Former title: International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Ion Processes
Guide for Authors
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MASS SPECTROMETRY
Formerly known as International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Ion Processes
Guide for Authors
1. General
Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details on the requirements
for submitting
your paper to the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry. The guidelines described in this document should be adhered to
carefully, to ensure high-quality and rapid publication of your manuscript. All information for authors can be found online at www.elsevier.com/authors.
Aims & scope of the International Journal of Mass Spectrometry:
The International Journal of Mass Spectrometry
(IJMS) invites papers in all fundamental aspects of mass spectrometry and ion processes, including
instrumental developments and applications
in biology, chemistry, geology and
physics.
IJMS welcomes the following types of papers:
Full length articles: Comprehensive
description and discussion of original
research investigations; the experimental techniques must be described in detail Accelerated
Communications: Brief reports (normally no longer than 4 printed paged or 2000 words) of significant, original and timely research.
In
considering the suitability of an Accelerated Communication for publication, the
editors pay particular attention to the originality
of the research performed
and the desirability of rapid publication. Accelerated Communications will be
published within 810 weeks
after acceptance of the article by the editor
concerned. Reviews: Timely, critical reviews will focus on recent developments
while
keeping historical documentation to a minimum. Reviews will often be solicited,
but prospective authors are also encouraged to
contact the editors or editorial
board members regarding the appropriateness of the subject matter. In general,
the length should not
exceed 3040 printed pages.
It is essential that the authors provide a fax number and e-mail address when
submitting a manuscript.
Articles must be written in good English.
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously
(except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication
elsewhere, that its
publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the
responsible authorities where the work
was carried out, 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it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other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.
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign a 'Journal Publishing Agreement'
(for more information on this and copyright see http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). Acceptance of the agreement will ensure
the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail (or letter) will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of
the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.
Subscribers
may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions.
Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including
compilations and translations (please consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions).
If excerpts from other copyrighted
works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier
has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: please consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.
Should
authors be requested by the editor to revise the text, the revised version should be submitted within three months. After this period,
the article will be regarded
as a new submission.
2. Submission
2.1. Online submission to the journal prior to
acceptance
Submission for all types of manuscripts to the International Journal of Mass
Spectrometry proceeds totally
online via our Elsevier Editorial System (EES)
website at http://ees.elsevier.com/ijms. When submitting via the EES website,
you will be guided through the creation and uploading of various files and data, as well as a submission letter and the names and addresses
(including email) of at least three possible referees. The last stage of submitting your manuscript is selecting one of our editors
(see information below) who you wish to handle your manuscript. Various formats are permitted for the initial submission, including PDF
files. The final revision must be as a Word or other suitable word processor document. When a Word or equivalent document is uploaded
as the
initial submission, the system automatically generates an electronically (PDF)
proof, which is then used for reviewing. All
correspondence, including the
editor's request for revision and final decision, will be by e-mail.
Should authors be requested
by the editor to revise the text, the revised
version should be submitted within three months. After this period, the article
will
be regarded as a new submission.
2.2. Online electronic submission checklist
Ensure that the following items are present:
• One author designated as corresponding author:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
• Telephone
and fax numbers • All necessary files have been uploaded • Keywords • All figure captions • All tables
(including title, description, footnotes)
Further considerations: • Manuscript has been !!spell checked •
References are in the correct format for this journal • All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text,
and vice versa • Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Web)
2.3.
Submission to the journal, not online, prior to acceptance
If submission via the website is not possible, submit one paper
copy plus
diskette or send a single electronic file (with embedded figures and tables) to
one of our editors.
Scott A. McLuckey,
Purdue University
Wetherill Laboratory, Department of Chemistry
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1393, USA.
Fax: +1-765-494-0239;
E-mail: mcluckey@purdue.edu
Helmut Schwarz, Technical University Berlin
Department of Chemistry, Sekr.
C4, Strasse des 17 Juni 135
D-10623 Berlin, Germany.
