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JOURNAL OF CAVE AND KARST STUDIES STYLE: A GUIDE
FOR CONTRIBUTORS
Malcolm S. Field
Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington,
D.C. 20460
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Preparing a paper for publication in the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies requires that
the author(s) preparing the manuscript conform to the guidelines set down by the
National Speleological Society. This document illustrates the basic manuscript form
required for consideration for publication in the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies.
Journal text is typeset using Roman type in the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies
which requires that journal names, such as the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies or a
biological species name, be in italic type. For example, the biological species name for the
blind cave fish, Amblyopsis rosae, must appear in italic form when text appears in
Roman form so as to set off the scientific name from the rest of the text.
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INTRODUCTION
The National Speleological Society serves the karst community and society at large
in several ways, among them by publishing the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies
which presents the results of investigations. The Journal of Cave and Karst Studies is a
multidisciplinary journal devoted to cave and karst research that seeks original,
unpublished manuscripts concerning the scientific study of caves and/or karst features.
Authors do not need to be members of the National Speleological Society (NSS), but
preference is generally given to manuscripts of importance to North American
speleology. The Editor of the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies has the responsibility
for maintaining the Journal quality and for reviewing and accepting papers submitted
for publication.
These guidelines derive from the Journal Editor’s, Associate Editors’ and Advisory
Board’s definition of the standards of quality for scientific research and its publication
in the Journal, and from the karst community's desire and need to have a high-quality
journal dedicated to karst scholarship. The guidelines that follow are intended to
provide prospective authors with clear instructions and an example for developing
manuscripts suitable for publication in the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, by
ensuring proper grammatical and aesthetic quality and by ensuring that the highest
ethical standards are adhered to at all times.
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BASIC FORMAT OF EVERY PAPER
Every paper submitted to the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies must follow the
basic format. The accepted format is a standard form used by all scientific journals. To
assist authors with manuscript preparation, this MS Word template may be used.
Although subheads are not shown, it is expected that authors will clearly distinguish
first-, second-, third-, and fourth-level heads in their manuscript
ORDER OF PARTS
The order of parts in a paper is title page, abstract (except in comments or
discussion, replies, and corrections), text, notation list, appendixes, endnotes (or notes),
acknowledgments, references, figure captions list, tables, and figures.
Title Page
Authors and Co-Authors’ Addresses
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results and Discussion
Summary and/or Conclusions
Notations List
Acknowledgments
References
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Appendices
Figure Captions
Tables
Not all headings will be used in any given manuscript. For example, manuscripts
with no equations or very few equations will not need a Notations List. Other papers
may have heading names different than those listed. For example, a Materials and
Methods heading may be replaced by one or more appropriately named headings.
Note that the interdisciplinary nature of the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies will
necessarily require that the Editor accept papers that may vary considerably from the
headings listed above. However, the basic form must be adhered to at all times.
Below is a basic scientific style that should be loosely followed. It is intended to be a
basic guide while recognizing that scientific articles often require some variances from
a standard form.
Title Page
Manuscripts should begin with a concise informative title. The title should then be
followed by the name(s) of the author(s), affiliation(s) and address(es) of the authors,
and e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers for communicating with the author(s).
Abstract
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Every paper must be preceded by an abstract of not more than 250 words.
Abstracts should concisely summarize research methods, results, and conclusions, but
not include citations to references.
Introduction
The introduction should consist of a brief discussion of the nature of the problem,
relevant literature review, and the purpose of the paper. The length and level of detail
included are subject to the author’s discretion, but will likely depend on the extent of
the problem and the author’s sense of how much introductory material is needed to
define the problem.
Materials and Methods
Materials and methods, a somewhat generic heading (authors may substitute more
specific heading names as deemed appropriate), should provide sufficient information
to allow replication of the study’s procedures and results.
