Guide for Authors
TrAC has an interdisciplinary readership, which includes scientists in industry, academia and
service laboratories. Its aim is to publish concise reviews covering the latest advances in analytical chemistry. Recent trends and developments,
problems (and their solutions), and the limitations and the potential of the topic under discussion are all within the scope. Reviews
should interpret rather than be comprehensive. They should not be unfairly biased towards the work of any particular laboratories. They
should be written so that the non-specialist understands the principles and the applications of the topic. Consequently, articles should
be broadly based and practically oriented. The use of specialized terms should be kept to a minimum, and explained fully in the text
or in a glossary when used. All reviews will be subject to peer review and should be submitted through the Elsevier Editorial System
(
http://ees.elsevier.com/trac/). However, it is strongly recommended that prospective authors discuss the proposed subject
and scope of their review with one of TrAC's Contributing Editors before submission.
Reviews should comprise about 4000 words
and include about four figures and tables. References should be limited to about 50 and should include other reviews and recent articles
that readers can use to pursue their interest in the topic. Primary research papers describing the results of the authors' research work
are not within the scope of TrAC. Please note: TrAC is a review journal and most articles published in the Journal are by invitation
of one of the Contributing Editors. If you wish to submit a paper to TrAC and have not been invited to do so by one of the Contributing
Editors, please contact the Staff Editor (Alex Crawford,
alex.crawford06@btinternet.com) for advice.
Ethics in Publishing
For information
on Ethics in Publishing and Ethical guidelines for journal publication see
http://www.elsevier.com/publishingethics and
http://www.elsevier.com/ethicalguidelines.
Conflict of interest
All
authors are requested to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships
with other people or organizations within three years of beginning the submitted work that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived
to influence, their work. See also
http://www.elsevier.com/conflictsofinterest.
Submission declaration
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 copyright-holder.
This requirement applies to
any original work described, and not to a critical review of previously published papers to which reference is made.
Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete 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 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.
Retained author rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) retain certain rights; for details
you are referred to:
http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights.
Role of the
funding source
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation
of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation
of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such
involvement then this should be stated. Please see
http://www.elsevier.com/funding.
This requirement applies to any original work described and to the preparation of the article being submitted, and not to
previously published papers to which reference is made in the article.
Funding body
agreements and policies
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors whose articles appear
in journals published by Elsevier, 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.
Language and language services
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted,
but not a mixture of these). Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services pre- and post-submission
please visit
http://www.elsevier.com/languagepolishing or our customer support site at
http://epsupport.elsevier.com
for more information. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside
vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our Terms & Conditions:
http://www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions.
Language
Please write your text in good English (American spelling). Use decimal points (not decimal
commas); use a space for thousands (10 000 and above).
Submission
Submission
to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of your files. The system
automatically converts source files to a single PDF file of the article, which is used in the peer-review process. Please note that even
though manuscript source files are converted to PDF files at submission for the review process, these source files are needed for further
processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place
by e-mail removing the need for a paper trail.
Please submit your article
via
http://www.elsevier.com/locate/trac
Additional information
TrAC
reserves the right to edit, shorten or decline publication of all submitted articles. Authors will be consulted regarding major alterations
to the text before printing. Galley proofs will be supplied to the authors of review articles, but no alterations other than the correction
of errors can be made at the proof stage.
Use of wordprocessing software
It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the wordprocessor
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 wordprocessor'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 wordprocessor'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 Guide to Publishing with Elsevier:
http://www.elsevier.com/guidepublication).
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 Electronic illustrations.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the
"spell-check" and "grammar-check" functions of your wordprocessor.
Article structure
Subdivision - numbered sections
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 review and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of
the results.
Discussion
This should explore the significance of the topic
of the review
Conclusion
The main conclusions of the review may be presented
in a short Conclusions 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 on.
Essential title page
information
•
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 lower-case 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 will 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, factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the review, the principal points of
discussion and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For
this reason, references should be avoided, but, if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list. Also,
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
10 keywords, using British spelling and 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 an alphabetical list to be placed immediately after the keywords on the first page of the article. Abbreviations in the abstract
must be defined at their first mention there. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
Acknowledgements
Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references,
so do not include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List those individuals who provided help in preparing
the review (e.g., providing financial support, language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.).
Math formulae
Present simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible and use the solidus (/)
instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of
e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately 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 wordprocessors 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 separately 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.
Artwork
Electronic artwork
General points
• 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, Times, Symbol.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Provide captions to illustrations separately.
•
Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
• Submit each figure as a separate file.
A detailed guide
on electronic artwork is available on our website:
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
You are urged
to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
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: color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line
drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): 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 wordprocessor (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.
Color
artwork
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and with the correct
resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge,
that these figures will appear in color on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations
are reproduced in color in the printed version.
For color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs
from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for color in print or on the Web only. 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 color figures to "gray scale" (for the printed version should
you not opt for color in print) please submit in addition usable black and white versions of all the color illustrations.
Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, 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.
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.
References
Contributions to
TrAC are not generally intended to provide detailed literature reviews. References
should be limited to about 50 at the end of the article.
Reference style
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, J. Sci. Commun. 163 (2000) 51.
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, p. 281.
Citation in 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 are
not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they
should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either "Unpublished
results" or "Personal communication" Citation of a reference as "in press" implies that the item has been accepted for publication.
Web references
As a minimum, the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (DOI,
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.
References in a special issue
Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added to any references
in the list (and any citations in the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.
Reference Style
Reference style
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, J. Sci. Commun. 163 (2000) 51.
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, p.
281.
Journal abbreviation source
Journal names should be abbreviated according
to CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service):
http://www.cas.org/sent.html.
Submission
checklist
It is hoped that this list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the journal's
Editor for review. Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details of any item.
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 "spellchecked" and "grammar-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)
•
Color figures are clearly marked as being intended for color reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print or to be reproduced
in color on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print
• If only color on the Web is required, black and white
versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes
For any further information please visit our customer support site
at
http://epsupport.elsevier.com.
Use of the Digital Object Identifier
The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) may be used to cite and link to
electronic documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric character string which is assigned to a document by the publisher upon
the initial electronic publication. The assigned DOI never changes. Therefore, it is an ideal medium for citing a document, particularly
'Articles in press' because they have not yet received their full bibliographic information. The correct format for citing a DOI is shown
as follows (example taken from a document in the journal
Physics Letters B):
doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071
When
you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed never to change.
Proofs
One set of page proofs (as PDF files) will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do
not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post) or, a link will be provided in the e-mail so that authors can download
the files themselves. Elsevier now provides authors with PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe
Reader version 7 (or higher) available free from
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how
to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs (also given online). The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and
return them to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then
mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan
the pages and e-mail, or by post. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the
text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission
from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure
that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent
corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of
your article if no response is received.
Offprints
The corresponding author,
at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF file is a
watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms
and conditions of use. Additional paper offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be sent to the corresponding
author.
For inquiries relating to the submission of
articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit this journal's homepage. You can track accepted articles at
http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle
and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed. Also accessible from here is information on copyright,
frequently asked questions and more. Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating
to proofs, will be provided by the publisher.
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