The Journal of the International Union for Quaternary Research

Submission of Papers Quaternary International uses an online, electronic submission system. By accessing the website you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files.
Potential Guest Editors who are interested in proposing a Thematic volume are kindly requested to contact the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Norm Catto, directly at the e-mail address ncatto@mun.ca.

When submitting a manuscript to Elsevier Editorial System, authors need to provide an electronic version of their manuscript. For this purpose original source files, not PDF files, are preferred. The author should specify a category designation for the manuscript (full length article, review article, short communication, etc.) and choose a set of classifications from the prescribed list provided online. Once the uploading is complete, the system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including the Editor's decision, request for revisions and author queries will be by e-mail via the online submission system.

Submission of Papers


Please find a submission checklist at the end of the Guide for Authors.

Supplementary data such as lengthy tables, video clips, maps, images etc. may be archived with the accepted paper on ScienceDirect: all such material must be submitted with the original manuscript for review.

Please be informed that:
1. Colour illustrations in print will be charged to the author.
2. Colour illustrations on the web (ScienceDirect) are free of charge.

If you want a colour illustration on the web and the same illustration in black and white in the print version of the journal, please note that you will then have to submit two different illustration files, one colour and one black and white version. Please see detailed information on illustrations further below in this guide.

It is essential to give a fax number and e-mail address when submitting a manuscript. Articles must be written in good English, and authors whose native language is not English are encouraged to seek help at an early stage.

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 all authors have seen the manuscript and approve its publication, it is approved 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://authors.elsevier.com). 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 ES Global Rights Department, P.O. Box 800, Oxford, OX5 1DX, UK; phone: (+44) 1865 843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com.

Electronic format requirements for accepted articles

• General points
We accept most wordprocessing formats, but Word, WordPerfect or LaTeX is preferred. Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. 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

• 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 also the Elsevier's Guide to Publication at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/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 Preparation of electronic illustrations. To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spellchecker' function of your wordprocessor.

Preparation of text

Presentation of manuscript

• General Please write your text in good English (American or British 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).

Language PolishingBR For authors who require information about language editing and copy editing services pre- and post- submission please visit http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorshome.authors/languagepolishing or authorsupport@elsevier.com for more information. Please note that 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 and Conditions http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/termsconditions.cws_home/terms conditions.

• Provide the following data on the title page (in the order given)

1. Title
Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Abstract
An abstract, not exceeding 200 words, and written for Quaternary scientists of all specializations, should be provided.

6. Keywords
Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 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.
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.

• Structure the main part of the article as follows:

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.

1. Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

2. Regional setting
For papers that focus on an area, provide a brief synopsis of the physical and geological characteristics of the area, sufficient to give the new work context, but again avoid a detailed literature survey.

3. Materials and methods
Provide sufficient detail on methods to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should be described. Samples should normally be positioned on a map or in a table. However, lengthy tables of precise positions should be submitted as electronic files for Supplementary Data (see below)

4. Results
This should highlight the key results (and not repeat material already in figures or tables) and summarise the direct implications of these results.

5. Discussion
This should explore the inter-relationships of different data sets and the broader significance of the results. It may include limited speculation, that will not appear in the conclusions.

6. Conclusions
The short Conclusions section should summarise the conclusions of the study that have been firmly established. It should not duplicate either the Abstract or the Discussion.

7. Acknowledgements
Place acknowledgements, including information on grants received, before the references, in a separate section

8. 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.

9. References
All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. In the text refer to the author's name (without initials) and year of publication e.g. "Since Peterson (1993) has shown that..." or "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Kramer, 1994)". For three or more authors use the first author followed by "et al.", in the text. The list of references should be arranged alphabetically by authors' names. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of authors' names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list. References should be given in the following form:
Arts, N., 1988. Archaeology, environment and the social evolution of later band societies in a lowland area. In: Bonsall, C. (Ed.), The Mesolithic in Europe. Papers presented at the Third International Symposium. John Donald Publishers, Edinburgh, pp. 291-312.
Cahen, D., 1978. Remontage de l'industrie lithique. In: Van Noten, F. (Ed.), Les Chasseurs de Meer, Dissertationes Archaeologicae Gandenses, 18, pp. 59-72. De Tempel, Brugge.
Lundqvist, J., Mejdahl, V., 1995. Luminescence dating of the deglaciation in Northern Sweden. Quaternary International 28 (1), 193-197.


10. 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).

• Further information on:

a. 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.

b. Units
Metric units should be used. If it is desirable to include Imperial units, they should appear in parentheses.


c. 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.

d. 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.

e. 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.

f. 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.

Preparation of Illustrations

Submitting your final 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
• 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 captions to illustrations separately.
• Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.

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: 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 when submitting the final accepted article;
• 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.

Colour illustrations 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 files corresponding to all the colour illustrations.

IMPORTANT: In the PDF file, all figures and tables must be numbered and collected at the END of the manuscript. In addition, please indicate clearly in the text where each figure/table should be positioned!

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. Return corrections within 2 days 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.

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 office 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
• Original artwork (high-quality prints)
• All figure captions
• All tables (including title, description, footnotes)

Further considerations

• Article has been read and approved by all co-authors
• Manuscript has been "spellchecked"
• 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)

For any further information please contact the Author Support Department at authorsupport@elsevier.com