Results and Discussion
The results and discussion section(s) may appear together or as separate headings.
The results section should focus specifically on the outcome of the study. Data should
be presented as concisely as possible, preferably in tabular form whenever possible.
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The discussion should be an interpretation of the results and their significance.
Appropriate references to other relevant publications usually form an integral part of a
discussion.
Summary and/or Conclusions
A brief summary of the study findings or a discussion of the conclusions of the reported
study should follow the results and discussion section.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments should be as brief as possible. Grant funding as part of the
research requires acknowledgment and should be mentioned with the names of funding
organizations written in full.
Significant support from various individuals and
reviewers should also be noted.
References
The list of references should include works that are cited in the text, figures and
tables, captions, and that have been published or accepted for publication.
All
references must have been mentioned in a citation and all citations must have a
matching listed reference. Personal communications should be mentioned only in the
text. Citations in the text must be identified by the first author’s last name followed by
a comma and the date of publication enclosed by parentheses, unless the author(s)
is(are) referred to directly in the text, in which case only the date of publication should
appear in parentheses. For example, one author would appear either as (Smith, 2002)
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or Smith (2002); two authors would appear as (Smith and Jones, 2000), or Smith and
Jones (2000); three or more authors would appear as (Smith et al., 2004) or Smith et al.
(2004). Note that et al. is not italicized and is followed by a comma only when the
entire citation is enclosed in parentheses.
The list of references should appear at the end of the manuscript and be
alphabetized under the first author’s last name. References by the same author or team
of authors should be listed in chronological order.
References should follow the style used by the Geological Society of America.
Guidelines for references listed on GSA’s web site are shown in Table 1. Note that the
punctuation shown in Table 1 must be adhered to when adding references to a
manuscript. [Brackets shown around selected items in Table 1 are not to be included in
the actual references, except for the specific instance in which the term, abstract, is
abbreviated and appears in brackets as [abs.].]
When available, the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the cited literature should be
added at the end of a reference. Note that for accessed web sites, the date that the web site was
accessed for the paper in question should also be included in the reference.
References such as “personal communication” or “unpublished research” cannot be
published in the references list, but should be cited where appropriate in the text in
parentheses as (Smith, pers. comm.) or Smith (pers. comm.). Papers accepted for
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publication, but not yet been published, should be included in the references list with
the name of the journal and “in press.”
Table 1. Required forms for references for Journal of Cave and Karst Studies accepted manuscripts
Reference Type
Required Format
Abstract
[last name], [initials], [year], [abstract title]: [organization name], [Abstracts],
[volume], [number]a, [pages].
or
[last name], [initials], [year], [abstract title], [abs.]: [publication name], [volume],
[number]a, [pages].
Book
[last name], [initials], [year], [book title]: [city], [publisher], [number of
pages].
or
[last name], [initials], [year], [chapter title], in [last name], [initials], ed., [book
title]: [city], [publisher], [pages].
Journal Article
[last name], [initials.], [year], [article title]: [journal title], [volume], [number] b,
[pages].
Comment, Discussion,
Reply
[last name], [initials.], [year], [comment title]: [Comment, Discussion, or Reply]:
[journal title], [volume], [number], [pages].
Guidebook
[last name], [initials.], [year], [guidebook title]: [city], [publisher],
[number of pages].
or
[last name], [initials.], [year], [guidebook title], in [last name], [initials], ed., [field
trip title]: [city], [publisher], [pages].
In Press
[last name], [initials.], [year], [map title]: [journal, book, etc. title], [volume]b,c, (in
press).
Map
[last name], [initials.], [year], [article title]: [city], [publisher], [map number],
[scale x:y], [number of sheets].
Government or
University Serial
Publication
[last name], [initials.], [year], [report title]: [publisher], [report number],
[number of pages].
or
[last name], [initials.], [year], [section or chapter title], in [last name], [initials],
ed., [report title]: [publisher], [report number], [number of pages].
Conference,
Convention, or
Symposium
Proceeding
[last name], [initials.], [year], [article title], in Proceedings, [conference,
convention, or symposium title]: [city], [publisher], [pages].
Web Site
[last name], [initials.], [year], [title], [additional details as appropriate],
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[web site address], [[date accessed month day, year]]d.
Thesis and
Dissertation
[last name], [initials.], [year], [thesis title], [[Ph.D. Dissertation or M.S.
Thesis]]: [city], [school], [number of pages].
a
