Fieldiana: Style Guidelines

Manuscript format

Arrange manuscripts in the order: cover page, table of contents (including lists of figures and tables), abstract, introduction, text, acknowledgments, literature cited, appendices, index, figures, figure captions, and tables. Everything is to be double-spaced when being submitted for review.

Cover page

On the first sheet, type the information that appears on the front cover of Fieldiana. Use zeros as placeholders for information to be filled in later, such as series no., publication no., and date of publication:

FIELDIANA

Below this, please provide a Short (Running) Title of 50 to 70 characters.

Table of Contents:

Type the table of contents to exactly match the contents of your manuscript. The table of contents may not be carried beyond three levels of heads, and you may choose to use only one, leaving out subsequent headings. The table of contents also includes a list of figures (start with the cover image), and list of tables.

The wording in the list of figures is a short statement of what each figure shows. It is not a figure caption. For example, a figure caption that read, “The rocky cliff on the western side of the Mitla Fortress.” would be shortened in the list of figures to, “The Mitla Fortress from the west.” The list of tables may contain the exact table titles or short statements of what the tables show.

Abstract

Brief and to the point. Boldface and center "Abstract" and indent first line of abstract.

Resumen, résumé

A resumen, résumé, or abstract in any other language may immediately follow the abstract. It should be an exact translation and should be grammatically and orthographically correct (add all of the diacritics). Style this exactly like the abstract. Add a line space between the abstract and the resumen.

Affiliation footnote

These are rare. They may appear when each chapter of the monograph is by a separate person or group of people.

Introduction

An introduction to the entire work is not always needed unless you are preparing an edited volume, but you may want to include one. An introduction in this sense is part of the book’s front matter; it does not receive a chapter title and is not always appropriate as a section title.

Materials and methods

This section is a detailed but concise account of how you conducted your work, including research strategy and field methods. List any abbreviations and definitions of acronyms here. Use standard abbreviations for institution names and collections. See section on abbreviations for more information.

Material examined:

You may decide to list specimens in a separate section or as an appendix. You may include physical details about each specimen and the catalog number, locality, and name of collector.

Text:

The headings in the text should match the headings in the table of contents. For clarity, we recommend not exceeding four levels of headings in text. Please follow this format for heads:

  • Heading 1: Boldface, initial caps, flush left, and set in 11-point type
  • Heading 2: Boldface, italics, initial caps, flush left, and set in 9-point type
  • Heading 3: Set in Caps and small caps, set in 9-point type, indent paragraph, add em dash, and then run in text.
  • Heading 4 (rare): Initial caps, indent paragraph, add em dash, and then run in text.

You may use the words "above" and "below" to reference close material; for distant material, however, we recommend identifying the section parenthetically, e.g., “(see earlier discussion under History and Culture).”

Be sure to indicate in your manuscript where you want figures and tables placed. We may have to place them elsewhere due to restrictions of design and page layout. A common problem is too little text and too many display elements (Tables and Figures), in which case we will try to place all figures or all tables in one, two, or three galleries.

In-text citations

  • Use author–year style in chronological, then alphabetical, order. Use a comma between author and year. For three or more authors, list the first author followed by et al. (Smith et al., 1963). For two or more citations listed together, separate with semicolons (Smith et al., 1963; Jones, 1999). If citing a chapter in the same edited volume, use "(Smith, this volume).
  • When there’s more than one reference with the same author/s and date, use letters to distinguish one from the other: (Smith, 1963a) and (Smith, 1963b).
  • Use ampersands within parentheses but spell out and otherwise: (Smith & Jones, 1963); Smith and Jones (1963).
  • Personal communications referenced in text: (Heitman, pers. comm.).
  • Use lowercase when referring to other authors’ figures, tables, plates, or chapters.
  • When citing direct quotations in the text, include page numbers: (Smith, 1963: 171).
  • Immediately after the first use of binomial names, taxonomic authorities are the only citations that should appear in parentheses and only when appropriate, given nomenclatural rules (i.e., when a revision has occurred).
  • In manuscripts that describe new species, authorities of taxa discussed in regard to the new species must be included in the literature cited.

Referring to tables and figures in text

Capitalize Table and Figure. Spell out Figure in text, but use (Fig.) or (Figs.) in parentheses. Use lowercase when referring to other authors’ figures, tables, plates, or chapters.

