acceptance paper-tracking service at http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle.
Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of
an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided when an article is accepted for publication.
