Theoretical and Applied Karstology

Contributions to TAK may be submitted for publication as Articles (usually up to 8000 words) or as Short Notes (usually up to 2000 words). Larger articles, such as Reviews may also be published but the subject and size of these should be discussed first with the Editors.

Manuscripts must be submitted in either English or French, in electronic format accompanied by two hard (paper)-copies. The order of preference for electronic submission is: (1) e-mail attachment, (2) floppy-disk(s), (3) CD, (4) ZIP Disk (100 Mb). For fast submission of large files, FTP transfer may be arranged.

We currently use IBM- compatible PCs and can read most popular word-processor, spreadsheet and graphic file formats; if you are using OS/2 or AppleMac, please format your disk as a DOS disk. Also, please consult us if your graphic files were saved under an uncommon format (e.g. the *.fpw format of FigP , *.sta format of Statistica and alike) or if you used special character sets (such as East European, Turkish, etc.) for diacritical marks. In any case, the hard-copy is essential for reference as we may unknowingly lose parts of your text or formatting in the conversion process. Also note that after acceptance, all the corrections or revisions to your paper will be made only on hard-copies in order to reduce the possibility of error.

Papers should be headed by the title and the author(s) full name(s). These will be followed by the complete address(es) of all the authors. If more than one author, please specify the name and address of the person to whom the correspondence and proof should be sent.

An abstract (up to 300 words) in paper's language should be placed directly after the title and author(s)' name(s), followed by the keywords. If possible, these will be followed by the translation of the title, abstract and keywords in the ‘secondary’ language of the paper (English if the paper's main language is French and vice-versa); otherwise, the translation will be made by the Editors at no charge for you.

References cited in the text (and only these) should be listed, in alphabetical order, on (a) separate sheet(s), after the heading References/Bibliographie, taking for example an older issue of TAK. References should be cited in the text in parentheses, in small capitals using the “name and year” (‘Harvard’) system, e.g. “(Ahrens, 1962)” except when the author's name is part of the sentence, e.g. “Ahrens (1962) has shown that ...”. When reference is made more than once to same author and year a, b, c, etc. should be added to date in the text and reference list. If more than two authors it is in order to put “et al.” behind the first name, e.g. “(Klein et al., 1988)” within the text but all authors should be listed in the Reference list. In general, one should follow the American Psychological Association (APA) method of referencing. If in doubt, please consult us.

Mathematical equations should be numbered in consecutive order throughout the text, using Arabic numerals.

Figures (maps or line drawings in black Indian ink on transparent paper) should be prepared in anticipation of reduction; small symbols or fine details may reproduce poorly. If possible, the original figures shall not exceed 31 x 20 cm. The number of folded plates being limited, only one figure exceeding this size will be, as an exception, accepted. Only black-and-white photographs may be published, therefore, if you send color photographs make sure that the important details will be legible when converted to grayscale. Whenever possible, please send us the illustration in both electronic and hard-copy format, but, as a rule, the original will always be preferred over the electronic version.
Plates, figures and tables should be numbered consecutively, with Arabic numerals, in order of appearance. The top of the figure should be indicated whenever there is any possibility of ambiguity. Please indicate in the manuscript where the caption-figure or group of figures is to be inserted.
The captions and explanations of the figures and tables will be typed on a separate possible, again, in both volume's languages, if possible.

Acknowledgements should be placed at the end of the text, after the heading Acknowledgements, before the References.

Upon acceptance, an edited proof of the contribution will be sent to the authors for the final revision. As a general rule, the proof will be sent by email, as a PDF file. Authors are expected to print the file, make the final corrections (if necessary) sign the Agreement for Publishing and fax it, within 3 days together with the revised proof, to the Editors. Authors bear sole responsibility for the content of their contribution; this includes obtaining any clearance for the use of copyrighted materials.

As a general rule, NO manuscripts will be returned, regardless if the paper was accepted or not.

Papers accepted by the Editorial Board and published into TAK will become the property of the Publisher. No article or any part thereof may be reproduced in whatever form without the written permission of the Publisher.

A total of 25 reprints of each paper will be supplied to the authors free of charge. Authors will benefit of discount prices for additional reprints if ordered before publication. An order form for additional reprints will usually accompany the proof PDF file.