Final manuscript delivery requirements for publications
All articles, chapters, and monographs that are accepted for publication at Nordicom must meet the final manuscript delivery requirements outlined below. If there are different treatments between articles and chapters, this will be noted.
These requirements are applicable upon final manuscript delivery, that is, after all peer review and revisions have been carried out, and the manuscript has been officially accepted for publication. However, we strongly encourage you to familiarise yourself with the instructions and follow them from an early stage. Please use our templates available to download below to assist you in correctly formatting your manuscript.
When delivering your final manuscript, please include a cover letter using the template available to download below.
- General
-
Please read the editorial policies in full before submission to ensure the requirements are met.
All use of material, either direct or indirect, must be properly acknowledged and accompanied by an appropriate citation. This includes material previously published by the author, which should be rewritten or summarised to avoid text-recycling or self-plagiarism.
A fully filled out cover letter, using the template available to download above, should be provided.
All requirements outlined in the manuscript template, available to download above, should be followed.
All citations and references that were anonymised for peer review must be filled in.
- Formatting
-
Do not use field codes or special formatting.
First-line indents of 1.25 cm should be used for new paragraphs not directly under a headline, figure, table, or block quote. Do not add a blank line between paragraphs, except for block quotes.
All text should be in 12-point font (including block quotes) except for headings. Use only two levels of headings: bold 14-point font for section headings and italic 14-point font for subsection headings. Headings should be clear, brief, and descriptive.
- Italics and emphasising text
-
Italics should be used sparingly and only for titles of stand-alone works (e.g., books, newspapers, television series, etc.), statistical variables, and emphasis (and only when the emphasis may be lost without them). Italics are also used for formatting mathematical equations and statistics.
Quotation marks should be used sparingly and only for titles that are part of a larger work (e.g., chapters or articles), around words or phrases used as linguistic examples (e.g., the search term “globalisation”), or to create distance, that is, to indicate that the term is used ironically and without legitimising the term (using “so-called” before a term has the same purpose, quotation marks are not needed in addition).
- Spelling and punctuation
-
Follow standard British spelling, with “s” endings (e.g., globalisation, analyse). Keywords may be provided with alternate spelling.
Use double quotation marks. Place punctuation outside quotation marks.
Do not use slashed constructions (and/or, homes/workplaces).
- Mathematical equations and statistics
-
It is the author’s responsibility to ensure the correctness of mathematical equations; this will not be checked during the editorial process. Properly formatting equations and statistics will reduce the likelihood of errors being introduced during the editing process.
Italicise variables (e.g., R2, Pearson’s r, and x = y + 2). (If variables are in an italicised heading, do not use reverse italics; e.g., do not write R2 like this.)
Place a space on either side of mathematical symbols (= , + , – , < , > , × , / , etc.).
N = full sample; n = subsample
Use a hyphen with no space to indicate a negative numeral (e.g., -43).
Use an en dash with a space on either side for a subtraction sign (e.g., 5 – 3 = 2).
The multiplication sign can be found with the “insert symbol” function in Word – it looks like this: × (do not use an asterisk [*] or a lower- or uppercase “x” for a multiplication sign).
Use decimal points (periods), not commas, to express decimals (e.g., 1.05).
Use commas, not periods or spaces, to separate thousands (e.g., 1,000 and 2,000,000).
Use the following abbreviations without periods: minimum = min; maximum = max; standard deviation = std dev; standard errors = std errors - Quotations
-
Changes to quotations should be indicated with square brackets; omissions are indicated by an ellipsis within brackets (an ellipsis without brackets indicates a pause in speech).
If a direct quotation has italics, “[emphasis original]” or “[emphasis added]” should be included at the end of the quotation before the closing quotation marks.
Quotations of over 40 words should be in an independent paragraph, with an extra line above and below and indented on both sides. Final punctuation belongs before the in-text citation.
- Abbreviations, acronyms, and translations
-
Abbreviations (i.e., e.g., et al., etc., %) are used only within parentheses; in the running text, they are spelled out (“that is”, “for example”, “and colleagues”, “and so on”, “per cent”).
“cf.” is used sparingly and only to point out contrasting or opposing information; when comparing similar things, “see” or “see also” is used. APA provides a list with more details about the use of abbreviations:
Acronyms are used only for important terms used many times in the text.
Foreign-language terms found in Merriam-Webster online dictionary or commonly used do not need to be translated or put in italics.
Translations of any foreign-language titles, names, and so forth are placed in square brackets immediately after the original. Thereafter, the English translation should be prioritised.
When there is an English name for a company, organisation, institution, and so forth, use that rather than the national name. The national name can be placed within brackets after the English translation; for example, The Press Council [Pressens Opinionsnämnd].
- References and in-text citations
-
References must adhere to current APA style.
Do not add a blank line between references. Do not use hard returns (hitting the enter or return key) within reference list entries.
A DOI or permanent link must be included for all articles and books that provide one (use the full link; e.g., https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2021-0002).
Do not use endnotes for references (e.g., URLs).
Please provide translations within square brackets immediately following non-English titles.
Empirical material that is publicly available must have an entry in the reference list; unpublished material, such as interviews, do not. When citing empirical research material, include in-text citations with relevant information. Read our guide for citing and referencing empirical material to ensure you meet the requirements.
In-text citations have a comma separating the name and year, and a colon before page numbers (please note that this deviates from APA style, which uses a “p.” before page numbers).
Multiple sources in one in-text citation are in alphabetical order and separated by semicolons.