Issue number is required for this publication.
Issue number is optional for this publication.
c
If known.
d
The date the web site was accessed must be included within brackets.
b
Some examples of correct reference styles as described in Table 1 appear below:
Abstract Examples
Croskrey, A., Kambesis, P., Tobin, B., Futrell, Downey, K., Kovarik, J., Groves, Jiang
Zhoncheng, and Jiang Guanghui, 2005, Geologic and hydrologic observations from
Wanhuayan Cave, Hunan, China [abs.]: Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, v. 67,
no. 3, p. 186. [Note that Chinese names are commonly arranged family name first,
followed by the given name; in this example, the family names of the Chinese
authors are Jiang and Jiang. For references with Chinese authors, spell out the
entire name.]
Jenson, J.W., Mylroie, J.E., Mylroie, J.R., and Wexel, C., 2002, Revisiting the
Carbonate Island Karst Model: Geological Society of America Abstracts with
Program, v. 34, no. 6, p. 226.
Lavoie, K.H., Studier, E.H., and Cauthorn, O.F., 2005, Guano invertebrate
communities in a highly acidic cave [abs.]: Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, v.
67, no. 3, p. 182.
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White, W.B., 2005, Secondary minerals in volcanic caves: Data from Hawai`i [abs.]:
Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, v. 67, no. 3, p. 189.
Book Examples
Bögli, A., 1980, Karst hydrology and physical speleology: Berlin, Springer, 284 p.
[Use all correct diacritical marks and special characters for non-English languages.]
Dreybrodt, W., Gabrovšek, F., and Romanov, D., 2005, Processes of speleogenesis: A
modeling approach: Ljubljana, Slovenia, ZRC Publishing, 374 p. [Use all correct
diacritical marks and special characters for non-English languages.]
Gunn, J., and Hobbs, S., 1999, Limestone quarrying: hydrogeological impacts,
consequences, implications, in Drew, D., and Hötzl, H., eds., Karst hydrogeology and
human activities: impacts, consequences and implications: Brookfield, Vt., A.A.
Balkema Publishers, p. 192–201. [Use all correct diacritical marks and special
characters for non-English languages.]
Journal Examples
Doğan, U. and Yeşılyurt, S., 2004, Gypsum karst south of İmranlı, Sivas, Turkey: Cave
and Karst Science, v. 31, no. 1, p. 7–14. [Use all correct diacritical marks and
special characters for non-English languages.]
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Behrens, H., Beims, U., Dieter, H., Dietze, G., Eikmann, T., Grummt, T., Hanisch, H.,
Henseling, H., Käss, W., Kerndorff, H., Leibundgut, C., Müller-Wegener, U.,
Rönnefahrt, I., Scharenberg, B., Schleyer, R., Schloz, W., and Tilkes, F., 2001,
Toxicological and ecotoxicological assessment of water tracers: Hydrogeology
Journal, v. 9, p. 321–325.
Lin Yushi, Zhang Meiliang, and Qin Jiaming, 1996, The division of geologic age of a
stalagmite in Panlong Cave in Guilin: Carsologica Sinica, v. 15, no. 1–2, p. 167–
173. [Note that Chinese names are commonly arranged family name first, followed
by the given name; in this example, the family names of the Chinese authors are
Lin, Zhang, and Qin. For references with Chinese authors, spell out the entire
name.]
Pint, J.J., 2006, Vulcanospeleology in Saudi Arabia: Acta Carsologica, v. 35, no. 1, p.
107–119.
Comment, Discussion, Reply Examples
Barton, H.A., and Pace, N.R., 2005, Persistent coliform contamination in Lechuguilla
Cave pools: Discussion: Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, v. 67, no. 1, p. 55–56.
Hunter, A.J., Northup, D.E., Dahm, C.N, and Boston, P.J., 2005, Persistent coliform
contamination in Lechuguilla Cave pools: Reply: Journal of Cave and Karst
Studies, v. 67, no. 2, p. 133–135.
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Guidebook Example
Nardacci, M., 1991, Guide to the caves and karst of the northeast: Huntsville, Ala.,
National Speleological Society, 50th Anniversary NSS Convention, 167 p.
In Press Examples
Dobrowski, R., Bogucki, A., and Zaleski, I., 2005, Morphogenesis of chalk karst in the
Volhynia Elevation (NW Ukraine): Kras I Speleologia, v. 11 (in press).
Dogwiler, T., and Wicks, C., 2006, Thermal variations in the hyporheic zone of a karst
stream: International Journal of Speleology, v. 35 (in press).
Government or University Serial Publication Examples
Dunn, B. 1968, Nomographs for determining amount of Rhodamine B dye for time-oftravel studies, in Selected Techniques in Water Resources Investigations 1966-67.
U.S. Geological Survey Water Supply Paper 1892, p. 9–14.
Field, M.S., 2002, A lexicon of cave and karst terminology with special reference to
environmental
karst
hydrology:
U.S.
Environmental
Protection
Agency,
EPA/600/R-02/003, 214 p.
Proceedings from a Symposium or Conference Examples [Include year of conference if
it differs from publication year.]
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Bakalowicz, M., 2004, The epikarst, the skin of karst, in Epikarst, Proceedings of the
Symposium, Shepherdstown, W.Va., Oct. 2003: Charlestown, W.Va., Karst Waters
Institute, Inc., p. 16–22.
Lewis, J.J., and Lewis, S.L., 2006, Cave faunal study for the Interstate 66 E.I.S.
(Somerset to London, Kentucky), in Proceedings of the 2005 National Cave and
Karst Management Symposium, 17th, Albany, New York, Oct.–Nov. 2005:
Greyhound Press, p. 15–20. [Note that no city is listed for this publisher in the
original publication.]
Thesis and Dissertation Examples
Powell, R.L., 1976, Some geomorphic and hydrologic implications of jointing in
carbonate strata of Mississippian age in south-central Indiana [Ph.D. thesis]: West