Fax: +49-30-3142-1102;
E-mail: Helmut.Schwarz@mail.chem.tu-berlin.de
Special Issue Consultant: Michael T. Bowers, University of California, Santa Barbara
Department of Chemistry,
Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
Fax: +1-805-893-8703/4120;
E-mail: ijms@chem.ucsb.edu
2.4. Submission checklist,
for non-online submission
Ensure that the following items are present: • One author designated as corresponding author:
• E-mail address
• Full postal address
• Telephone and fax numbers • Disk is enclosed
• The electronic version and the hardcopy of the manuscript are identical • Disk has been labelled with:
•
Article details (first author, first words of title)
• File name(s)
• Media format (e.g., PC, Mac)
• File format (e.g., Word, LaTeX) • All text pages • Keywords • Original artwork (high-quality prints)
• All figure captions • All tables (including title, description, footnotes)
Further considerations:
• Manuscript has been !!spell checked • References are in the correct format for this journal • All references
mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa • Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted
material from other sources (including the Web) • Colour figures are clearly marked as being intended for colour reproduction
or to be reproduced in black-and-white
3. Electronic format requirements for accepted articles
3.1. General points
We accept most word-processing formats,
but Word, WordPerfect or LaTeX is
preferred. An electronic version of the text should be submitted together with
the final hardcopy
of the manuscript. The electronic version must match the
hardcopy exactly. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference
and safety. Label storage media with your name, journal title, and software
used. Save your files using the default extension of the
program used. No
changes to the accepted version are permissible without the explicit approval of
the Editor. Electronic files can
be stored on 3 12 inch diskette, ZIP-disk or CD
(either MS-DOS or Macintosh).
3.2. Word processor documents
It is
important that the file be saved in the native format of the word
processor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the
layout of
the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and
replaced on processing the article. In particular,
do not use the word processor
s options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face,
italics, subscripts, superscripts
etc. Do not embed 'graphically designed' equations or tables, but prepare these using the word processor s facility. When
preparing
tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each
individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used,
use tabs, not
spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very
similar to that of conventional manuscripts
(see also the Elsevier Quick guide
at http://www.elsevier.com). Do not import the figures into the text file but,
instead,
indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text
and on the manuscript. See also the section on Preparation
of electronic
illustrations. To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the
spell checker function of your word
processor.
3.3. LaTeX documents
If the LaTeX file is suitable, proofs will be produced without rekeying the
text.
The article should preferably be written using Elsevier s document class
'elsart', or alternatively the standard document class 'article'.
The Elsevier LaTeX package (including detailed instructions for LaTeX preparation) can be
obtained from the Elsevier Quick guide at
http://www.elsevier.com/latex. It
consists of the files: elsart.cls (use this file if you are using LaTeX2e, the
current
version of LaTeX), elsart.sty and elsart12.sty (use these two files if
you are using LaTeX2.09, the previous version of LaTeX), guidelines
for users of
elsart, a template file for quick start, and the instruction booklet "Preparing
articles with LaTeX".
Although
Elsevier can process most word processor file formats, should your
electronic file prove to be unusable, the article will be typeset
from the
hardcopy printout.
4. Presentation of text
4.1. Presentation of manuscript
Please write
your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted,
but not a mixture of these). Authors for whom English is a foreign
language are
strongly recommended to have the manuscript thoroughly checked and corrected
before submission.
Italics are not to
be used for expressions of Latin origin,
for example, in vivo, et al., per se. Use decimal points (not commas); use a
space for thousands
(10,000 and above).
Print the entire manuscript on one side of the paper only, using double spacing
and wide (3 cm) margins. (Avoid full
justification, i.e., do not use a constant
right-hand margin.) Ensure that each new paragraph is clearly indicated. Present
tables
and figure legends on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. If
possible, consult a recent issue of the journal to become familiar
with layout
and conventions. Number all pages consecutively.
Provide the following data on the title page (in the order given):
• Title. Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae
where possible.
• Author names and affiliations. Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please
indicate this clearly. Present the authors affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations
with a
lowercase superscript letter immediately after the author s name and in front of
the appropriate address. Provide the full postal
address of each affiliation,
including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each
author.
• Corresponding
author. Clearly indicate who is willing to handle
correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also
post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area
code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete
postal
address.
• Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work
described in the article was
done, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present
address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name.
The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as
the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals
are used for such
footnotes.
• Abstract. A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract
should state
briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and
major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separate from the article,
so
it must be able to stand-alone. References should therefore be avoided, but if
essential, they must be cited in full. Non-standard
or uncommon abbreviations
should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention
in the abstract itself.
• Keywords. Immediately after the abstract, provide a
maximum of 5 keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple
concepts
(avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations: only
abbreviations firmly established in the field may be
eligible. These keywords
will be used for indexing purposes.
• Abbreviations. Define abbreviations that are
not
standard in this field at their first occurrence in the article: in the
abstract but also in the main text after it. Ensure consistency
of abbreviations
throughout the article.
N.B. Acknowledgements. Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the
end
of the article and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a
footnote to the title or otherwise.
4.2.
Arrangement of the article
Subdivision of the article: Divide your article into clearly defined and
numbered sections.
Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1,1.1.2, . . .),
1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this
numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text'.
Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading
should appear on its
own separate line.
• Introduction. State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate
background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.
• Experimental/Materials and methods.
Provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference:
only relevant
modifications should be described.
• Theory and/or calculation. A Theory section should extend, not repeat, the background
to the article already dealt with in the Introduction and lay the foundation for further work. In contrast, a Calculation section represents
a practical development from a
theoretical basis. Include in figure legends and table texts technical details
of methods used, while
describing the methods themselves in the main text.
• Results.
• Discussion. This should explore
the significance of the results of the
work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often
appropriate. Avoid
extensive citations and discussion of published literature.
• Conclusions. The main conclusions of the study may
be presented in a short
Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion
or Results and Discussion section.
• Appendices. If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices
should be given separate numbering: (Eq. A.1), (Eq. A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, (Eq. B.1) and so forth.
• Acknowledgements.
Place acknowledgements, including information on grants received, before the references, in a separate section, and not as a footnote
on the title page.
• Figure legends, tables, figures, schemes. Present these, in this order, at the end of the article.
They are described in more detail below. If you are working
with LaTeX and have such features embedded in the text, these can be left,
but
such embedding should not be done specifically for publishing purposes. Further,
high-resolution graphics files must be provided
separately (see Preparation of
illustrations).
• Text graphics. Present incidental graphics not suitable
for
mention as figures, plates or schemes at the end of the article and number them
'Graphic 1', etc. Their precise position in the
text can then be defined
similarly (both on the manuscript and in the file). See further under the
section, Preparation of illustrations.
If you are working with LaTeX and have
such features embedded in the text, these can be left, but such embedding should
not be done
specifically for publishing purposes. Further, high-resolution
graphics files must be provided separately (see Preparation of illustrations).
4.3. Specific remarks
Mathematical formulae. Present simple formulae in the line of normal text where
possible.
In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line e.g., Xp/Ym
Powersof e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any
equations that have to be displayed separate
from the text (if referred to
explicitly in the text).
Footnotes. Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively
throughout the article, using superscript Arabic numbers. Many word processors
build footnotes into the text, and this feature may
be used. Should this not be
the case, indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the
footnotes themselves on a separate
sheet at the end of the article. Do not
include footnotes in the Reference list. Table footnotes: indicate each footnote
in a table
with a superscript lowercase letter.
Tables. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the
text.
Place footnotes to tables below the table body and indicate them with
superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules.
Be sparing
in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do
not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.
Nomenclature and units. Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions:
use the international system of units (SI).
If other quantities are mentioned,
give their equivalent in SI.
4.4. Preparation of supplementary data
Elsevier accepts
electronic supplementary
material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files
offer the author additional
possibilities to publish supporting applications,
movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound
clips
and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside
the electronic version of your article in Elsevier web products,
including
ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your
submitted material is directly usable,
please ensure that data is provided in
one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in
electronic format
together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive
caption for each file. For more detailed instructions please visit our
artwork instruction page at:
at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
4.5. References
Responsibility
for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with
the authors.
Citations in the text: Please ensure that every
reference cited in the text is
also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the
abstract must be given
in full. Unpublished results and personal communications
should not be in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text.
Citation
of a reference as !in press implies that the item has been accepted for
publication.
Citing and listing of web references.
As a minimum, the full URL should be
given. Any further information, if known (author names, dates, reference to a
source publication,
etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed
separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired,
or can be included in the reference list.
Text:
Indicate references by number(s) in square brackets in line with the text.
The actual authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be
given.
Example: "..... as demonstrated [3,6].
Barnaby and Jones [8] obtained a different result ...."
List:
Number the references (numbers in square brackets) in the list
in the order
in which they appear in the text. Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
[1] J. van der Geer,
J.A.J. Hanraads, R.A. Lupton, The art of writing a scientific article, J. Sci. Commun. 163 (2000) 51-59.
Reference to a book:
[2] W. Strunk Jr., E.B. White, The Elements of Style, third ed., Macmillan, New York, 1979.
Reference to a chapter in an edited
book:
[3] G.R. Mettam, L.B. Adams, in: B.S. Jones, R.Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to
the Electronic Age, E-Publishing, Inc. New
York, 1994, pp. 281304.
Journal names
should be abbreviated according to CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service):
http://www.cas.org/
5. Preparation of illustrations
Illustrations can be prepared in black & white, greyscale or colour. Only use
colour
if it is necessary to convey a scientific message; otherwise it should be
avoided. Colour artwork will be published without cost to
the authors subject to
the discretion of the Editor, and provided the artwork is of sufficient
quality. Your colour artwork is published
on ScienceDirect at no additional
cost regardless of whether the artwork appears in colour or black & white in
print. Further information
can be found at
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
See also section 5.6 Colour Illustrations below.
5.1.
