The interdisciplinary journal of Human-Computer Interaction
Guide for Authors
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 • Keywords • All figure captions • All tables (including title, description,
footnotes)
In case of a hardcopy submission, please also make sure that: • 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) • Of all artwork,
high quality originals are provided
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
D. Murray, Independent Consultant 59, Cambridge Road Teddington Middlesex TW11 8DT UK Email: dianne@city.ac.uk
Submission of Articles
General
It is essential to give 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authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or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 transfer
copyright (for more information on copyright, see http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). This transfer will ensure the widest
possible dissemination of information. A letter will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript. A form
facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided. 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: contact Elsevier Global Rights Department, P.O. Box 800, Oxford, OX5 1DX, UK; phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865
853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com
Submission to the journal prior to acceptance
Authors
can upload their article as a LaTeX, Microsoft® (MS) Word®, WordPerfect®, PostScript or Adobe® Acrobat® PDF document
via the Elsevier Editorial System page of this journal (http://ees.elsevier.com/iwc),
where authors will also find a detailed description on its use. The system generates an Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article which
is used for the reviewing process. It is crucial that all graphical and tabular elements be placed within the text, so that the file
is suitable for reviewing. Authors, Reviewers and Editors send and receive all correspondence by e-mail and no paper correspondence is
necessary.
Note: compuscripts submitted are converted into PDF for the review process but may need to be edited after acceptance
to follow journal standards. For this an "editable" file format is necessary. See the section on "Electronic format requirements for
accepted articles" and the further general instructions on how to prepare an article below.
Alternatively, authors can send an electronic
version of their article by e-mail to the address given in the "Submission Address" above. This electronic version will be used for
the reviewing process. Authors, Reviewers and Editors send and receive all correspondence by e-mail and no paper correspondence is necessary.
Note: electronic articles submitted for the review process may need to be edited after acceptance to follow journal standards. For
this an "editable" file format is necessary. See the section on "Electronic format requirements for accepted articles" and the further
general instructions on how to prepare an article below.
Electronic format requirements for accepted articles
General
points
We accept most wordprocessing 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 the corresponding author's 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? inch diskette, ZIP-disk or CD (either MS-DOS or Macintosh).
Wordprocessor documents 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: http://www.elsevier.com/authors). 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 ?spellchecker' function of your wordprocessor.
LaTeX documents If you submit a suitable LaTeX file, and your articles gets accepted, 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 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 wordprocessor file formats,
should your electronic file prove to be unusable, the article will be typeset from the hardcopy printout.
Preparation of
text
Presentation of manuscript
General
Please write your text in good English American or Briish
usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). 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).
Presentation of the manuscript
In case of a hardcopy submission, please 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 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 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. Abstracts are crucial for confirming the reader's intention to read a paper. They should provide
an extremely brief overview of the issues addressed, the practical consequences of the work are made explicit in the abstract. An abstract
is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. The abstract should be between 100 and 150 words in
length. References should be avoided in the abstract, but if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference
list.
Keywords. Immediately after the abstract, provide about six 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. Please list the most important and general appearing keywords at the beginning of the list. Keywords will be used for indexing
purposes.
Executive Summary. Papers in excess of 8,000 words should providean executive summary. This should follow the
same structure and summarise its full contents. It should be provided in addition to an abstract. The purpose of the executive summary
is to provide a synopsis of the paper for those readers who have neither the time nor the inclination to read the complete paper and
thus its role is different from that of the abstract. Executive summaries should be between 500 and 1500 words in length.
Abbreviations.
Define abbreviations and symbols 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.
Non-English Notations. It is likely
that some authors will need to include mathematical or logical expressions in their paper. All use of such notations should be fully
supported by prose descriptions as some readers will have difficulty with such representations. You may wish to include computer programs
or parts of programs in your paper. Please consider submitting these as complimentary material. As many readers will not be familiar
with a particular language or language variat, you should consider using a readily redable pseudocode where possible. With all these
notational forms a glossary of terms, which defines the notation, should be included.
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.
Arrangement of the article
Subdivision of the article. Please consider using sections, particularly
for providing a clearlyDivide your article in the simplest way possible, consistent with clarity. 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.
The
text should usually follow the standard sequence of Introduction, Method, Results and Discussion. Detailed mathematical discussion should
be placed in an appendix.
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.
References. See separate section, below.
Figure legends, tables,
figures, schemes. Present these, in this order, at the end of the article. They are described in more detail below. High-resolution
graphics files must always be provided separate from the main text file (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).
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 rather than Xp Ym Powers of 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 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 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.
Preparation of supplementary
data. Elsevier now 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 http://www.elsevier.com/authors.
Files can be stored on 3? inch diskette, ZIP-disk or CD (either MS-DOS
or Macintosh). This journal offers electronic submission services and supplementary data files can be uploaded for this journal via http://ees.elsevier.com/iwc.
References
References can be an important part of a paper, as they place a paper in its historical context. It is possible
to either under- oe over-reference and a balance between the two needs to be struck. You should be wary of over-citing your own work
relative to the work of others. References should never substitute for explanation and there should be little loss of immediate comprehension
in a paper if they were removed. Wherever possible you should cite publicly available work readily available from most libraries. In
the body of the paper, references should be made by using an identifiable name or names. Where there are more than three names associated
with a reference, these can be abbreviated by the use of the first name followed by 'et al'. Where there are multiple references to an
author within the same year the date should be followed by the letters 'a', 'b', etc. Multiple references should be separated by semicolons.
In the reference section, at the end of the paper, full references should be provided to facilitate readers obtaining them.
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 and a copy
of the title page of the relevant article must be submitted.
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.
Reference style
Text: All citations should refer to:
1. Single author: the
author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;
2. Two authors: both authors' names
and the year of publication;
3. Three or more authors: first authors' name followed by 'et al.' and the year of publication.
Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed first alphabetically, the chronologically.
Example: "as demonstrated (Allan, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1995). Kramer et al. (2000) have recently shown..."
List:
References should be arranged first alphabetically and the further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from
the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters "a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.
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, How to prepare an electronic version of
your article, in: B.S. Jones, R.Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age, E-Publishing Inc., New York, 1999, pp. 281-304.
Preparation of illustrations
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? inch diskette, ZIP-disk or CD (either MS-DOS or Macintosh).
This journal offers electronic submission services and graphic files can be uploaded for this journal via http://www.elsevier.com/.
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: Colour or greyscale 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 (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 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.
Non-electronic
illustrations
If you provide non-electronic illustrations, please provide all of them 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
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.
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.
Photographs
(halftones)
Please supply original photographs for reproduction, printed on glossy paper, very sharp and with good contrast.
Remove non-essential 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.
Note that photocopies
of photographs are not acceptable.
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.
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.
Proofs
When your manuscript is received by the Publisher it is considered to be it its final form. Proofs are not
to be regarded as 'drafts'. One set of page proofs will be sent 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.
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 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.