Taxonomic treatments

Descriptions, or redescriptions of taxa should begin with the next higher classification, e.g. for a species description, the genus and its authority. The focal taxon name is centered and in Bold. On the line after the new species name (Genus species n. sp.) please list the figures which illustrate the taxon. Diagnoses and descriptions should be in telegraphic style. Rather than state "the tail is long and is strongly bicolored with a black tip", use "Tail: long, strongly bicolored, tip black." All authorities of pertinent taxa, including the next higher classification and species to which the focal taxon is being compared must be included in the Literature Cited.

Footnotes

Don’t use them. The Fieldiana format is simply not appropriate for footnotes or endnotes.

Acknowledgments:

Acknowledgments are limited to three kinds: financial support, professional assistance (loan of specimens, use of research facilities, field assistance, etc.), and truly exceptional personal contributions. The acknowledgments should be placed before the literature cited section.

Literature Cited:

  • Use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) is highly encouraged.
  • Use the head Literature Cited, not References.
  • Use author–year style, with references ordered strictly alphabetically. Author names should be in caps.
  • Spell out names of all journals and book publishers.
  • Include a space between two or more author initials: MILLER, W. D.
  • Capitalize the first letter following a colon for both journal article and book titles.
  • If you must cite an issue number, use this style: 34(3): 111–113.
  • Page numbers should be all inclusive: 104–109, not 104–9.
  • It is not necessary to include total number of pages for books.

It is the author’s responsibility to make sure that all in-text citations have a corresponding entry in the literature cited section and vice versa. Also please make sure that dates and spelling match.

Examples

Journal and Series Articles

MADIN, L. P., AND G. R. HARBISON. 1978. Salps of the genus Pegea Savigny, 1816 (Tunicata: Thaliacea). Bulletin of Marine Science, 28: 335–344.

MILLER, W. D., AND J. D. BROTHERSON. 1979. Size variation in foot elements of Bison from Rancho La Brea. Contributions in Science, 323: 1–12.

Books

KROMBEIN, K. V. 1967. Trap-Nesting Wasps and Bees: Life Histories, Nests, and Associates. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

Chapter in a Book or Proceedings Volume

CHAVE, K. E. 1964. Skeletal durability and preservation, pp. 77–187. In Imbrie, J., and N. Newell, eds., Approaches to Paleoecology, Vol. 11. Wiley, New York.

Monograph Series

CARROLL, R. L., AND P. GASKILL. 1994. Osteology of Simosaurus and the##

Appendices:

Appendices follow the literature cited section. Begin the appendix on a new page. If figures or tabular material accompany an appendix (or compose the totality of the appendix), they should be clearly labeled as such. Each appendix should be designated with roman numerals: Appendix I, Appendix II. Lengthy appendices of only indirect relevance to the manuscript may best be made available online instead of printed along with the rest of the volume.

Index

The value of your work may be enhanced by an index. Please discuss this with the Editors. After you check the page proofs, you may use them to create the index. Please supply the index as an electronic file and as double-spaced copy. Include all significant items, taxonomic synonyms, and major topics of discussion.

Figures:

We refer to all illustrations—line drawings, maps, graphs, and photographs—as figures. Please number them consecutively using Arabic numerals. Fieldiana Anthropology contributions number the figures and tables according to which chapter they belong to: Fig. 1.2 or Table 5.1. In Fieldiana Life and Earth Sciences, the figures and tables are numbered consecutively: Fig. 2 or Fig. 5. In edited volumes of Fieldiana Life and Earth Sciences, each chapter begins numbering Figures and Tables with "1". In running text, capitalize and spell out. In parentheses, please use (Fig.) or (Figs.). See Figure captions section in this document for specific caption formatting.

Figure captions should not appear on the figures themselves, but should be grouped together and double-spaced on a separate sheet of paper (or a separate electronic file). Captions should be self-explanatory and should not require reference to the text. The word Figure should be abbreviated and set in small caps, FIG. The captions should be in paragraph style, and the parts of a figure in boldface: (A), (B).

The overall dimensions of Fieldiana are 8.5 by 11 inches. The column and page dimensions are:

  • Page width (2 columns) 43.5 picas, ~ 7.25 inches
  • Single column width 21 picas, ~ 3.5 inches
  • Page height 58 picas, ~ 9.5 inches

Electronic art — Strongly Preferred

  • If submitting photographs taken using a digital camera, please use the highest resolution setting option with the least amount of compression. Please refer to your camera’s manual for more information. Please note that images that are downloaded from the internet are usually in JPEG or GIF format and 600 dpi. These are not acceptable for print. If you are unsure, print out the figure and look at its quality.
  • Line art should be submitted at desired print size, no less than 1200 dpi.
  • TIFF or EPS file formats are preferred, and may be submitted for both PC and Macintosh platforms. We also accept image files in the following Native Application File Formats: Adobe Photoshop (.psd), Adobe Acrobat (.pdf), Illustrator (.ai), PowerPoint (.ppt), Word (.doc) and Excel (.xls). Files are accepted via ScholarOne submission.
  • Scale bars should be included in the figure rather than in the figure caption. Final type size of letters on the figure should be no less than 8 point, and should be fairly consistent within the manuscript.