Works with three or more authors, use “et al.” after the first author’s name (in narrative citations, use “and colleagues”; e.g., Clay and colleagues (2021)…).
Do not use “ibid”.
Quotations from non-publicly available sources (e.g., interviews) have relevant information enclosed in parentheses (name or anonymous, job title, date of interview, gender or age if applicable, etc.).
- Endnotes
-
Endnotes should be limited to the provision of valuable information to support or augment an argument that is too long to include in the body text. Short notes of a sentence or less should be included within parentheses in the text.
Endnotes should not be used for URLs (e.g., web pages, YouTube videos, or social media posts), which should be in the list of references with full information.
Use the “insert” function. Do not manually add endnotes to the end of the document. Do not use footnotes.
- Figures
-
Figures should only be included if they illustrate or highlight something that cannot be easily described in the text.
Nordicom has a specific graphic profile, and we format all figures and graphics in our publications in accordance with this profile to produce consistent and correct publications of high quality.
In order to be included in our publications, figures must meet the following requirements:
Provide each figure in an individual, separate file clearly labelled with author last name and figure number (for anthologies, chapter number and figure number, e.g., 5.1, 5.2).
Provide charts, graphs, diagrams, and the like in an editable format (charts and graphs submitted as image files will not be accepted).
The minimum requirement for images such as screenshots is a width of 100mm and a resolution of 200 dpi. These images can be included within the manuscript.
For high quality reproductions, aim for a width of 170mm and 300 dpi. Provide each image in a separate file (we accept jpg, jpeg, png, tif, and similar formats).
The approximate place in the manuscript where a figure should be placed must be indicated, for example, “[Figure 1 here]”.
All figures must have a call-out in the body text, for example, "(see Figure 2)" or “As Figure 2 shows…”
It is the author’s responsibility to obtain any permission that may be needed for using third-party material.
- Tables
-
Tables should not repeat what is in the text, but only present new information or illustrate something that is difficult to describe in the text. Avoid using tables to present simple information that can easily be described in a paragraph.
In order to meet the requirements of the EU Accessibility Directive, and to reduce the chance of errors being introduced during editing, the following requirements should be met upon the final delivery of your manuscript. Nordicom reserves the right to send back for revision or refuse publication of any tables that do not conform to our templates and standards.
In order to be included in our publications, tables must meet the following requirements:
Tables should be created with the table function in Word, not by using tabs or the space bar (tables submitted as image files or in Excel will not be accepted).
Each table must have a concise and descriptive title. Provide comments and source, if applicable.
Table structure should be as simple as possible, in order for readers using assistive technology such as screen readers to be able to access the information contained in the table. Prioritise smaller sub-tables over large, complex tables.
Everything under a column header must relate to that header. Everything after a row header must relate to that header.
All cells must be in alignment; merged and split cells should be avoided except for subheadings.
Use periods for decimals, not commas.
Use commas to indicate thousands, not spaces or periods.
Avoid repetition in every cell (e.g., if every cell in a column has “%”, then it should rather be in the header cell only).
Please consider that text-heavy large tables may not be legible in the typeset version.
We provide a guide with tips on creating titles and comments and structuring your tables properly.
- Appendices & supplementary material
-
Appendices and supplementary material are meant to provide information that is needed for evaluating, for example, complex statistical analysis. Tables, figures, and information that do not contribute to a better understanding of analytical procedures should not be included.
A short appendix may be included in the submission itself after the reference list. This may consist of, for example, a table presenting interviewees or empirical material. (If you are contributing to an anthology, please check with your editors before you plan to include an appendix, as all chapters must be treated consistently.)
Larger or more numerous tables, figures, or files may be included as separate supplementary material. This will not be included in the submission itself, but will be published and available to download separately.
- Promotional material
-
In order to assist our communications officers in promoting our publications to the public and increasing readership, we ask all authors to answer the questions below in easily understood language. Please provide this material upon final manuscript delivery to receive the full benefit of our customised promotional efforts.
- In a few short sentences, what are the most important findings of your research (please answer in a conversational tone)?
- Why do you think this study is important (i.e., what are the implications)?
- Who could benefit from reading this publication?
After acceptance
Language editing
Upon acceptance of the final manuscript, Nordicom first provides technical and language editing. It is crucial that authors adhere to the final manuscript delivery requirements above in order to gain the full benefit of the editing process. Therefore, we reserve the right to return for revision any manuscript that does not meet the requirements before language editing commences. After the first language review, you will receive the manuscript back for a final revision stage. This is the last opportunity for changes.
Proofs
After the final revision, the manuscript is typeset and proofs are sent to you for approval. The purpose of the proof is to catch missed typos and potential errors introduced during typesetting. No other changes should be made.
Promoting your publication
Our communications officers have prepared some ideas and strategies – along with successful examples – of various promotional activities you can engage in to increase the reach of your publication.
It is important that you, as author, engage in the promotion, as you know the issue and target audience best. Our evaluations two weeks post publication show that authors’ engagement on social media greatly improves the reach.
Contact
For general inquiries and questions, please contact Nordicom’s managing editor. For specific questions or concerns about the requirements, please contact Nordicom’s manuscript editor. If you have strong preferences for the treatment of a particular term (e.g., capitalisation, hyphenation, spelling), please communicate this upon final manuscript delivery.
Managing editor: Josefine Bové, josefine.bove@nordicom.gu.se
Manuscript editor: Kristin Clay, kristin.clay@nordicom.gu.se
Page last updated February 2024