Preparation of electronic illustrations
Submitting your artwork in an electronic format helps us to produce your work to
the
best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of
detail.
General points:
• Always supply
high-quality printouts of your artwork, in case conversion of the
electronic artwork is problematic.
• Make sure you use uniform
lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
• Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier,
Helvetica, Times, Symbol. • Number the illustrations
according to their sequence in the text. • Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files, and supply
a separate listing
of the files and the software used. • Provide all illustrations as separate files and as hardcopy printouts on separate sheets.
• Provide captions to illustrations separately. • Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
Files
can be stored on 3 1/2 inch diskette, ZIP-disk or CD (either MS-DOS or
Macintosh). This journal offers electronic submission services
and graphic files
can be uploaded via the EES site for this journal at http://ees.elsevier.com/ijms.
A detailed guide
on electronic artwork is available on our website:
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. You are urged to visit
this site;
excerpts from which are given below.
Formats:
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic
artwork is finalised,
please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (Note the
resolution requirements
for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone
combinations given below):
EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text
as "graphics".
TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of
300 dpi. For colour images
always use CMYK.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour
or greyscale): a minimum of
500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft
Office
applications please supply "as is".
Please do not:
• Supply embedded graphics in your word
processor (spreadsheet, presentation)
document; • Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT,
WPG);
the resolution is too low; • Supply files that are too low in resolution; • Submit graphics that are disproportionately
large for the content.
5.2. Non-electronic illustrations
Provide all illustrations as high-quality printouts, suitable
for reproduction
(which may include reduction) without retouching. Number illustrations
consecutively in the order in which they are
referred to in the text. They
should accompany the manuscript, but should not be included within the text.
Clearly mark all illustrations
on the back (or in case of line drawings on the
lower front side) with the figure number and the author s name and, in cases of
ambiguity,
the correct orientation. Mark the appropriate position of a figure in
the article.
5.3. Captions
Ensure that each
illustration has a caption. Supply captions on a separate
sheet, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title
(not
on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the
illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain
all symbols and abbreviations
used.
5.4. Line drawings
Supply high-quality printouts on white paper produced with
black ink. The
lettering and symbols, as well as other details, should have proportionate
dimensions, so as not to become illegible
or unclear after possible reduction;
in general, the figures should be designed for a reduction factor of two to
three. The degree
of reduction will be determined by the Publisher.
Illustrations will not be enlarged. Consider the page format of the journal when
designing the illustrations. Photocopies are not suitable for reproduction. Do
not use any type of shading on computer-generated
illustrations.
5.5. Photographs (halftones)
Please supply original photographs for reproduction, printed on glossy
paper,
very sharp and with good contrast. Remove nonessential areas of a photograph. Do
not mount photographs unless they form part
of a composite figure. Where
necessary, insert a scale bar in the illustration (not below it), as opposed to
giving a magnification
factor in the legend.
5.6 Colour illustrations
Submit colour illustrations as original photographs, high-quality computer
prints or transparencies, close to the size expected in publication, or as 35 mm
slides. Polaroid colour prints are not suitable. Further
information concerning
colour illustrations and costs is available from Author Support(authorsupport@elsevier.com)
If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that
these
figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other
sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are
reproduced in colour
in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive
information regarding the costs from
Elsevier after receipt of your accepted
article. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork,
please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting
colour figures to "grey scale" (for the printed
version should you not opt for
colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white prints
corresponding to all the colour
illustrations.
6. Proofs
When your manuscript is received by the Publisher it is considered to be in its
final form.
Proofs are not to be regarded as "drafts". One set of page proofs in
PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding
author, to be checked for
typesetting/editing. No changes in, or additions to, the accepted (and
subsequently edited) manuscript will
be allowed at this stage. Proofreading is
solely your responsibility. A form with queries from the copyeditor may
accompany your proofs.
Please answer all queries and make any corrections or
additions required.
The Publisher reserves the right to proceed with publication
if corrections are not communicated within 2 days, 48 hours, of receipt of the proofs. Should there be no corrections, please confirm
this. Elsevier will do everything possible to get your article corrected and published as quickly and accurately as possible. In order
to do this we need your help. When you receive the (PDF) proof of your article for correction, it is important to ensure that all of
your corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Subsequent
corrections will not be possible, so please ensure your first
sending is
complete. Note that this does not mean you have any less time to make your
corrections, just that only one set of corrections
will be accepted.
7. Funding body agreements and policies
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies
to allow authors who publish in Elsevier journals to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions
of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies
An electronic offprint or twenty-five offprints are
provided free of charge to
the corresponding author. Extra offprints can be ordered at prices shown on the
offprint order form.
