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Author Guidelines
PRE-PUBLICATION
Papers published (including on the Internet) or under consideration elsewhere will not be accepted; but publication elsewhere of an abstract or extended summary does not preclude publication in full in the journal. In this context, restricted circulation of reports or theses, or unrefereed pre-prints on the authors own website, does not constitute publication.
LENGTH OF ARTICLES
Authors are encouraged to submit papers no longer than 5000 words (25 manuscript pages excluding tables and figures). No absolute limit is imposed where there is sufficient reason for the manuscript to be longer than 25 pages (e.g., systematics papers) or where the presentation is otherwise clear and concise. The author should provide justification for these larger papers at the time of submission.
Details of techniques and results which are not essential to the published paper but may be of interest to other workers should not be included. This material could be made available from authors on request, or uploaded as supplementary files.
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Short communications are papers which do not exceed four printed pages in length. They may be well-documented but short pieces of work that the author wishes to have published quickly. Alternatively, short communications may present results which are indicative only, and therefore of interest, but do not merit the status of a full paper. Authors should state whether they wish a brief paper to be regarded as a short communication.
REVIEWING POLICY
All authors are expected to have their papers peer-reviewed before submission, not only for scientific content, but also for correctness in presentation of text, references, and illustrations. Authors for whom English is a second language must have their MS checked by a native-English speaker familiar with the terminology of the field. If in doubt, consult the Editor. All authors are responsible for a paper that they co-author and must agree to its submission. Acknowledgment of these requirements must be made to the Editor at time of submission.
GENERAL PRESENTATION
Authors should note the layout of headings, text, and references as shown in the latest issues of the Journal. Strict observance of these and the following requirements will shorten publication time.
Title
The title should be short, accurate, and informative. A suggested short title for use as a running head, not exceeding 40 letter spaces, should also be supplied.
Abstract
An abstract, normally of no more than 150 words, should accompany all papers. It should be informative, not just indicative, intelligible when divorced from the paper, and devoid of undefined abbreviations, equations, and reference citations. It is particularly important to give the main result(s), and to name any new techniques, new concepts, new taxonomic entities, and new conclusions. If there is a direct application, it should be mentioned.
Keywords
Keywords obtained from the whole article, not just the title or the abstract, should be given immediately following the Abstract. Relevant names of taxa should also be included.
Introduction
If your study is from a new area of research, the Introduction should set the scene fully and clearly. Indicate the reasons why the study was carried out. Any previous work relating to your study should be summarised by a few relevant references.
Materials and methods
These should be listed clearly and succinctly. It is important that any statistical technique employed be fully explained (if new) or referenced.
Results
Here you present your own information and figures without reference to or discussion of other work. Tabular material and figures are especially important for providing comparative results without resorting to detailed textual descriptions. The tables and figures with their captions should be understandable on their own, and not rely on the supporting text.
Discussion
The results of your study are here related to those of previous studies. The results should be interpreted with the support of evidence or suitable references. Anomalous or unexpected results should be explained. Any conclusions offered should be listed clearly at the end of the Discussion.
Acknowledgments
Here you can list supporting institutions and the names (untitled) and the affiliations of people who have assisted in some way with your research.
REFERENCES
The following rules apply to all journals published by the Royal Society of New Zealand from the first issues of 2005. Authors who use EndNote to generate their bibliographies could modify the existing “CBE Style Manual N-Y” style, upon which this Royal Society of New Zealand journal reference style is closely based.
In taxonomic papers, authorities need not be listed under References, except when further cited in the text. Restricted citation of unpublished work, work in preparation, recently submitted work, or personal communications may be made in the text only, but excluded from the References. Theses should be listed; and unpublished papers accepted for publication elsewhere may be cited as "in press".
Citation in text
[Name year] with no comma, e.g., Smith (1996) or (Smith 1996).
Two co-author names are linked by &, e.g., Smith & Jones 1996.
Three or more co-authors are cited as [first author et al.] with no italics, e.g., Smith et al. 1997.
Two or more references by the same author(s) cited together are placed in chronological order and separated by a comma, e.g., Brown 1993, 1997.
Two or more references by different authors cited together are placed in chronological order and separated by a semicolon, e.g., Jones 1991; Brown 1993; Smith 1996.
Two or more references by different authors in the same year are placed in alphabetical order within that year, e.g., Jones 1991; Roberts 1991; Brown 1993.
If two or more papers by the same author(s) in the same year are cited, then the first one cited in the course of the text is labelled a, the second b, etc., e.g., “Smith (1996a) suggested possible relationships between ... Some of these relationships have important implications for ... (Smith 1996b).” Both of these papers are cited together as “Smith (1996a,b).”
Listing references
All references are listed alphabetically by surname then initials.
Two or more references by a single author are listed chronologically.
Two or more references by the same first author but with different second authors are listed alphabetically by the first author then by second author.
Two or more references by the same first author but with two or more co-authors, cited in text as et al., are listed alphabetically by first author then chronologically.
Thus:
Smith AB 1986.
Smith AB 1994.
Smith AB, Brown AB 1993.
Smith AB, Jones JF 1990.
Smith AB, Jones JF, Brown AB 1953.
Smith AB, Brown AB, Jones JF 1956.
Journals
Journal titles are written in full and not italicised. All nouns in journal names begin with capital letters. The volume no. is followed by a colon, space, then first and last page numbers in full, separated by an en rule. Issue numbers, where provided, are enclosed in brackets.
Thus:
Moss R, Jackson RR, Pollard SD 2006. Mask of wax: secretions of wax conceal aphids from detection by spider's eyes. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 33: 215-220.