Lafayette, Purdue University, 169 p.
Web Sites Examples
USEPA, 2002, National Primary Drinking Water Regulations: Ground Water Rule; Proposed
Rules, Federal Register, 40 CFR Parts 141 and 142, v. 65, n. 91, p. 30194–30274 (May 10,
2000), http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/gwr/gwrprop.pdf, [accessed March 8, 2004].
SUMMARY SPECIFICATION FOR PAPERS
Spacing
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Double space all copy, including the title page, abstract, text, notation list, appendices,
references, figure captions, and table captions but not table entries. Triple spacing is
acceptable but unnecessary. Do not use single spacing or 1.5 spacing.
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Margins
Margins on the left should be at least 2.5 cm (1 in.). Margins on the top, right, and bottom
should also be at least 2.5 cm (1 in.). An exception to this rule is allowed for wide tables that
are necessarily included in the manuscript.
STATE ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviations for State names should follow standard form and not that of the U.S. Postal
Service as shown in Table 2 except when explicitly providing a postal address.
ITALICS
In the paper’s text sections, italics should be used only for formal publication names (e.g.,
Journal of Cave and Karst Studies), for formal biological species names (e.g., Euhadenoecus
fragilis), and/or unusual foreign terms. In the reference list, publication names are not
italicized; italics are used for the word ‘in’ before the editor’s name and/or title of a multiauthor volume. Italics are also required for a biological species name when such appears in the
reference list.
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Table 2. Proper State name abbreviations and unacceptable
postal abbreviations.
State Name
Postal
State Name
Abbreviation
Abbreviation
Alabama
Ala.
AL
Alaska
Alaska
AK
American Samoa
∙∙∙
AS
Arizona
Ariz.
AZ
Arkansas
Ark.
AR
California
Calif.
CA
Colorado
Colo.
CO
Connecticut
Conn.
CT
Delaware
Del.
DE
District of Columbia
D.C.
DC
Florida
Fla.
FL
Georgia
Ga.
GA
Guam
Guam
GU
Hawai`i
Hawai`i
HI
Idaho
Idaho
ID
Illinois
Ill.
IL
Indiana
Ind.
IN
Iowa
Iowa
IA
Kansas
Kans.
KS
Kentucky
Ky.
KY
Louisiana
La.
LA
Maine
Maine
ME
Maryland
Md.
MD
Marshall Islands
∙∙∙
MH
Massachusetts
Mass.
MA
Michigan
Mich.
MI
Micronesia
∙∙∙
FM
Minnesota
Minn.
MN
Mississippi
Miss.
MS
Missouri
Mo.
MO
Montana
Mont.
MT
Nebraska
Nebr.
NE
Nevada
Nev.
NV
New Hampshire
N.H.
NH
New Jersey
N.J.
NJ
New Mexico
N.M.
NM
New York
N.Y.
NY
North Carolina
N.C.
NC
North Dakota
N.D.
ND
Northern Marianas
∙∙∙
MP
Ohio
Ohio
OH
Oklahoma
Okla.
OK
Oregon
Ore.
OR
Palau
∙∙∙
PW
Pennsylvania
Pa.
PA
Puerto Rico
P.R.
PR
Rhode Island
R.I.
RI
South Carolina
S.C.
SC
South Dakota
S.D.
SD
Tennessee
Tenn.
TN
Texas
Tex.
TX
Utah
Utah
UT
Vermont
Vt.
VT
Virginia
Va.
VA
Virgin Islands
V.I.
VI
Washington
Wash.
WA
West Virginia
W.Va.
WV
Wisconsin
Wis.
WI
Wyoming
Wyo.
WY
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MATHEMATICS
All mathematical characters in the manuscript that are available using a standard
wordprocessing program or typewriter must be typeset. Use mathematical or Greek
fonts when appropriate and available. Identify characters in handwritten mathematics
and distinguish between similar-looking letters, numbers, and special symbols (whether
typed or handwritten) at their first use on each page or in the Notations section. Place
all subscripts and superscripts in their appropriate position; when used together they
should appear directly over one another (e.g., S 21 is correct; S21 and S12 are incorrect).
All mathematical variables should appear in italic form except for Greek fonts (β is
correct; β is incorrect). Never italicize numbers (e.g., S1 is correct; S1 is incorrect) and
never substitute the letter “x” for the multiplication symbol “×” or a hyphen “-” for a
minus sign “−”. Use an appropriate equation editor when necessary to obtain proper
form of mathematical symbols when not available otherwise.
Note that quotes,
although used here, are almost never appropriate for a scientific journal and should only
be used when directly quoting previously published material.
For example, in Microsoft Word, a variable with both superscripts and subscripts
may be accessed only from the Microsoft Equation Editor (go to the Insert pulldown menu, select Object, scroll down to the Microsoft Editor 3.0, and then select the
appropriate mathematical functions from the pop-up menu).
Numbers
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The required decimal marker is a dot on the line. When writing numbers less than
one, a zero is required before the decimal marker.
Large numbers sometimes warrant special treatment. For example, large numbers
with several digits to the left of the decimal point (more than four) should be separated
into groups of three by a comma. An exception would be years (e.g., 2006). Numbers
with a large number of digits to the right of the digit may, but not always, warrant
separation into groups of three separated by a blank space. Acceptable examples
appear below.
For example: 1,234,564
2.351 025
5,368
0.1254
Equations
Equations should be created using the an appropriate equation editor (e.g.,
Microsoft Equation Editor in MS Word), centered, properly formulated (e.g., italic
for variables, but no italics for Greek characters), properly aligned, and numbered
sequentially (do not use the MS Word automatic numbering feature). For example, the
reduced equilibrium volume-averaged solute transport equation in dimensionless form
might appear as
Rd
C P 1  2 C P C P