Please include with your submission a directory of the files contained on the disk and a hardcopy printout of each figure. The hardcopy must match the digital file. Please include the screen and printer font files for any text that has been added to the figure. Adobe PostScript fonts should be used. Please do NOT use TrueType or system “bitmap” fonts. To avoid font problems, convert all type to curves or paths. Additional information on digital art specifications is provided by ScholarOne.

Changes in figures that result from unclear author specifications, or for any author-generated reason, will be charged to the author.

Tables

Specifications adapted from the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (JVP):

All tables must be cited in the text and the tables must be numbered in the sequence that they are cited in the text, even if there is only one table (i.e., Table 1). Tables with their captions generally should be comprehensible without reference to the text. Foldouts are not acceptable, but tables and charts can be reproduced to cover facing pages. The heading/caption for the table should appear in the table file, above the table, not in a list at the end of the manuscript document. Use ̳TABLE‘ (all caps), flush left, in the table heading, with a period after the table number, as in this example: ―TABLE 2. This is the caption of the table.ǁ If a table continues on a second page, begin the next page with ―TABLE 1. (Continued)ǁ. Do not use vertical lines in any table. Use only those few, black, horizontal lines (usually three) found in recently published examples in JVP. Use of bold face in tables is strongly discouraged.

Never use spaces for aligning numbers or text; use of tabs for aligning columns is discouraged; instead, use the table function of the word processor. A small matrix of phylogenetic data may be included as a table using a mono-spaced font for alignment. Double-space everything even if this means that a table extends to more than one manuscript page. Submit each table as a separate file (labeled, e.g., ̳Author.Table1.doc‘).

Tables should be styled as follows:

  • Number tables consecutively with Arabic numbers.
  • Try to keep headings as brief as possible.
  • 12-point font is preferred. The minimum is 10-point font.
  • Boldface column heads; cap then lowercase.
  • Cap then lowercase stub columns (left most).
  • Be consistent with treatment of cells with no data; blank cells are okay, or you may insert a hyphen.
  • All tables and figures must fit on a Fieldiana page (8 1/2 x 11 inches) and in the Fieldiana format. It is the responsibility of the authors to split oversize figures and tables into manageable page-size pieces.

Use of Protected Materials — Permissions:

Authors who use previously published materials, in whole or in part, that are under copyright protection, or any other protected material, must submit written permission to use this material in Fieldiana by the stage of final acceptance. Warning! Obtaining written permission may take several months; therefore, we suggest you begin as early as possible.

When an illustration includes an image of a person, the author should, if possible, obtain permission from that individual to publish the image. Copies of any permissions received from individuals regarding the use and publication of their likeness, should be given to the Managing Scientific Editor.

Abbreviations and acronyms

  • Spell out terms in full for first appearance in abstract and again for first appearance in text. Do not spell out again in figure captions or tables.
  • It’s okay to begin a sentence with an acronym, but not an abbreviation.
  • Use small caps for institutional acronyms: FMNH.

Hyphenation

  • Follow usual rules: run together most prefixes and suffixes, but hyphenate to avoid double vowels (intra-abdominal) and triple consonants (bell-like); but defer to Merriam-Webster’s 11th edition (preempt).
  • Use an em dash in open or hyphenated compounds: pre–World War II; non–weight-bearing leg. And between two units of equal weight: snout–vent length.
  • Use regular hyphenation rules for units of measure: a 4-m-thick sandstone block; but a sandstone block 4 m thick (hyphenate adjectives when they appear before the noun).
  • Hyphenate all -like words.

Nomenclature:

  • Spell out Genus species on first mention of each taxon and at the beginning of sentences. Then use G. species. If discussing two genera that begin with the same letter, carefully assess each use as to whether an initial is sufficiently clear.
  • Be consistent when choosing to spell out the genus name with each new species.
  • If quotation marks or question marks are used with genus species designations, the quotation marks or question marks should be set in roman type, not italics (e.g., The Unio? is Neotrapezium californicum).

Units of measure:

  • Standard, i.e. International System of Units (SI), units of measure are abbreviated throughout the text, figures, and tables.
  • Be consistent when abbreviating units of time and when using numerals or spelled-out numbers for units of time.