Books and theses
Book and thesis titles are in lower case and not italicised. Place and name of publisher, in that order, follow a book title. Theses are regarded as unpublished and the name and location of the university are included so that a person can see a copy if they wish. If possible, the total number of pages in a book or thesis should be given. First and last page numbers of a chapter or section of a book should be given.
Thus:
David BO 2002. Ecology of the giant kokopu. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
King CM ed. 1990. The handbook of New Zealand mammals. Auckland, Oxford University Press. 600 p.
Reports, bulletins, proceedings, etc.
Publications such as reports, bulletins, conference proceedings, or collections may or may not be part of a numbered series.
Thus:
Hurst RJ, Bagley 1997. Trawl survey of shelf and upper slope species off southern New Zealand, November 1986. New Zealand Fisheries Technical Report No. 47.
Walker JRL 1994. Degradation of sodium monofluoroacetate by soil micro-organisms. In: Seawright AA, Eason CT ed. Proceedings of the science workshop on 1080. The Royal Society of New Zealand Miscellaneous Series 28: 50–53.
Websites
Website references must include the date on which they were accessed or updated.
Thus:
Langton M, White T 2001. Spectronet version 1.2. Palmerston North, Massey University. http://awcmee.massey.ac.nz/downloads.htm [accessed 18 September 2001].
TABLES
Tabular material must be kept to a minimum: only data essential to the understanding of the text should be included. Where papers are based on much analytical data, choose a small section of representative analyses to indicate the unpublished range on which the paper is based. All tables should be numbered serially in arabic numerals and referred to in the text. The width of the total number of columns in a table should allow each table to fit upright on a single page. Abbreviations in the table should be adequately explained in the caption or in footnotes. Descriptive notes should be kept to a minimum. Units of measurement should be placed in column heads. Horizontal rules should be placed clearly under the column heads and at the top and bottom of each table.
FIGURES
Figures should be used only where they are essential to elucidate the text. They should be numbered consecutively in arabic numerals regardless of whether they are photographs, line drawings, or graphs, and each must be referred to in the text. Please list all captions after the References section of the manuscript.
Figures will be printed at the smallest size consistent with clarity and compatible with page format. Detailed guidelines for their preparation are given below. Failure to comply with these specifications will result in the figures being returned for redrafting.
Figure files should be at least 600 dpi for line figures and 300 dpi for greyscale figures and colour images.
Lettering should be in sans-serif type (such as Helvetica medium) with only the first letter of the first word of each label, and of any proper names, capitalised. Names of all hydrographic features and of generic and species names should be italicised.
The minimum letter height after reduction should be about 1.5 mm for a capital letter; thus, for a 50% reduction, the minimum original size of the capital letter would be about 3 mm (12 pt). Symbols, grid marks, line thicknesses (minimum reduced width 0.25 mm), and ruled or dotted patterns should be of sufficient size and density to withstand reduction without fading away or blocking up (a reducing photocopier can give you a good indication of whether the size or type of pattern you choose is suitable).
Always clear patterns away from areas of type, and avoid mixing typefaces on the same figure. For graphical figures, grid marks should point inwards (unless they obscure information on the graph itself); legends to axes (horizontal and vertical) should run parallel to the axes, from left to right and from bottom to top. State the value being measured, followed by its appropriate SI unit in parentheses. Parts of composite figures should be labelled A, B, C (capitals only, no dots or brackets). The style of the figures within any one paper should be as closely matched as possible.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND COLOUR IMAGES
Bar scales on photographs are preferable to stated magnifications. The minimum size of lettering should be about 1.5-2 mm after reduction, but labels (A, B, C) should be slightly larger. Colour images will be accepted only if they are essential, and the cost of their reproduction will be borne by the author.
Please make sure figures for accepted papers are in TIF or PDF format. The definition should be set to at least 300 dpi for photos (150 lpi). Please embed all fonts in PDF files.
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS AND GRAPHICAL PRESENTATION OF DATA
Adequate description of the data, and of the experimental design, should precede and complement formal statistical analysis. Deviations from the intended design must be described. The method of statistical analysis should be selected after consideration of the original experimental design, treatment structure, and anything unexpected or unusual noticed during the experiment. Often it is necessary to transform data so that the assumptions of the statistical analysis are satisfied. Summary statistics should wherever possible be accompanied by estimates of their precision. Means will usually be accompanied either by the standard error of mean (SEM), or by the standard error of differences between means (SED), together with a note of the number of replicates used. Confidence intervals (usually at the 95% level) or Least Significant Differences are equally acceptable. If a mean (x) and standard error of mean (s x) have been calculated on transformed data, a suitable procedure is to transform the confidence interval or, alternatively, the range of values (x - s x, x + s x) back onto the original scale of measurements, and give this. If emphasis is on the spread of the data values, rather than on the precision of the mean, then the standard deviation (SD) or the range may be given. Multiple range tests are not appropriate where a quantitative relationship is to be expected. Use a trend or response surface analysis instead.
Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
- The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
- The submission has undergone (institutional) peer review, and all co-authors agree to the submission.
- The submission file is in Microsoft Word document file format, with line numbering activated.
- The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
- The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate parts, rather than at the end.
- When available, the URLs to access references online are provided, including those for open access versions of the reference. The URLs are ready to click (e.g., http://pkp.sfu.ca).
Copyright Notice
Copyright for all articles resides with the publisher of the journal, the Royal Society of New Zealand. This does not exclude authors the right to place their pre-prints in their institutional archive. Revised post-prints must be linked to the publishers version of the article, with full acknowledgment.
All articles in New Zealand Journal of Zoology are available on open access 24 months after initial publication.
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