 λE C P  γ E ( Z )
t
P Z 2
Z
and which may be solved as a production value problem as
(1)
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C P Z , T  
1
Rd

T
0


γ12E Z , T ; 0  γ 2 3E Z , T ; ξ P





γ2
 γ1
E
E
E
 λE 1  2 Z , T ; 0  1 Z , T ; λ  R
d

γ1 E
γ2 T E
P
 4 Z , T  
2 Z , T ; ξ dt
 Rd
Rd 0
(2)

T
0


3E Z , T ; ξ P dt
λ
E
0

(3)
λ
E
0

(4)
where iE are auxiliary functions defined in the appendix1 and the variables are listed in
the Notations section1. Note that Equations (2)–(4) are correctly aligned on the equals
sign.
PAGINATION
Number each sheet of the manuscript consecutively with the first page after the title
page and ending with the last page of tables.
TABLES
Type each table single spaced on a separate sheet. Give each table a title (caption)
and cite each table in the text in numerical sequence (do not use the MS Word
automatic numbering feature). Tables 1 and 2 present examples of properly formatted
tables. Simple table template examples for one- and two-column tables are shown in
the Appendix2. Footnotes should be identified using superscript lower-case letters.
Instances of missing data should be identified using ellipses (e.g., ∙∙∙).
1
Not included in this document.
Tables 1 and 2 appear as defined templates; authors should modify each table as necessary to accommodate the
necessary number of columns and rows required.
2
21
More specific details regarding the proper formatting of tables may be found at the
National Speleological Society web site. Note that the example table on the web site
also includes a link for the proper use of SI units.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies Associate Editors and
Advisory Board for their encouragement and constructive criticism.
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APPENDIX
FIGURE AND TABLE CAPTIONS
Example: One-column table
Figure 1. Figure or plate captions consist of a
paragraph containing several phrases or
sentences.
Example: Two-column table
Figure 1. Figure or plate captions consist of a paragraph containing several
Phrases or sentences.
Example: Extra-wide table (landscape mode)
Figure 1. Figure or plate captions consist of a paragraph containing several phrases/sentences.
BASIC TABLE TEMPLATES
The basic forms of tables are shown below.
Table 1. Template for a One-Column Tablea
Heading 1
Heading 2
a
Note that all footnotes should be keyed; that is, a
lowercase letter should be used. Avoid the traditional
symbols, i.e., *, †, ‡, etc.
Table 2. Template for a Two-Column Tablea
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Heading 4
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a
Note that this is the maximum width (17.35 cm, 6.83 inches) for a two-column table. The minimum width is 25 picas
(10.6 cm, 4.1 inches). For a broadside table, highlight (block) this table, right click, and select Table Properties. Change
Size, Preferred width to 9.4 inches. Be sure to change to a landscape page orientation when preparing a broadside
table.